Second Life

The University of Texas at Dallas School of Management opened an island in the 3D virtual world of Second Life® in 2007. Second Life allows residents to use avatars to represent themselves, chat, talk, attend classes, and design and build everything that you can see in the virtual world. Today, virtual worlds are used more and more in online learning because they provide students that may be physically located far apart, with a sense of presence. In Second Life you can meet "in person" with your avatar. You can network with other students or educators, interact with and learn from them. You can network with other students or educators, interact with and learn from them, and attend workshops and presentations. In Second Life you can explore our world on your computer monitor from the comfort of your home or the computer lab. You can visit IBM, NASA, Paris, London, Egypt, Japan ...

There are many opportunities within the Second Life virtual world for professional development as well. You learn while not looking and you become an engaged learner in this environment as you learn through exploration and questioning. Student are challenged in a totally new way.

The School of Management island is divided into five distinct zones, each themed after an area of Texas. The main building on the simulation is built to give an illustration of the real world SOM campus. The building hosts information presenting the School of Management.

To visit the School of Management island in Second Life, you must first create a free account at http://www.secondlife.com and download the client software. Once your account is created and the software is installed, log in to begin exploring this virtual world. You may find the School of Management's island by clicking the blue "Map" button at the bottom of the Second Life screen, entering "UTD SOM" into the search field and clicking "Teleport". Or you may click on the following link, which will launch Second Life, then and click "Teleport": http://slurl.com/secondlife/UTD SOM/128/128/22.

The School of Management island is in constant development, so check back often to see the new content and learn about the future of the school and Second Life.

For more information about The University of Texas at Dallas School of Management island in Second Life, please e-mail Jenny Wakefield or IM her avatar, Snowflake Lannock, "in-world".