The purpose of the conference is to cultivate an international virtual learning community of students and educators. For the morning sessions, the primary audience will be faculty and support staff interested in Second Life as a learning tool. For the afternoon sessions, the primary audience will be undergraduate students interested in Second Life and virtual worlds. We hope that you can join us on June 17th for the first annual Undergraduate Conference hosted by the University of Texas System.

Undergraduate Conference SLURL
Overflow SLURL
Live video feed (opens in Quicktime)

All times are CDT.

Panelists:
Dr. David J. Robinson, Vice-Chairman, Department of Emergency Medicine Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine University of Texas Medical School at Houston

Tracy Villareal, Professor of Marine Science Institute and Dept. of Marine Science at The University of Texas at Austin

Carmen Fies, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at The University of Texas at San Antonio, in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)

John Dunn, M.F.A., Instructor, Department of Art, University of Texas at El Paso

Dr. Leticia De Leon, Assistant Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, at the University of Texas-Pan American

Panelists:
UT Arlington College of Nursing student Vickey Thompson.

UT Brownsville Biological Science student Mario Marquez

UT Austin Design student Annie Samuelson

UT Austin Design student Jose Maria Longoria, III

Panelists:
Keiko Takamura is a virtual live musician in Second Life. Her endeavors have landed her a spot on MTV News, MTV’s True Life, and a Second Life banner ad. In real life, she is the frontwoman of Keiko Takamura and the Shebangs, a San Francisco-based indie-pop band.

Autumn Beaver is a virtual architect building in the online platforms, such as Second Life. Autumn has over 4 years building experience building in virtual worlds and nearly 10 years experience in graphic design and imaging. She is currently employed by several prominent real world faculty and companies, spending anywhere from 30 to 60 or more hours in world building.

Jessica Mullen, M.F.A., VLCI program coordinator

Handan Vicdan, Ph.D. Candidate in Marketing, University of Texas-Pan American

Brett Strand, JD – Cornell Smith & Mierl, LLP

Posters:

• “You Are What You Eat” Food Sustainability Project by University of Texas Arlington
• The SL UTPA Library: Integrating a Virtual Space with Real Life by University of Texas Pan American
• Phases of the Moon by University of Texas Austin
• First Programming Course Entirely in SecondLife.com by Dallas County Community College
• Across Campus and Across Disciplines: A UT Austin Learning Environment Constructed by Design Undergraduates for use by Marine Science Undergraduates by University of Texas Austin
• Future Teachers Deliver Lessons in a Second Life Elementary School by University of Texas-Pan American
• Future Teachers in a Second Life Elementary School—Mixed Reviews by University of Texas-Pan American
• MD Anderson Cancer Center Nursing Island by MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Using a Second Life Exhibition Gallery as a Student Learning & Collaboration Tool by UT El Paso
• UTSA National Storytelling Day Role Play Exhibition by UT San Antonio
• UTSA Campus Mini-Model by UT San Antonio
• Corrections Systems and Practices Goes Second Life by UT Pan American
• First timers: Lessons learned from a rookie attempt at teaching presentation skills to upper-level students in Second Life and challenges faced in institutional implementation by UT Brownsville

Presenter:
Niall King (Linden), Recruiting Field Marshall at Linden Lab – Seattle

Visit the Scorpion Dance Hall and dance the night away enjoying a great time with your peers and professors. You can also visit the UTB Amuseument park for a fun game of bumper cars or a ride on the merry-go-round taking in the beautiful view of the Gulf of Mexico (no oil here). Wander down to the beach and enjoy a ride on your own Jet Ski. It is yours to keep and take home.

For nature lovers, visit Turtle Beach to watch the hatchlings leave the next and head out for their life adventure in the Gulf. Click on the sign to learn about the efforts Turtle Inc. have been making to keep these populations of turtles healthy and safe.

Art lovers may want to visit for a sneak preview of Continental Divide, a photography exhibit that documents the wildlife on the Mexican American Border. The border wall puts these animals at risk, cutting off their access to the Rio Grande River, often their only source of water.

Enjoy your stay and please come back again.

Betz Darwinian, Profe Camino, Machuk Python (Betsy Price, Jeff Wilson, and Luis Machuca)