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= = =** Welcome to the Higher SLeducation wiki! **=

** Keep checking back! I'm constantly trying to add new material to the wiki. **
Currently, I have a blog of my exploits and experiences in-world, a reading journal, and breakdowns of articles I come across (qualitative, quantitative, news)--this part's still being built. There's also a section for interesting blogs, an SL glossary and an in-world "travel itinerary."

**So what got me interested in this topic?**
Actually, I've been involved with online learning for quite some time now. Back in 1998, I discovered a community called AncientSites (now AncientWorlds) through an article in Archeology Today. Of course, I fell in love with the community as much as I did the "virtual classrooms," mainly utilizing threaded discussion boards (with some chat usage). In 2005, upon entering a Ph. D. program for Instructional Design at the University of South Alabama, I was awarded an assistantship in the Online Learning Lab. Our basic goal is to assist educators in using online technology and support software to better serve their students. Mainly we use eCollege for our distance education, however, we've been interested in expanding. Recently, Dr. Dempsey (my committee chair) came to me with a proposition--he wanted to get involved in doing educational research through Second Life and thought it would be a good fit for me (I have a background in Theatrical Design and Creative Writing). So, on June 12th, 2008, my virtual me (Aevalle Galicia) was born. How many possibilities have just opened? As the song says, "the rest is still unwritten." It will certainly be fun finding out.