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Show Utah State Universit I Today is Friday, April 17, 2009 Breaking News NBC broadcaster John Madden retires. His final game as a football announcer was the Super Bowl between Pittsburgh and Arizona. Page 10 Campus News Gttwv Mik ^^^ ^ ^ ^ Logan, Utah L ^^^^V*" ' • _EDU| Psi Chi is collecting box tops to donate to local elementary schools. Page 3 www.utahstate5man.com Universities offer classes on Second Life By GREG BOYLES assistant news editor Universities across the nation arc jumping on the Second Life bandwagon, professing its usefulness as a teaching instrument and viability as a learning opportunity for students, said David Wiley, former USU professor in the field of instructional technology. According to the Linden Lab Web site, which is the organization through which Second Life is run, hundreds of institutions of higher education have begun to implement Second Life as a form of educational instruction. Wiley, who is now associate professor of instructional psychology and education at Brigham Young University, said during the end of his time at USU he got wind of Second Life and decided to incorporate the online world into the curriculum of one of his graduate-level instructional technology classes. "I thought it was important for students to have first-hand experience in using technology to support learning," Wiley said. "In addition to gaining that experience, I wanted them to use technology to build instruction for others." Second Life is a virtual community where the individual user can participate in the same activities as an individual in real life, said John Louviere, instructional designer in the faculty assistance center for teaching department. Second Life is inhabited by avatars, which are virtual characters - designed however the individual user chooses - who work, play, go to school and more in Second Life. Louviere said anything that can be done in real life can be done in Second life, with the exception of flying and teleportation. The world of Second Life, similarly to real life, is made up of public and private land, Louviere said. Certain sections of Second Life can be accessed by any user. However, other areas are private sectors which are paid for and controlled by the individual user. These par- SECOND LIFE, AN ONLINE WORLD OF AVATARS, is seeing an increase of universities who use the program as a classroom. STATESMAN illustration eels of property, called islands, can be used for any purpose, he said. In the case of Wiley and his class of graduate students, they purchased a piece of real-estate for a couple thousand dollars on which they built a movie screen opposite a group of floating couches. Wiley, who controlled access to the island, allowed only those enrolled in his class to enter and take their seats as they would a normal classroom. Then, through chatting, Wiley's avatar would stand in front of his student's avatars and teach the class similarly to a conventional classroom. "The instruction and conversations were all done by chat," Wiley said. "At that time they didn't have audio (for Second Life)." Cl See REALITY, page 3 Learning to do, doing to learn Features Students perform' irf-•''-vvts^i&sr^. "Madwoman of Chaillot." - r /. . Page 6 Sports OSU's football team continues to prepare for the season and the Blue and White game this weekend. Page 8 .->. BLUE A N D YELLOW JACKETS SWARMED CAMPUS Thursday due to a statewide Future Farmers of America conference hosted by Utah State. Above, high school students from Emery relax in The Hub, CAMERON PETERSON photo *.•<• USU singers perform with Beatles cover band Weather High: 54" Low: 35° Skies: Partly cloudy. Don Quayle, USU alumnus and first president of National Public Radio, is coming to USU Friday, April 17, to help celebrate Fusion HD3's first anniversary. A small celebration will be held outside Fusion HD3 studio (TSC 3rd floor) at 1 p.m. Quayle will give a formal presentation at the David B. Haight Alumni Center at 2 p.m. Archives and breaking news always ready for you at www.utahstatesman.com BySETH BRACKEN staff writer Utah State choral groups presented a concert featuring songs accompanied by a piano, bongo drums and a Beatles cover band Wednesday night. The concert was an eclectic mix that combined the charm of Shakespeare with the heritage of American folk songs, the liveliness of SwedishAmerican jazz and the rock n' roll energy of the Beatles. The cover band, called Get Back, performed with the Utah State chorus four years ago in an all Beatles highlight concert, but Wednesday there was a fusion of music from a variety of styles. The transitions were difficult to make at times from one selection to the next, said Tyler Putnam, guitarist and singer for Get Back. The choral director, Cory Evans, helped to keep the concert flowing while maintaining the integrity and the weight of the more serious pieces. However, he also said the transitions were very difficult to manage. "It s like getting on the freeway from a school zone," Evans said. Get Back performed six selections without the choir and five with the choir. The MEMBERS OF GET BACK, A LOCAL BEATLES COVER BAND, perform with USU's choral groups Wednesday in the Performance Hall. PETE P. SMITHSUTH photo director participated in playing the tambourine along with the choir and the band. Evans also did his own bit of dancing along with the music. Putnam said, "When the choir is behind us, it feels large and powerful. Its a lot of fun." Several soloists performed. Keith Kenley performed the solo for the infamous Beatles song "Hey Jude" and the crowd got involved, clapping and singing along during the chorus. There were few pauses, even for applause, and there was no intermission. However, the concert featured several ballads, guitar solos and upbeat songs and it was the variety that made the concert different from others and kept the audience's attention. Several of the pieces had religious overtones and were sung in Latin. The choir and band gave solid, polished performances. There are still choir performances this semester, one April 22 of the women's choir and a full orchestra performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony April 25. Tickets are available through Utah State Box Office. -seth.bracken@aggiemail,usu. edu |