One school I worked for began a Second Life project shortly after I joined the staff . . .
Since I had previous experience, I was tapped to be the island administrator. As administrator, I was responsible for locating and purchasing buildings, plants, furniture, and accessories; terraforming and landscaping; parceling the land; writing procedures and policies; developing backup procedures to protect our virtual assets; and assisting faculty with Second Life projects.
Second Life is a taxing environment with a high learning curve. I don’t think it’s appropriate for every class or every instructor. There are a few times, however, when faculty want a collaborative interaction or a group activity, but don’t have a large budget. In those cases, Second Life often makes sense.
A few photos from our (now closed) island are below. I’ve also included two spreadsheets we used in Island administration. One lists all the privileges we award to users and groups, and the second briefly reminds us why we assign those privileges.
