Science in Second Life

Opportunities abound to access science related sites in Second Life. Of course the largest and most complex of these is SciLands in Second Life. Beyond that a list of science related sites in Second Life is also maintained. Zazen Manbi (Second Life avatar name) can be credited with creating the Science School and has a passion for the opportunities for Science education in the virtual world. You Tube videos abound on the use of Second Life in science education. In fact in August of 2007 the Science School was featured in an article in Inside Higher Education.

Despite the fact that many still predict the demise of Second Life, I found that the use of Second Life for science education is very much alive. I decided to tour some sites to see exactly what is going one and I found that the Science School is still as vibrant as it was almost three years ago when featured by Inside Higher Education.

The Science School is part of a larger group of sims known as SciLands. The leadership of Scilands maintains a blog that keeps those interested in science education in Second Life




The Science School

Ohio State University maintains a site in Second Life which includes a tour of the male testis. The photos illustrate the dynamic nature of this presentation:

The Tech Virtual Museum

BACKGROUND
The Tech Virtual is a not only a museum in Second Life, it is also a collaborative design platform for science and technology museums worldwide. The purpose of this platform is to generate concepts and content for use in museum exhibits.

Curators can select from content that includes broad concepts, exhibit models, and media.
International teams can collaborate virtually to produce exhibits or model an entire exhibition.
All content created here is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license. This means that participating curators and designers can utilize content from this resource by citing authorship credit in the resulting creation.


The photos below illustrate the variety of projects in The Tech Virtual Museum:

A variety of displays demonstrating social networking:

Nanotechnology

According to their website this sim in Second Life:

"from the National Physical Laboratory launched NanoLands in the virtual world of Second Life – a place where nano science and technology communities come together to exchange ideas and knowledge. NanoLands is part of NPL’s Nanotechnology Island, which offers regular events and opportunities for people to attend presentations, meet, network and influence others in envisioning and defining the future of Nanotechnology."

Pharmacology Lab designed to provide students to participate in a variety of acitvities in a Pharmacology Lab this site provide this experience 24/7.

Space Destiny

Elcuian Islands;

http://www.nature.com/secondnature/index.html





Explorer island

http://www.spacetoday.org/NASA/SecondLife/NASA_SecondLife.html


Welcome to Explorer Island, home of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Second Life. The island is presently under construction, but please feel free to look around while we build.

EXPLORER ISLAND LOCATIONS:
HERE - ISM Entry Point and Entrance to the JPL Mall Area
EAST - The "Probe Garden" of robotic space missions
NORTHEAST - Delta II Launch for Phoenix and Dawn events
NORTH - Von Karman Meeting Area & JPL Mall
SOUTHWEST- Mars Mountain Area with the following displays:

MARS AIRBAG DISPLAY
To the south part of the island you will find a mountain with a platform. From the platform you can launch a Mars Airbag and it will roll down the mountain in a direction based on forces from the wind, terrain and initial random speed. If you are quick, you can ride the airbag down the hill but the route will change based upon your riding of the airbag.

MARS ROVERS - MER and Sojourner
There are two rovers in the Mars Mountain Area. The Mars Exploration Rover (MER) and the Sojourner from the Mars Pathfinder Mission. It's possible to ride Sojourner but only one at a time, it's a small rover.

MARS DUST DEVILS
Once in a while, a dust devil on Mars will blow by the Mars Exploration Rovers. These dust devils are the same as those on Earth except on Mars, they can be 3 times larger than a full tornado on Earth. In Second Life, you and two other friends can ride them around Mars Mountain.


Some photos from Second Nature are below:

With some innovation and creativity virtual labs can be created in Second Life. Information provided at the site is as follows: GEM Calgary's project in Second Life, an educational region about synthetic biology. For more, see: http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/Second_Life


Examples of this are are the virtual synthetic biology lab from the University of Calgary illustrated in the photos below:

About MICA:

For more information and the schedule of events, please visit http://mica-vw.org


From their website:


We have a series of public lectures, technical seminars and discussions, and informal discussions; please see the website for more details.

You can join the MICA - VW Astrophysics group in SL, and email paradox.olbers@gmail.com to be added to the email list for event announcements, etc.

The Meta Institute for Computational Astrophysics (MICA) is the first professional scientific organization based entirely in virtual worlds. Whereas it is focused on computational astrophysics and related fields, we welcome and support other areas of scholarly inquiry.

The goals of MICA include:

* Exploration, development and promotion of VWs and virtual reality [VR] technologies for professional research in astronomy and related fields.

* Providing and developing novel social networking venues and mechanisms for scientific collaboration and communications, including professional meetings, effective telepresence, etc.

* Use of VWs and VR technologies for education and public outreach.

* Exchange of ideas and joint efforts with other scientific disciplines in promoting these goals for science and scholarship in general.



A variety of sites provide a view from space, aeronatics, NASA's jet propulsion, etc:

NASA's Jet propulsion site:

If you review the list of science education sites in Second Life you can see that I have barely scratched the surface with what is available to explore and possibly even replicate at your site. The bottom line is that Second Life can have a positive impact on your bottom line in providing a cost effective alternative to the real life facility.

Galleries in Caledon..Second Life

So many things have happened both personally and professionally that my focus has been taken away from researching and working in Second Life that I really feel out of touch with the community and the network that I have built in there. One thing that has changed my Second Life activities has been my exploration of using Second Life as a platform for presenting the many photos and other digital art in Caledon. If you are in Second Life and your are not taking advantage of using it as a medium for creative expression then I think you are truly missing out on the potential of it for you and what you can experience in Second Life. Here are the slurls to my galleries in Caledon in Second Life:


Victorian House Slurl

The Victorian House Gallery has vintage photos from the Victorian era to the 1950's. These are some personal photos, venacular photos I have acquired and digital art. This could be defined as a museum of sorts.


Slurl to the Castle Gallery

I also recently acquired the Qork Memorial Gallery in Caledon Downs from Kitsuko Pelazzi with the promise that I would keep with the original plans for the gallery which was to make this a place where Caledon Residents could place real pictures of their homes. This Gallery is certainly open for that purpose, however I do intend to add some of my photos and art as well.

I am still interested in education in Second Life and looking around to see what is available for educators in virtual worlds, however an up coming job change may shift my focus from distance education to more traditional education delivery methods. In somewhat of a nostalgic mood I toured a few university sites last night and I am finding more interactive builds being developed than I saw last fall as I toured these sites.


I revisited St. Leo University:

Much can be said for a university which has online or distance education and the potential use of Second Life as social meeting or gathering place in addition to the learning activities of a course.

Elon University:

Both of the above photos illustrate art and creative design in Second Life through the activities of university students.

In my opinion university and business should partner in Second Life to provide enhanced learning opportunities for students and internships in working in a business.


Art presentation at Bowling Green State University:

A game at BGSU, an example of an activity which would engage students or other visitors at the site:

While I was at Elon University I came to the site where Science Friday holds their Second Life presentation:

I also visited a couple of Mexico Sims Last night. Being able to visit these in Second Life is the next best thing to being there:

Finally I took a few minutes to check out the fabulous College of DuPage Build ..I spent a few quick looking around an love this fabulous ship:

The changes in my life may or may not impact my activities in Second Life, however I am committed and enjoy the galleries in Caledon..that is one thing that won't change.

Second Life(r) Disability Resources

Second Life (R) for people with disabilities

When I first started looking at Second Life (R) as a platform for education one of the biggest concerns expressed by those not particularly knowledgeable about virtual worlds in general and Second Life (R) specifically was that it cannot be used by people with disabilities. This statement directly contradicted what I was seeing around me and what I was hearing from people in Second Life (R).

Virtual Ability island provides a haven for people with disabilities to experience virtual worlds. A place for people to safely take their first steps into the virtual world, an orientation site for people who are experiencing Second Life (R) for the first time, and an informational resources for educators and businesses seeking information on resources for people with disabilities Virtual Ability Island provides a variety of information. There is a Virtual Ability mentor available at all times on the island to answer your questions. Below is a screenshot of an information board in Second Life (R):

This is the Slurl to Virtual Abilityand the Virtual Ability Website is available here.

In my opinion Virtual Ability Island is a must see stop in Second Life (R) for educators, business people and anyone who has an interest in knowing more about how Virtual Worlds / Second Life (R) can benefit those with disabilities. It is the hub for information and resources for anyone who is entering Second Life (R) for the first time.


I recently attended the Virtual Worlds Best Practice in Education conferences, one of the sessions I attended was related to the use of Second Life (R) for people with disabilities. While there Hydra Shaftoe related his experiences in using Second Life (R) and his experiences in hiring people with disablities to do work in Second Life (R).


Another community that you will want to famliarize your self with is that of the Gimp Girl Community. From their website they describe themselves as:

GimpGirl Community, a program of People Helping People, is a place where women with disabilities come together to share their lives, experiences, problems and successes, in a safe space that focuses more on our commonality as women, and less on what disabilities they have. Members are valued and respected because of who they are, and that has always included women with disabilities of all ages, colors, and sexual orientations. Our current partners and academics are also welcome to work with us in furthering our goals.

The Second Life (R) site for Gimp Girl is here at theattached SLURL. Because of the immersive nature of virtual worlds people with disabilities may experience freedom associated wtih movement, communication and experiences that they cannot have in their physical or "real world." Below are some snapshots from the Gimp Girl site in Second Life (R):

People with disabilities who use a wheelchair in real life have the option to use one in Second Life (R) or not, it is up to them. If they feel comfortable in Second Life (R) without the wheelchair they have that choice. There are many sites with wheelchairs available this is one at Gimp Girl:

The use of Second Life (R) in providing an avenue for communication, interaction and even employment opportunities for people with autism is proven to be effective. Here I am outside the headquarters for the Autism Awareness Center.

The environment of Second Life (R) provides practitioners with an opportunity to simulate the experiences of an individual with autism, provide information, and a meeting place for individuals with autism in Second Life (R).


This photo provides a simulation of what a person with autism may have while trying to concentrate or focus on something:

Below is an example of information boards for individuals with autism:

TheUniversity of Derby is conducting research into communication disorders at their lab in Second Life (R), from a notecard, written by Milton Broome received in-world indicates that the research is as follows:

Research with communication impaired people in Second Life (R).
We are currently setting up research in Second Life (R) that will investigate the effectiveness of the grid to enhance first life social-communication skills in people diagnosed with Autism and Asperger's Syndrome. I am particularly interested in the use of Second Life (R) to reach out to groups of people who show communication and social impairments. The unique virtual world of Second Life (R) could provide an environment where interventions and experiments that may be considered unethical or impossible in real life can be easily conducted whilst assuring the safety of the participants. Other research currently under consideration is the use of Second Life (R) in sensory controlled environments to utilize communication skills and reduce sensory distractions.

Via its strong social networking tools Second Life (R) provides the opportunity to establish groups or join an existing group the provides support and information for those working with individuals with disabilities and join with those who share your disability. Simply doing a search via the search tool in Second Life (R) will allow you to see what groups exist on the grid that may be related to what you are seeking. I have included information on some of the groups below I have no idea on how active these groups are:



Some profiles of these groups are as follows:

Health Discussion Leaders:

Charter: This group is an offshoot of The Health Support Coalition. Where the Coalition is focused on assisting leaders of peer-support groups dealing with health and disability issues, the Health Discussion Leaders group is meant for those who a) present topics of interest in the fields of health and disability or b) wish to be informed of such topics.

"Health" is meant to include physical, mental, and emotional improvement and wellness.

Open Enrollment




Open Gates Peer Support community is a place for Second Life (R) residents with disabilities --ANY disability-- to turn for support.

Living with a disability can be difficult (understatement) and our goal is to be a desperately-needed 24/7 support channel. for people with disabilities. The gates are always open.

People who need someone to talk to can simply type in the Open Gates channel, and chat there, or use it to ask to IM or meet privately.

In my search around the grid for resources for people with disabltiies I even found a nightclub Wheelies 74, nice profile picture huh? And here is their website address.

With resources, sites like Virtual Ability Island, communication tools, groups, and practitioners in world Second Life (R) proves too be a rich asset for people who may have a disability. If you have not yet accessed it then I encourage you to do..it may prove to be just what you or someone you know is looking for. Before beginning though I suggest you go through Virtual Ability Island first.