SESSION Seq #23: Second Life as a Virtual World for Research and Training

Seq #23

Thursday, July 3, 2008

9:00 AM-10:30 AM
Metro Toronto Convention Centre Room 809, Hands-on Workshop

Second Life as a Virtual World for Research and Training

Sponsored by: Education Research

Description: This workshop is appropriate for all dental research scientists and educators. The global goals are to demonstrate the large number of opportunities to use a virtual environment (Second Life) online as an advanced teaching forum, space for scientific conferences, model for research collaboratories, and rich opportunity for educational research experiments. The specific educational objectives are (1) to introduce each participant to the wide range of applications of this new technology, (2) provide a hands-on experience for each participant to enter and work in virtual space, and (3) provide sufficient examples of existing opportunities that each participant can assess the value for their current research and teaching programs. Second Life (www.secondlife.com) has existed for several years but recently exploded in interest to 15-20 million users around the world as business, education, and research began to explore opportunities for training, interacting, and building special domains that operate 24/7. At the moment, the University of Michigan School of Medicine is creating a virtual campus for research and teaching called Wolverine Island. In partnership with Wolverine Island, the School Dentistry and is exploring virtual space for (a) teaching science using specialized tools, (b) standardized patient interactions, (c) exposing students to patient-based experiences, (d) providing a multi-media conference site. Collaborations throughout Second Life are creating virtual communities of scientists. Examples of all of these will be demonstrated during the hands-on sessions. A 3-minute preview of these opportunities has been created and posted online at YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfsSGBraUhc).

Chairperson: S.K. GRAYDEN


	0098		Second Life: Overview of Opportunities for Research and Teaching S. GRAYDEN, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
			Introduction to the International Virtual Dental School P.A. REYNOLDS, BDS, King's College London, England, Uk
			Second Life Basics and Science Tour (Hands-on) P.F. ANDERSON, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
			Exploring Scientific and Research Opportunities in Second Life S.C. BAYNE, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, USA
			Exploring Patient Simulations and Clinical Opportunities in Second Life M. FITZGERALD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

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