Designing an educational sim environment: critical success factors

Few educators ever have the chance to design and manage an online environment that replicates the educational, social, support and administrative elements of their University. Recent developments in virtual world platforms such as Second Life now makes this possible. Designing and building a virtual university demands knowledge of a new range of concepts, issues and skills specifically relevant to virtual environments and immersive learning settings. A case study of the vision, strategies and processes used to design, build and commence operation of a virtual campus is presented. A checklist of critical success factors is presented as a guide to others attempting to use this powerful technology to extend the reach and effectiveness of their university. The conference presentation will include an in-world tour of the features of the virtual campus and a demonstration of its interactive features.