Gearing up for a Second Life College Fair

Go Ahead! Tell me to get a life… I am nerding out, Admission style. Here’s my story:

History Lesson

So my VP calls me up and he’s all stoked because there’s a college fair in Second Life and he wants our institution in the mix (I’m listening to hip-hop while I type, so if I get soulful you’ll know why). I had a month to learn the program and two days to get started on a background check. I also have been working on some materials for the fair—the ones in the picture. Our booth isn’t the high tech kind, but there are some schools represented at the fair that have been “in world” for two years. They’re pros. I’m not.

So I was setting up my booth and I noticed there was a group forming behind me. I turned around and started talking to these kids. The group had volunteered to help reps set up booths and we started talking about tacos and video games. It turns out that these kids are brilliant. I have a feeling SL (second life) in the teen world is filled with brainiacs. One of them gave me a gasmask that he made so I could look trendy in the teen world (apparently you’re cool if you wear one occasionally).

The fair starts tomorrow at 10am psl (PST) and I think it will be moderately attended, but it’s been worth it just to speak with the teen volunteers. I’ll write more about how my experience went. First, a note on second life and how it relates to the rest of technology for higher-ed.

Just like iTunes, Universities use this stuff for educational purposes… not recruiting.

You can take any class that MIT offers for free with iTunes. The whole semester’s worth. You can get the syllabus and the assignments. You’ll think like an Aerospace Engineer, but you just won’t have the paper to back you up. Seriously, I’ve been looking… There is not more than 2 schools using iTunes for recruiting. Airing your chapel services doesn’t count. I’m talking serious Podcastage! How to apply videos, residence hall tours, slideshows, updates… Blam!

Second Life is the same way. Universities could blow this stuff up with their online programs, and some have been doing this stuff. But no one has been actively recruiting through the interface. I’m not too sure how this recruiting thing should look, as this is still new to me, but I’m excited to have something new to write about

Here are some helpful links

College Fair in Second Life

eye4youalliance

And Finally:

My three way powerlink:Skoolaborate, Second Life Resources, and a great Blog about this stuff.

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Tagged as: College, College Fair, Higher-Ed, Online, Recruiting, Second Life