Philosophy 201: Socrates & His Garden of Philosophical Thought
Our first official pilot with students goes live this term.
Dr. William Noonan of Columbia Gorge Community College is using Second Life in his Philosophy 201 course to introduce the history of western philosophical thought to students from the perspective and symbolism of some of its most notable figures- from Plato's cave out into Socrates' Garden in the Light, meeting Epicurus, Seneca, Descartes, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard and Nietzche along the way. In the image above is a picture of the garden, which is now open for viewing, and you can reach the launch point of this experience to check it out from here on the island. Note: This space is not available October 13th, as it is reserved for the live class.

Island Meeting Spaces Available
Come watch a movie together, meet in a treehouse, or hang our around a camp fire, and more.
Do you have online meetings where you work with teams toward a shared goal? Do you have a want to connect better with other faculty in your discipline across the state (or world for that matter? ) This is YOUR ISLAND! You can see what is available at this new page listing our island spaces here. Schedule virtual meeting space for two to fifty participants with our island scheduling request form. We've added a theater that will seat up to 40 avatars that can stream movies into Second Life- think of using this the next time you assign your distance education students media to watch- we may be able to schedule you a group showing and discussion session.

Teaching in Second Life- Free Course Available
Open enrollment, happening now.
If you are faculty or staff at any Oregon Community College, you can sign up for free with the Oregon Community Colleges Distance Learning Association and join our 10 module self-paced Moodle course to teach the basics of how to use Second Life, and an introduction to best practices being discovered about using the space for teaching and learning. If you are wondering how to use Second Life, or how to generate a lesson plan that incorporates Second Life toward your teaching objectives- this free 8 to 10 hour course is for you! (Note- if you do not have access to OCCDLA's Moodle space, request it here.)

Drop-in Help Available Weekly
Stuck trying to get something done in Second Life? Let us 'share brain' and help you.
We offer times weekly that you can come to our island sandbox and get immediate drop in assistance- our island schedule calendar is updated Mondays by 2 PM. If you want assistance with anything about Second Life- Building, scripting, finding places, tools to help you teach, social questions- come by and let us help you!

Twitter, Blogging, News & Updates
keep up to date on what's happening on OR CC Isle.
If you are on Twitter and would like to receive updates about the project, our meeting and open sand box times, and events that may be of general interest to the education community in Second Life, feel welcome to follow me at Monica Marlo on Twitter. Be sure to subscribe to our Blog for a deeper look at everything from island specific issues to broader reflections on virtual spaces and education. If you are a member of the Oregon Community Colleges Distance Education system and would like to blog with us, please contact me for access. 

Ideas or suggestions? Join us!
Weekly In-World meetup: Mondays @ 2PM
If you have any comments, suggestions, or just want to hang out with us in avatar form to see what a fun and exciting topic teaching and learning in virtual worlds is, please join us Mondays at 2 PM on OR CC Isle at our Cascades Meeting Circle. (Note- we don't meet the first week or finals week of each term.) You can always find out what's up and coming on the agenda (and any additional project information at our main communication site.) If you have direct questions, please feel free to email me.

Here's to a wonderful new year!
Monica Martinez-Gallagher, Project Coordinator
(SL:MonicaMarlo Martinek)
Second Life Oregon Community Colleges Island
PCC/OCCDLA

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