Virtual campus could aid in emergency

eSchool News has an article up today about a New Orleans college setting up a virtual campus:

Virtual campus could aid in emergency

The University of New Orleans plans to use the virtual campus for classes this fall, and also will put the campus into use in the event of another regional disaster.

“UNO is among a growing number of schools to buy “islands,” or virtual campuses, in Second Life (see ‘Second Life’ develops education following). But the school has a practical plan for its presence in the online world: If the New Orleans region should be struck by another monster storm that forces students, teachers, and administrators to scatter widely for an indefinite period, Second Life will allow instructors to set up online classrooms overnight, Johnson said–keeping school functions from shutting down, as they did after Hurricane Katrina, and helping the university hold on to its students.”