Faculty from Texas A&M University, the University of Arkansas and Texas Tech University are using “Second Life“ to prepare agricultural communications students for real-life crisis situations.
By Mollie Lastovica, Texas A&M Agricultural Communications September 27, 2012
Faculty from Texas A&M University, the University of Arkansas and Texas Tech University are using “Second Life“ (SL) to prepare agricultural communications students for real-life crisis situations.
The project, “Educational Effectiveness of Utilizing Second Life in Teaching Graduate-Level Agricultural Crisis Communications,” was initiated in 2009 and funded by the United States Department of Agriculture. It came to fruition with the help of Texas A&M Associate Professor Tracy Rutherford, who is the associate department head for undergraduate programs in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications, Texas Tech Professor David Doerfert and University of Arkansas Assistant Professor Leslie Edgar.
“Our goal was to find out if it is effective to use a virtual world to teach crisis communications,” Rutherford says. “Second Life is a 3-D virtual environment, also known as a multi-user virtual environment, which allows users to create new content and interact with content through the use of an avatar. So, in our simulation, we can put students through a hurricane or a food safety crisis without ever putting them in any real danger.”
Rutherford learned about Second Life while attending a workshop by Instructional Technology Services and was encouraged to find a way to incorporate it into the agricultural communications and journalism curriculum. Edgar, Rutherford’s former student, was also very interested in looking at Second Life as a teaching tool. Doerfert, who teaches a crisis communications class at Texas Tech, wanted to take his instruction of crisis communication beyond case studies.
“The most unique component of the SL project is that future agricultural communicators have the opportunity to plan for, experience and respond to a crisis in a controlled environment in-world,” Edgar notes. “Crises can have devastating effects on unimaginable amounts of people, animals, land, food supplies and resources. Because these possible crises are so potentially damaging, particularly to agriculture, the importance of preparedness and effective training are crucial.”
Additional disciplines are turning to Second Life to deliver training and content, leading to the potential for future collaboration.
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