DIVISION OF CONTINUOUS EDUCATION AND OUTREACH
Is proud to announce its
FIRST ANNUAL SECOND LIFE
COMPETITION
“INNOVATIONS IN LEARNING”
DCEO invites Rutgers students to enter this competition; entries are limited to 20 teams (“teams” may consist of one, two or three persons)
THE CHALLENGE
Teams will be given a development plot on the Rutgers Second Life Island. The task for each team will be to develop an innovative learning simulation on that plot. The learning simulation can be drawn from a wide array of disciplines, from the arts, sciences, or professions, or designed to enhance certain skills, such as team building, understanding thermal pressure, foreign language competency, etc. The goal is to encourage entries of sufficient quality that the simulations will be used at Rutgers in innovative instruction and learning instances.
WHO CAN ENTER
Any Rutgers student, currently matriculating at Rutgers on any of the three main campuses or either of the two off-campus learning sites (or other distributed sites), may enter this competition. Students must be residents of New Jersey and have been registered for at least six credits during the Spring 2008 Semester.
RULES
Number of Teams: The first 20 teams that DCEO can certify by return e-mail will be selected on a first come basis. Upon acceptance of the team application, contestants will be notified of more precise information associated with their participation. Should any team selected withdraw prior to the start of competition, the next available and willing team will be selected as a replacement. Once competition begins, team replacements will not be allowed.
Process: Each team shall use the Second Life environment to build its learning simulation. Teams are encouraged to develop their own buildings, equipment, white boards, or whatever props might be necessary for the development and execution of the learning simulation.
Allowable Resources: To jump start prop development, each team will be provided with 500 Linden Dollars. Teams are also free to earn additional dollars within the Second Life economy.
LENGTH OF TIME FOR DEVELOPMENT and COMPETITION PHASES
The competition will Commence May 28, 2008 and Conclude July 31, 2008. During this time, teams shall develop their learning simulations in their competition area. All development sites will be locked as of 11:59PM on July 31.
Teams will have the month of August in which to prepare a presentation of their simulations for judging purposes. Judging will occur during the second week of September, 2008. Contestants not able to be present for the judging may submit a digital video in lieu of a live presentation.
COMPETITION SUBMISSION
All teams will be notified of judging dates. Teams will be provided at least one alternative in the event of scheduling conflicts. Teams may be represented at the judging by a single member. Contestants not able to be present for the judging may submit a digital video in lieu of a live presentation.
Each team shall prepare explanatory materials as each determines is necessary for use by judges. Such material must be submitted to the Office of the Vice President for Continuous Education, Old Queens, 83 Somerset Street, New Brunswick, NJ, no later than noon, August 29, 2008.
JUDGING
Formal presentations will be made to a panel of judges consisting of Rutgers faculty, staff, and members of the general community during August and the presentation period in September, 2008.
The presentations will be open to the general public and will be filmed and integrated into a video documentary describing the competition process, the individual teams, and other aspects of the challenge. The determination of the judges shall be deemed final.
JUDGING CRITERIA
Entries will be judged on
*
Creativity – the more creative, the better
*
Originality – the more original the work, the higher the score
*
Difficulty of the Content Served by the Learning Simulation
*
Quality of the Final Presentation
*
Judged possibility of actual use in a learning situation
*
Net Linden Dollars Remaining From Original Allocation
*
Average Linden Dollars earned per team member (to adjust for teams of varying sizes)
PRIZES
Grand Prize: Each member of the winning team will receive a new Apple Macbook Pro.
Second prize: Each member of the team finishing second will receive his/her choice of an 80Gig iPod Classic or an iPhone (iPod telephone subscription is the responsibility of the winner)
Third prize: Each member of the team finishing third will receive an iPod Nano.
RESTRICTIONS AND OTHER CONDITIONS AND QUALIFICATIONS
Simulations must be original and the work of the team members. Simulations submitted may not have been previously published or otherwise developed for formal or informal use. Avatars and simulations must adhere to commonly accepted standards of good taste in a university instructional setting, with a sense of tolerance and mutual respect. Violation of this criterion will result in disqualification.
The Division may cancel or suspend the competition should an insufficient number of competitive teams sign up by the registration deadline. A minimum number of viable and competitive ten teams must be entered in the competition.
All work submitted will remain the intellectual property of the contestants, However, by agreeing to participate in the competition, competitors agree to grant to Rutgers University an unlimited license to use the simulation in educational and training instances as determined by the University.
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Event Registration
Register in DCEO's first annual competition: Innovations In Learning.
(Must be a Rutgers faculty/staff/student and has a registered account)
