University of Houston Receives $55k+ in Grants for Work in Second Life

The University of Houston department of health and human performance has received over $55,000 in grants from the UH Faculty Development Initiative Program (FDIP) and the Network Culture Project of the University of Southern California-Annenberg School for Communication to move various classes and research into Second Life. Department Chair Charles Layne received $30,000 from the FDIP to research whether students using Second Life for academic purposes receive better grades than those who do not; the Texas Obesity Research Center, sponsored by USC, will be using Second Life to promote healthy diets; and Brian McFarlin, assistant professor of health and human performance, received $25,000 from the FDIP to move his class on Public Health Issues in Physical Activity and Obesity into Second Life.

"For example, in discussions on how obesity impacts the heart, I can make a 3-D model of a healthy heart and a diseased heart and allow the students to view the inside of the left ventricle to demonstrate how blood flow is altered by disease," McFarlin said. "I want to be mindful of what students want. It's about them and trying to give them a better learning experience."