initiatives

The pICTsl Farm

Set up in June, 2007, the pICTsl Farm at SDSU is an experimental, exploratory learning and research space in Second Life and on the flat web for San Diego State University and is funded by pICT -People, Information and Communication Technologies.

2007 seems to have been the year of Second Life and it’s been predicted that interest and innovation in virtual worlds will continue to expand. In response, the pICTsl Farm will also expand its activities.

Between February 2008 and 2009 we will:

* Follow near future trends in virtual worlds relevant to SDSU
* Develop a knowledge base on this site which will include vetted resources that will help us understand these spaces and the domain as a whole.
* What are important characteristics of each space?
* What are the implications of these developments for SDSU in the near future?
* Who is doing what in these spaces?
* How is Second Life evolving?

* Maintain the pICTsl Farm in Second Life
* Offer on demand consulting in Second Life
* Offer a Summer Session Introduction to Second Life Workshop

Between August 2007 and February 2008 we:

* introduced faculty, instructional staff and Honors students to SL,
* created resources and opportunities for faculty, instructional staff and Honors students to explore and sandbox SL,
* provided consultation and support for their exploration and sandboxing,
* surveyed innovative educational applications of SL,
* surveyed the research potential of SL,
* documented our experiences and findings. (Report is forthcoming

Go here for The pictsl Farm website (flat web presence)

In Second Life we can be found at Meadowbrook, 187, 132, 21.

Faculty Fellows' Conference Presentations and Publications
Grant 2006-2009

pICT is offering two types of stipends to encourage Faculty Fellows to present their pICT projects at a national conference. The purpose of the stipend is to contribute to the body of research on employing educational technologies in higher education, and to showcase SDSU faculty’s work in the larger educational community.
Grant Guidelines