Distance Learning Orientation Social a success!




Well, today’s social could have gotten off to a better start. It seems Second Life picked today, at precisely the time we had planned to start the social, to have database problems. The problems were so bad that Second Life disabled logins, meaning anyone who wasn’t already “in-world” could not log in.

Second Life disabled logins!

Eventually, a few of us met near the waterfalls on ASTD island for a nice chat. Dr. Jeong was able to visit, and speak with one of the incoming Doctoral students. Afterwards, a couple of people came back to my beach house for drinks!

Overall it was a positive experience. The issues we had point out the need to really design and think about technology – and backups for the technology. Those technical glitches always seem to happen at the worst possible moment. Being able to be in an interactive environment was a very nice way to meet new people before classes start.

We also have to thank ASTD for allowing us to use their island. I am a member, and getting their journal (Training and Development Magazine) has been worth the cost of membership to me.

When should we do this again? If you are a student, especially a distance student, would you be interested in holding meet-ups on a regular basis in Second Life? Post your thoughts in the comments!

I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures I took of the event. Till next time!

Visiting on ASTD island

More visiting

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3 comments ↓

#1   Wade Bradt on 08.21.08 at 10:21 am

I didn’t attend, but think I missed out. I’ll be setting up an avatar this week, and would definitely attend future groups. Fascinating stuff.

#2   Matt on 08.23.08 at 9:59 am

Glad to hear it was a success! I couldn’t attend due to SL shutting down logins, but am happy other folks had a great time.

#3   Can Second Life be used as a reliable Corporate Training Tool? | Adventures in Corporate Education on 09.15.08 at 5:38 pm

[...] had a little better luck a few weeks ago when I hosted an event for my student organization on ASTD island, although that event was ill-fated as [...]

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