University of Southern Queensland is first Australian University presence
January 29, 2007
I don’t think the electrons had finished spinning when I received comments / emails from Sean FitzGerald and Decka Mah that there was indeed an Australian University that had an SL presence.
And what a presence!
The University of Southern Queensland in conjunction with the Queensland Government have an entire island in-world at SL.
Terra Incognita is a dynamic and intriguing mix of colour, sound and areas aimed at exploring online learning environments within the SL world. It is worth a look because it is currently setting the standard for showcasing Australian tertiary education in this new medium.
One of the striking features is the fact that the developer team, led by Decka Mah (aka in RL as Lindy McKeown) have gone for a design theme that does not mirror the RL USQ. This is something that the USA universities currently in SL seem to have done - Ohio Uni for example.
What will be intriguing to see over the coming year is how USQ makes use of this experience to enhance learning for it’s students and the teaching experience for it’s lecturers and tutors.
On another level the fact that the Queensland Government have backed this project examples the ideal of the “Clever Nation” ideal espoused some years ago.
A visit to Terra Incognita is well worth the effort. You won’t find it by doing a search in SL, as I found out… 
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[...] SLOZ: Australia’s Second Life News Source reports that the University of Southern Queensland in conjunction with the Queensland Government now have an island in Second Life. [...]
*coughs* the University of Sydney has had a presence in Second Life for a year now.
*double cough* and AFTRS who have had an Island for nearly a year! Second Life Univs With Islands. Get your facts right young SlOZ’ers
*triple cough* - AFTRS was covered here on Sloz last month
[...] University of Southern Queensland es la primera universidad australiana en Second Life -vía [...]
Angela - we’re more than happy to correct the post and also profile the Uni of Sydney presence if you could provide a SLURL or any other info?
[...] Telstra are creating islands there, joining the Australian Film, Television and Radio School and Terra Incognita, an island from a PhD student the University of Southern [...]
Hello,
I’ve been looking for the Terra Incognita island for quite some time now, but to no avail… The search yields it as a result under “places” but I fail to then track it down when I have teleported to the place… any help?
[...] Terra Incognita - Education Faculty, University of Southern Queensland students in Second Life - see: http://snipurl.com/1bsyk (Read more here on SLOZ) [...]
[...] to good places for educators and students. There have been educational areas set aside like Terra Incognita in Second Life. The following interview report gives an overview of what happens in the free, [...]
UM better add Victoria University to your growing list.
…plus of course La Trobe Uuniversity’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
[...] Lindy McKeown [...]
[...] RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Terra Incognita is a veteran education presence in Second Life that we’ve covered previously. It’s an area that next week will be hosting the launch of a new service by EDNA (Education [...]
[...] was wandering around Terra Incognita, the University of Southern Queensland’s [...]
Education at The University Of Queensland is the best thing ever happen to me. Please do not think twice to come to Ausralia and learn in one of the best Universitys in the world.