the NEREUS classroom in Second Life

Finally, the notion of “interdisciplinary” learning has taken on new meaning in light of the capabilities for rapid, virtual collaboration among faculty. In a pilot, undergraduate students enrolled in a design course taught by Riley Triggs on the UT-Austin campus have designed and built NEREUS, Nautical Environment for Research, Exploration, and Understanding of the Sea (a virtual oceanography research simulation). NEREUS is a virtual underwater “classroom” space representing the Gulf of Mexico for both classroom and online students who will be enrolled in a future semester at UT’s Marine Science Institute (MSI) in Port Aransas. The MSI students will learn about oceanography and how to conduct research and collect and analyze data. These kinds of completely new and enriched learning experiences, at dramatically reduced costs, are possible only because of the instructors’ bold and imaginative foray into virtual worlds.
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