Texas State Technical College graduates the first student from Second Life

Graduation season might be winding down, but there’s one graduation ceremony that shouldn’t go unnoticed. Texas State Technical College’s virtual college (vTSTC) in Second Life had their first known student graduate from a certificate program taken entirely in a virtual environment. Julie Shannan graduated with a certificate in digital media.

What’s the big deal? It’s a major milestone for education to cross the chasm, to finally make a break for the new digital frontier. According to vTSTC, there was pomp and circumstance of the graduation held on their campus in Second Life, complete with processional, pledge of allegiance, national anthem, and conferring of degrees. They spared no details from the commencement environment from the regalia and hoods for faculty and staff, to custom scripting for the traditional tassel change and cap toss. Representatives from Linden Lab, the company that developed the Second Life platform joined other attendees of this historic event including faculty, staff and developers of vTSTC throughout the TSTC System, the TSTC West Texas President, TSTC System strategic initiatives staff, and current students.

Julie Shannan, who has a bachelor of arts in biology from the University of Texas at Austin, now also holds the distinction of being the first graduate of the vTSTC digital media design program as well as the first student to take an entire college curriculum within the virtual world of Second Life.

Chris Gibson, associate vice president of Educational Technology, stated “This event represents the validity of virtual world education as a real method for educational delivery.” I conquer!

For more info: Visit the TSTC website.

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