The Kira Virtual Campus is the virtual extension of the original Kira Institute based in the virtual world of Second Life. The campus is located at  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Ulreung/113/95/251.

Virtual worlds offer an unparalleled medium for participants to form communities around shared interests, discuss goals and ideas, develop new initiatives, and exchange rapid feedback or “peer review” of contributions, all in the backdrop of playful social networks. Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the development and use of such non-traditional cyber-based media in the form of wikis, blogs, and virtual worlds.

Second Life, the home of the Virtual Kira Campus, is a virtual world based on the kind of software used in video games, however while game software is relatively canned and rigid, Second Life allows the user to freely modify almost any aspect of the world.  Users enter, choose an “avatar,” and explore a three dimensional world, presenting a completely new and unique type of immersive experience.

Second Life is representative of a major shift in the way that users are interacting with media, from mere consumption to participation- often very playful in nature. It is the very fun loving character of these mediums that serves to foster a type of learning freed from traditional structures based on power and prestige. Professionals, amateurs, teachers, and students freely mingle together in the virtual public sphere.  Learning in this context is fluid and uninhibited, resulting in more creative and efficient collaborations.

The Kira Virtual Campus embraces this “playful” learning model, which is based on sharing and cooperation between participants, unhindered by the barriers posed by traditional hierarchies and the “ownership” of ideas. The contribution of ideas in this context, similar to the open source movement, is based purely on “merit and utility.”  Interactions take place on the level of “peer teaching,” where participants act as both teachers and students, and “peer research” where participants engage in collaborative projects. Learning in this context is entirely self-organized, and while there are no degrees awarded, new degrees of freedom and understanding are achieved.

The Kira Virtual Campus's initiatives are entirely home grown within Second Life; this is a significantly different and more lively approach than the one taken by a number of Universities whom have simply set up virtual displays of real world activities, operating much like a museum with little participatory potential. By growing our projects from the inside we encourages increased participant involvement, commitment to the maintenance and growth of activities, and a sense of community ownership.

The Kira Virtual Campus takes a completely organic approach to growth, much like how a Wiki is organically constructed through the natural contributions of different participants. The Institute provides: the “seed”-the question of “What else is true?” starting from a scientific world view, the fertile ground-the Kira virtual campus where the exploration of this question and collaborations take place, and the nourishment necessary for growth-in the form of academic, administrative, and technical support. There is no preset list of departments, no preset curriculum, and no preset criteria for entrance. While many of our participants are scholars and scientists, our doors are open to all who have the desire to share and learn.

For more information check out our Youtube links

Part I  http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hw2weCbttq8

Part II http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=0NC5ycISRlc