Pellissippi State constructing local Civil War mansion on Second Life virtual island

Like Ben Stiller’s security guard character in the 2006 movie “Night at the Museum,” you may soon find yourself all alone in the night—not in a cursed museum but in the darkened hallway of Bleak House. Bleak House is the Civil War mansion on Kingston Pike where Confederate sharpshooters took aim at Union troops during the Battle of Fort Sanders in 1863.

In this scenario, though, get spooked and you can change the dark to daylight with a click of the mouse.

Pellissippi State is currently reconstructing Bleak House—but not with brick and mortar and stones.

The historic site is being recreated online, in the “virtual” world of Second Life, by a virtual builder. The builder’s Second Life persona, or “avatar,” is Infiniti Mirihi.

Infiniti’s work is being overseen by SL avatar Aleister Memotech, who in real life is David Brown, an associate professor of Computer Science and Information Technology at Pellissippi State.

Launched in 2003, SL is a 3-D virtual world whose “residents” create their own, well, second life: they socialize and network, they buy real estate, they build….

The virtual Bleak House—one of a growing number of developments on Pellissippi State’s Second Life “island”—is meant to help expose students to Civil War history as they discuss this year’s Common Academic Experience reading choice, “Sharpshooter,” by David Madden.

The story of a young Confederate sharpshooter involved in the gun battle at Bleak House, the novel is being read by most entering students to encourage discussion.

SL avatar Infiniti, operating from her real residence in Massachusetts, is constructing a virtual replica of Bleak House with the help of photographs David Brown and Ed Francisco, Pellissippi State English professor and writer-in-residence, made of the mansion.

Through the Second Life portal, visitors will soon be able to tour the virtual Bleak House mansion, seeing for themselves where the real-life Confederate sharpshooters aimed their rifles through the tiny tower window, hitting and mortally wounding Union general William Sanders.

“Second Life is the next ‘Web’ technology,” Brown said. “Something like this will become the next ‘Web.’ The Web has been two-dimensional. This migration to virtual worlds is moving us into three dimensions.”

Thanks to the support of Allen Edwards, Pellissippi State president, and the hands-on involvement of a team composed of faculty members Brown, Ron Bellamy, Donn King and Greg Walters and staff member Linda Randolph, the college is developing two virtual islands.

One is the permanent home of the campus, complete with treetop offices created by the team for President Edwards. Part of the island is reserved for temporary buildings, and that’s where Bleak House and a Civil War battlefield are being constructed. The other, less developed island is being used to evaluate a future gaming concentration, and that island will constantly change.

“I found a vibrant community exploring Second Life for its potential as an educational tool,” said Donn King. “At that time, there were reportedly over 50 colleges and universities engaged in this quest. Now some sources say over 400 such institutions are in Second Life to some degree.”

Harvard University recently taught a law class on the site. The military and Homeland Security have reportedly used simulations on Second Life for training. Fire departments use a virtual town in Second Life to prepare their employees for real-world response.

“They’ll create a wreck,” Brown said, “and evaluate which way is the best way to get to it.”

Meanwhile, the popularity and uses of SL just continue to grow.

“For perspective, in April 2006 there were only 140,000 users worldwide,” said King. “By October 2006, that number hit one million, and then two million in December, exploding to the current level of over nine million.”

Anyone can log onto Second Life. Simply go to www.secondlife.com, set up an account and download the software. You’ll then be able to create your own avatar.

To visit Pellissippi State’s Second Life community, search for “WindingRiver Campus.”

For more information about the educational uses of Second Life, call Donn King at 694-6698 or visit his related Web site: www.pstcc.edu/facstaff/dking/sl/.