Cosmos Academy and Virtual University Campuses
From CyberOne Wiki
Cosmos Academy is a very interesting education oriented place in Second Life. It is made up four different levels each having a different educational goal related to second life. There is even a very cool elevator to take you to the different levels.
When first arriving at Cosmos Academy the visitor is presented notecards explaining what the Academy is all about.
The first level is dedicated to the Technology of Second Life:
Below is the outside enterance to Level 1 (Notice the Clemson T-Shirt I obtained while visiting their virtual campus)
For those new to Second Life the helpful information found on Level 1 provides an excellent starting point.
There is plenty of practicle information regarding navigation in SL, care and feeding of your avatar and
abundant information on scripting which can be a very perplexing issue to a SL novice who has not used
scripting otherwise.
The second Level is dedicated to the Philosophy of Second Life. If you wish to find food for deep thought about Second Life this is one place not to miss. The centerpiece of this level are the question generators which will provide a deep philosophical issue to think about in the event you did not arrive with one.
The third Level is dedicated to Avatar creation. If you would like to find inspiration for being
more creative and expressive with your avatar this is the place. Your avatar is the projection of you
into Second Life and can be used to radically vary your SL experience. Ever wonder what it might be
like to experience life as a different gender or ethnicity? This may be your chance.
The fourth Level is dedicated to Education in Second Life. The possibilites are endless for using Second Life
for educational purposes with our class as an obvious example. With the introduction of the voice chat feature the SL
environment continues to become more robust. I'm sure that our own SL experience will demonstrate the benefit of the
SL environment for distance students. The group experience provided to distance students is truly unique.
Below are some snapshots of the virtual campuses that I visited in Second Life. In both cases it is easy to see that a
substantial investment in time and resources are being made by these schools.
Here is a panorama that can be invoked on the NC State Chapel Hill Campus
Here is a memorial to those lost at Virginia Tech on the NC State Chapel Hill Campus
An information kiosk on the Ohio Universtiy Campus
