Here is the announcement:
Blackboard Inc. has announced that it is offering a $25,000 grant for colleges to integrate teaching and learning with virtual worlds, such as Second Life. Called the Greenhouse Grant for Virtual Worlds, the program is meant to find ways to enhance student experience through the three-dimensional realm of computer-generated worlds. The deadline for submission is September 24, and winners will be announced at Educause's annual conference, in October.
Here are my thoughts:
I can’t see any advantage to Second Life as a learning platform. It seems to me it adds a level of separation between the participants that isn’t present in a real classroom. Perhaps as an alternative to text messages, in distance learning, it can be valuable. But it isn’t easy to learn to move or do things in Second Life.
Anyway, if anyone is interested in participating, I will be happy to assist and turn a number of individual projects into one institutional grant request. Let me know if you are interested.
Bill Vilberg
