Professors add life to courses through Second Life.

This post comes from the Demoines Register. He's a stud with a ponytail, his name is Gut, and he's your professor.

At least that's who he is online. In real life, he's a bald white guy named Brian Mennecke whose wife won't let him grow a ponytail.

This summer, he will hold discussion sessions for Iowa State University students studying e-commerce led by his beefier online self (Gut), a cartoon character who can fly. The classes will be held in Second Life.

Second Life is a 3-D, online world that is increasingly attracting the attention of professors nationally and in Iowa who are using the virtual landscape to hold classes, create simulations of what they are studying, and hold online experiments. Professors at ISU, the University of Iowa, and the University of Northern Iowa are all exploring ways to incorporate the game into classes this summer and in the fall semester. Click here to read the rest of this article.