The Crocker Business Library supports the use of SecondLife in the Marshall School of Business through six specialized workstations, permitting easy entry into this virtual world where students can operate businesses, network with friends and alumni, and attend live lectures. Although anyone can operate SecondLife on their own computers, these workstations have the specialized software already installed as well as robust hardware which supports the rich graphics of the program.
Jerry Whitfield, associate director of eLearning at Marshall, explained that SecondLife is currently used by Professor Sandra Chrystal in her Writing 340 class. Jerry foresees expanded use of SecondLife as more faculty become familiar with the capabilities of this virtual environment which includes an “island” for the Marshall School.
Additional information on the use of SecondLife at Marshall is available at the Marshall eLearning Web site and John Juricek's LibGuide on business resources at the USC Libraries.
