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TELRport

Terms of Student Participation

(Download this document in Word format.)

Regarding terms of participation:

  1. Terms of participation (see below) is a template to acquire informed consent from students engaged in Second Life (SL) projects for classroom purposes. Please have each student participating in your SL presence complete this form.
  2. If you are conducting research in SL, acquire appropriate human subjects approval from ORRP (http://orrp.osu.edu).
  3. Second Life must not be a required component of any mandatory course. If SL is required for your course, please inform your students of the requirement prior to the start of the quarter to allow those not wishing to participate enough time to find an alternate course.
  4. If SL is not a required component for your course, provide alternate activities for those not wishing to participate.

Sample Informed Consent Form

By signing below, you acknowledge and agree to the terms of participation on the TELRport Island in Second Life, a virtual world that will be used for class activity in [Course Name] taught by [Faculty Name] [Quarter]. Participating or choosing not to participate in assignments on TELRport Island will in no way affect your grade in the course. However, to participate in TELRport assignments, you must agree to the terms below. [Alternative for those whose SL presence is a condition for the course: If after reading this document you do not wish to use Second Life, please enroll in a different course.]

Conduct

On TELRport Island, you must:

  1. Abide by Ohio State University guidelines, policies, and codes of conduct. This includes obtaining permission to use Ohio State logos and imagery, as well as other copyrighted images, music, videos, and creations. For more information, see: http://cio.osu.edu/policies/legality.html.
  2. Abide by Second Life (Linden Lab) policies, regulations, and standards. You must be at least 18 years old to participate.
  3. Respect others and use general etiquette rules.
  4. Ask for an owner's permission to use his or her area.
  5. Acquire permission when archiving another's avatar and property.
  6. Clothe your avatar in a manner that is reasonable and fitting for scholarly activities. Nudity is not tolerated.
  7. Respect the weapon-free zone. All weapons are strictly forbidden; therefore, do not bring or "rez" weapons.
  8. Protect your avatar. You are responsible for your avatar and may not share it. Do not permit someone or something you don’t know to animate your avatar. 

Risks

  1. You understand that in Second Life you may be exposed to content or interactions that you may find offensive, indecent, or objectionable and that, in this respect, you use Second Life at your own risk.
  2. You agree that you will not share your own or others’ personally identifiable information on TELRport Island, including real name, social security numbers, or home addresses.
  3. You understand that course-related artifacts may be visible to visitors to TELRport Island. These artifacts exclude personally identifiable grades, but may include content you create and evaluative comments by instructors and peers.

Signed:

Name (Print): ____________________                                          
Signature: ____________________                                          
Date: ____________________ 

Your feedback on the Second Life instructional experience and TELRport Island is welcome and invaluable. Please contact [instructor name] with concerns, questions, or comments.