London School of Journalism to offer lectures in Second Life

The London School of Journalism has launched a college in Second Life to offer free lectures on journalism to the virtual world.

From this weekend, the National Union of Journalists approved school will be opening its virtual doors for members of the Second Life community to attend lectures and Q&A sessions with journalism professionals.

"We've already had an enormous response on Second Life, with between 500 and 1,000 people visiting our area each day," LSJ director Michael Winckworth told Journalism.co.uk.

"I know of no-one else on Second Life offering open lectures - perhaps we'll find out why on Saturday."

In the real world the LSJ offers a mix of traditional test-based classroom and online study.

Winckworth said the school was looking beyond theses simple tutoring methods to explore the possibilities Second Life could offer students.

"What Second Life can add is that students can see each others' avatar faces, and we can combine sound and text," he added.

"We think it will give a greater sense of belonging to a group, and so the SL College will be an addition to the services we already provide."

The college is planning to offer a free lecture every three or four weeks focusing on general issues in the industry for the next six months.

The first lecture will cover the world of freelance journalism.

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