Conference for Distance Teaching & Learning, Course Mash-Up Demo

As stated in my last entry, I am attending the Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning in Madison, WI. I just attended a course demonstration, titled "Second Life: Collaboration, education and engagement." It was a deomonstration of an active college level biology course that was developed by collaboration between Chicago State University, University of Illinois, and the Illinois Departement of Health. the course is titled BASUAH, or Brothers and Sisters united Against HIV/AIDS. The course started out as a brick-and-mortar classroom course then transitioned to a blended course and now is completely online. The course is a true mash-up utilizing Second Life, Moodle, and an interface known as "SLoodle" that allows Moodle to record activities undertaken by the student in SL.

Among the benefits of this mash-up is that it allows the students to engage in SL, to enter the SL environment where they can participate in an activity known as the "Mating Game" (a take-off on the Dating Game), complete with three contestants who answer questions pertaining to their own activities and their potential for being at risk, and the student then has to choose the contestant who is least at risk. There's also an Education Center activity where the learner's avatar puts on a t-shirt, when the avatar removes the t-shirt, its body will display lesion-like symptoms of AIDS. The course also utilizes Facebook, MySpace, and a YouTube channel. The average students' profile is 30 - 35 years of age, 80% African American, and 65% female. To date approximately 75 - 100 students have graduated the course.

The course has its own Ning page at http://basuahcsuuis.ning.com/.