The University of Kansas is running a class in Second Life called "New Media and Cyber Culture." (Yes, apparently they have computers in Kansas.) The course is designed to help students understand the theory and production of films in Virtual Worlds. Which means the course discusses Machinima from the perspective of a traditional film course. Seeing an academic institution taking Machinima seriously as an art form is certainly a big move for the positive direction for the whole Machinima development scene.
One of the more interesting features is that the office hours are held in Second Life. I know many teachers who would love to do their office hours on Second Life from the comfort of their own homes. While this may seem like an obvious fit for a course that utilizes a place like Second Life, I believe it might be too big of a step for many Universities to understand. Leading to administration believing that the teacher did not show up for their required office hours.
1. I'm not so sure that universities wouldn't support lecturers setting up their offices in Second Life:
Universities register for virtual future - http://snipurl.com/19m7z
Posted at 10:36AM on Feb 8th 2007 by Sean McDunnough