Education & Non-Profit Organizations

The Second Life Grid provides a unique and flexible platform for educators interested in distance learning, computer supported cooperative work, simulation, new media studies, and corporate training.

Create a safe environment to enhance experiential learning, allowing individuals to practice skills, try new ideas, and learn from their mistakes. Prepare your students or employees for real-world experiences by using Second Life as a simulation!

Students and educators can work together on the Second Life Grid from anywhere in the world as part of a globally networked virtual classroom environment. Using the Second Life Grid as a supplement to traditional classroom environments also provides new opportunities for enriching an existing curriculum. Many universities and educational institutions are already using the Second Life Grid, and you can find an updated list of them here.

There are many options for educators looking to explore and create learning spaces on the Second Life Grid. Here is a comprehensive list of resources to help you get started.

Join our Education Mailing List (SLED)

We maintain a Second Life Educators mailing list (SLED) to keep interested individuals alerted to education opportunities and events on the Second Life Grid. This list is also an opportunity for educators to communicate with each other as well as find new colleagues. If you want to quickly get up to speed and learn from the shared experiences of other educators on the Second Life Grid, or if you have questions about how to best use the Second Life Grid with your education projects, this is the best place to start!

Additional Education-Related Mailing Lists

We also maintain other education-related mailing lists to help you find colleagues and share ideas on more specific topics. In addition to joining the comprehensive SLED list, you might like to join these more focused discussions. They are Educators Working with Teens, Healthcare Support and Education, and Non-Profits.

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Share Ideas with other Educators on the Second Life Education Wiki

If you'd like to share ideas and learn about other education projects on the Second Life Grid, check out the Education Wiki. Anyone can contribute to this great resource, so please post information about your own projects and publications to share with the world!

Learn about Campus: Second Life

Linden Lab has a special offer for educators interested in trying out the Second Life Grid for the first time. It's a temporary land grant for the duration of a semester, and is called Campus: Second Life.

Be sure to also visit our Campus region. This area is a main hub for classes participating in our Campus: Second Life program. You can meet students and educators currently working on class projects as well as find other real-life education projects happening on the Second Life Grid.

Create a Permanent Education Space for yourself in Second Life

If you would like a place of permanence on the Second Life Grid, Private Island ownership lets you create a secure "intranet" space with restricted membership for your students and faculty, or you can open it up to be accessible to everyone on the Second Life Grid. We offer a discount for Private Islands to educational institutions and non-profit organizations. You can find details on the Private Island order page. You can also optionally buy a plot of land on the mainland of the Second Life Grid if you want something smaller and permanent (we don't offer any educational/non-profit discount for such plots).

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An Important Reminder for Educators about Teen Second Life

The Second Life Grid is for adults only (18+). We also have Teen Second Life which is strictly for teens (13-17). For more details, please see the Teen Second Life Terms of Service.

We don't allow anyone under 18 years old in the adult world of Second Life, and likewise we do not allow adult Residents (18+) on the mainland of Teen Second Life. Both of these worlds are separate from each other, and we do not allow in-world travel or communication between them.

Teen Second Life is a world for teens, created and shaped by teens. Please remember that falsely registering as a teen to gain access to Teen Second Life is a serious offense, and cause for permanent banishment from the Second Life Grid.

The only adults allowed on the mainland in Teen Second Life are Linden employees. If you are an educator and want to work with teens in Teen Second Life, there is the opportunity to buy a private island in Teen Second Life and participate, but you will not be able to leave that island and visit the Teen Second Life mainland. Teens from the mainland will be able to visit your private island if/when you choose, but they will be automatically informed that there are adults present. Also, if you are planning to use a private island in Teen Second Life, you will need to provide a background check for security and safety reasons. If you'd like more details about getting a private island for education and working in Teen Second Life, please see this wiki page for details.

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More about Educators & Non-Profit Organizations

Second Life's growing community of residents coupled with the ability to create interactive virtual content has attracted various non-profits and educational institutions to establish a presence in-world. Institutions such as Harvard University, Texas State University and Stanford University have all set up virtual campuses where students can meet, attend lectures, and create content together.

Non-profits have utilized the Second Life Grid's technology by building in-world facilities to promote their cause, for instance the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) have a facility that provides interactive educational demonstrations about the ocean and weather. Visitors can ride submarines, experience a tsunami, or check out real-time weather maps.

The Second Life Grid's non-profit and educators program allows organizations to further their in-world outreach program. Members of this program benefit from discounted land rates and access to group mailing lists.

Below are some examples of various organizations that have taken advantage of the Second Life Grid as part of their ongoing educational efforts. The links below take you to the in-world campuses of these top universities and require registration.

Educators

Non-Profit Organizations

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