Virtual, immersive, translational, applied learning: The VITAL project

Abstract

The VITAL Project is an interdisciplinary project that uses teams of students from multiple courses in a single semester to investigate a healthrelated topic, propose programs or therapies to ameliorate the health issue and deliver a presentation at a virtual three-day health conference held in Second Life. The purpose of VITAL is to provide opportunities for the students to gain a better understanding of the multifactorial nature of many public and individual health issues, as well as exposing them to technologies that enable them to virtually collaborate. The teams are composed of students from each of the four courses participating in VITAL in a given semester so that the content area of each course is represented on a given team. All team activities, such as meetings and presentation practice, are conducted on the department’s island in Second Life.