UNCP team to present on 'Second Life' at TLT Conference

Dr. Anthony Curtis (Mass Communications) successfully wrote a proposal for a 90-minute presentation titled "Second Life: Real Teaching and Learning in a Virtual World" at the 2008 UNC Teaching and Learning with Technology (TLT) Conference to be held March 12- 14 in Raleigh, N.C.

The conference is co-sponsored by the UNC's TLT Collaborative and the UNC Faculty Assembly.

For the workshop, Dr. Curtis put together a 16-member team from UNCP, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Charlotte, and NC State, including14 faculty and staff members and two students. From UNCP are: Dr. Curtis, Robert Orr (UCIS), Dr. Susan Gebhard, (Education), Dr. Judy Curtis (Mass Communications), Dr. Ed Damman (Business) and two undergraduate students.

"This year, with more than 175 colleges and universities plus hundreds of libraries across the country using Second Life, the UNC TLT organizers are emphasizing the virtual world as an important venue for education," Dr. Curtis said.

The audience for the 90-minute workshop will be faculty, librarians, staff and administrators from across the state.

"Our hands-on workshop will actively engage participants in the new immersive technology and provide useful information, skills and ideas for educational uses of 3D virtual worlds," he said. "Our presentation will begin online at the UNCP campus in Second Life and travel to other UNC campuses and relevant places in Second Life. I plan to take all 99 members of the audience for our session into the virtual world, which should be quite a trip."