Professor tests digital classroom in event management course

    Imagine waking up to see snow falling outside while still being able to attend class in the comfort of your pajamas.
    At this point it sounds too good to be true, but this reality might be closer than many people think.
    This week, Betsy Barrett, associate professor of hospitality management and dietetics, with the help of her teaching assistant Nellie Feehan, junior in hotel and restaurant management, organized the first K-State class period in the virtual world, "Second Life."
    About 30 students were enrolled in her course, Convention and Event Management, which students attended on K-State's campus all semester.
    As a special project, Barrett had her students attend one class session via Second Life and assigned the students projects to be presented in the digital classroom.
    According to Second Life's Web site, secondlife.com, Second Life is a 3-D virtual world created by its residents.

    Since opening in 2003, it has expanded and is inhabited by millions of residents from around the globe.
    The students spent weeks creating avatars, which are computer versions of themselves, and working on their projects. The projects included presentations for the entire class and a party in Second Life. The computerized class session was Dec. 4. The students will organize two other events in Second Life to complete this special project.

    Barrett said the students' party, which was planned for Thursday afternoon, is to launch the department's new name, Hospitality Management and Dietetics, formerly known as Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management and Dietetics.
    The students planned the event using real-world application measures of event planning, though they did not need to physically coordinate the event, Barrett said.  
    Larry Jackson, director of information and educational technology, first approached Barrett at a technology meeting about the opportunity to teach in Second Life. 
    "Educational organizations are becoming a force in Second Life, where it's not so much anymore about watching some second persona I have, it's becoming more a tool for educational purposes," Jackson said.

    "That's what our interest at K-State is. It's about how to use this environment for an educational purpose that makes students and others go away smarter than when they arrived, and it's a really great tool for that."

    Jackson helped instruct Barrett and Feehan on the use of Second Life and helped them find a location, called an "island" in Second Life, which Barrett leased for one month for this special project.
    The pair was then ready to introduce the students to a new platform of learning. 
    Barrett was quick to point out that the help of her TA was instrumental in reaching the goal.
    "Nellie has done a lot to help me," she said. "She really knows the ins and outs of the technology of Second Life. She has helped the students out a lot throughout the project." 
    Aside from just being able to avoid inclement weather to attend class, Second Life opens the doors to a borderless world. 
    "These students could have been in the Port of Maine if they wanted to and still attended class," Barrett said. "They could have been in their offices at home or wherever and still got the information."
    Online classes and events also provide the opportunity to cut costs.

    "I would like to be able to be in my house and still go to class," said Jessica Smith, sophomore in food science and industry. "If we had the opportunity, I think most students would want to do that. Also, it might lower costs since all we would need to do is pay the speaker."