Welcome to New Orleans Island! (Current under construction -- please pardon our progress!)

• Spring 2008 Second Life Course Offerings
• Student Protocol and Suggestions
• Registering for a Second Life Course
• Recent Press
• Press Release
• Obtaining an Account
• Finding New Orleans Island

The following classes will be offered on Second Life in the Spring 2008 semester:

• EDCI 6793-481, Graduate Special Topics in Curriculum and Instruction, Th 7pm-9:45pm, call # 20492
• EDAD 6991-481, Select Topics in Educational Administration, Th 7pm-9:45pm, call # 20421
• (for information about the EDCI and EDAD classes click here)
• GEOG 1001-481, World Regional Geography, M 3pm-5:40pm, call # 21510
• MANG 3401-481, Introduction to Management and Organizational Behavior, T Th 11am-12:15pm, call # 21684

Planning on taking a Second Life course at the University of New Orleans in the Fall semester? Click here to read about our protocol and suggestions for students.

Before registering for a Second Life class, be sure that:

1. You are 18 years of age or older;
2. You will have access to a computer either with Second Life installed or have the ability to install;
3. Meet the minimum system requirements for the software; and
4. Have a reliable internet connection.

If you are already a student at the University of New Orleans, you can register for the course through Webstar.

Non-UNO students would need to apply for admission through the Office of Admissions. After being admitted to the University and given a UNO student username and password, log on to Webstar and register for the class using the Learner Services link. Be sure to note the call number of the class (listed above).

Additional help with registering for classes can be found here.

• Times-Picayune, UNO virtual campus to be used after storms, June 11, 2007
• eSchool News, Virtual campus could aid in emergency, June 18, 2007
• Chronicle of Higher Education, U. of New Orleans to Hold Classes in Second Life, July 19, 2007
• Campus Technology, U New Orleans Opens Virtual Classroom in Second Life, July 24, 2007

The University of New Orleans is pleased to announce that it will begin offering classes this fall on its virtual campus in Second Life (SL). An "open house" will be held on Thursday morning, June 7, between the hours of 8:00am and 12:00pm.

Second Life is an immersive persisitent social world developed by California-based Linden Labs, and is an outgrowth of the sophisticated gaming technologies that have recently captured the attention of cyber enthusiasts. In SL users can create their own environments and their own content. There are now thousands of SL sites, from commercial, cultural and social locations to the more than 250 academic islands. About 6.5 million users populate Second Life as three-dimensional action-figures, or avatars, the majority of which belong to people located outside the United States. Second Life is not a game and has a functioning economy that generates over a million dollars a day in real money.

UNO Has joined this burgeoning world and created New Orleans Island, which occupies about sixteen acres of electronic real estate that can be shaped and populated with buildings to create a visually appealing and functional campus. At the moment, a temporary structure is in place to house the classes offered this fall. Students and faculty members will conduct "normal" classes using their avatar forms, taking the increasingly popular online learning platform to a new level of sophistication. Because UNO's Second Life campus provides a 3-dimensional presence, not available in the two-dimensional world of the standard online class experience, each student will be able to see and communicate with every other student and the teacher in real time. In addition to course offerings, UNO's virtual campus will be used to support adminsitrative and research needs. Visitors to the site will ultimately be able to browse through displays that link to the Library, Admissions, and other real-world functions of the university.

Please join us on Thursday, June 7, to see where UNO is headed in this exciting 21st century venture. For people already in Second Life who wish to tour the UNO temporary facility, type "New Orleans Island" in the map search feature and teleport. For those people who are not in Second Life but who wish to see the property, a presentation will be made on teh same day in Library 213 at 10:00am. After the presentation, persons who wish to learn how to enter Second Life may do so in Library 217. For information about access to other SL details, contact Dr. Merrill Johnson or Mr. Anthony Cipolone in the College of Liberal Arts (280-6266).

Before you can gain access to UNO's virtual campus, New Orleans Island, you will need to become a member of Second Life and download the client software.

1. Make sure you meet the minimum system requirements for running the Second Life software on your computer.
2. Create an account with Linden Labs.
3. Follow the instructions for choosing an avatar.
4. Download and install the client software.
5. Double-click the icon on your desktop and enter your login information.

If you have any problems with the installation of the software, be sure to visit the Second Life support page.

After you have done these steps, it is recommended that you go through the tutorials to learn how to navigate in Second Life. Once completed, or if you wish to skip them, click the "Map" button at the bottom of your screen and enter "New Orleans Island" in the search box.

Alternatively, you could use the link below to immediately teleport to the virtual campus:

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Mr. Anthony Cipolone via e-mail at acipolon@uno.edu or in Second Life as "AnthonyD Ebbage", or Jennifer Miguez via e-mail at jmiguez@uno.edu or in Second Life as "JenniferA Burger".