QUEST Vol. 17, No. 2

When Julia Greenstine was working on her master’s degree at Appalachian State University, she would routinely travel across campus, go to the library and hang out in common areas to chat with other students. But she’d do it without ever leaving home.

In fact, “heading to class” meant Greenstine, 41, would log in to a unique 3-D world called the Applied Education Technology Zone (nicknamed “the Zone”) where she appeared as an avatar — a digital representation of herself.