Apologies for my misleading last post, which I posted too late, the island had been closed to the public again. And rightly so, as MACS lecturer pal explained, there was too much worry the student work might be damaged before she managed to mark it.
So, watch this space for news on “Opening Times”. (I sound like a supermarket …)
For anyone interested in having a look round the student work on the island, it is still open:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/HeriotWatt%20University/94/139/28/
During the last interviews that I conducted this week, I was told that the students have cleaned up the island quite a lot, and when I had a walk around the other day, there were new objects while others had been polished off since the Oscar party (with the odd mishap as well).
Now that the assignments were handed in on Friday and the term has come to a close, (and the first talk has been delivered) it is time to step back and look at what has been happening throughout the module, which I observed.
I was very lucky to be able to get to this project without any restrictions. Nothing to hold me back and nothing to have to focus on. Yes, I had my agenda and interests (mainly identity issues) but mostly, I went to this with a completely open mind and observed those labs with a great deal of objectivity.
Throughout the term and after observations and questionnaires it became clear that my focus had to develop/shift towards groupwork and questions of identity (see last post). I am still conducting interviews (one today, two tomorrow, and hopefully a few more) and will then start on the data analysis.
Of course, I am lucky, I only have to analyse the data while my lecturer pal has to mark the assignments. (ouch! so much work) Then again I am teaching my own module next term, so we shall see how much time I’ll have to get on with the Second Life project.
If anyone who reads this blog (calls out into the void 
) has anything to recommend on “groupwork and identity”, do let me know. I know … I am ever hopeful.
I’ve only been able to tip into the wealth that is the interviews I have so far (more to come next week), the questionnaires and the learning logs that are part of the assignment, but I have to ay, this is truly fascinating.
Groupwork in Second Life – of the kind that the module expected – has some unexpected facets that need to be explored further.
Lecturer pal and I are going to do a talk tomorrow: “How do I make my rubber duck spin? Supporting learning and creativity in Second Life” (while i was crazy enough to do a second talk, on the future generation of learners) and we’ll only be scratching at the surface, but … watch this space.
In the meantime, join me in the meditation-ferris-wheel of one of the students.
Just found this blog post by trying to remember what title my conference talk for the 8th Durham UK Blackboard Users Conference had. I can be scatterbrained, oh yes.
I am delighted to read that my talk was humorous.
However, the 34 hours online aren’t quite right, it has to be more specific, it’s only for a part of the data sample that it was quite that much, and in fact, for others it was even more, 40+.
Remind me to dig out the specifics if you’re interested. I’ve been investing a lot of time in the (ever ongoing) research review, because I truly and deeply believe that we need to listen and wake up to the needs of the emerging generation.
Filed under: second life, students | Tags: creativity, identity, multimedia design, virtual worlds
It’s true, isn’t it? No matter how much you joke beforehand that things will go wrong with the tech, and no matter how much you consequently prepare for the event beforehand, it actually does go wrong on the day. MACS lecturer pal had prepared laptops, network and all for a big part of last week, but alas, the first 20 minutes were a tad chaotic, because two networks wouldn’t go live – and of course that was the presentation one and the one the tutor had, who was (her avatar nicely dressed up in a lovely evening frock for the “Oscar” ceremony) meant to greet visitors on the island. So, in the beginning we had the room full of students and Real Life visitors (including Head of Department and Head of School) and … well, for the first 20 minutes not much happened, while there were visitors on the island, and hopefully they saw some of the fantastic student work. Sadly, no party hats for our dear visitors, but alas, the tutor was trapped in the Real Life (without network connection)
Read Judy’s account of the event on her blog.
However, after 20 minutes the ball got rolling and the party was officially opened when one of the students cut a red ribbon in front of the SL pyramid right at the teleport base. Several nominations were presented, and in the end the undergraduates “Oscar” and a wee book token prize went to the game parlour and specifically the noughts & crosses and the gun shooting range. Leaving time in the end for the visitors (real life) to have a closer look at SL and what the students had created – which, I have to say it again, is an amazing feat of creativity and scripting skills.
For the postgraduates everything went smoother, because by then the tech-bugs had been ironed out. Once again we had several nominations and the “Oscar” for the postgraduates went to the interactive giant guitar in the sky, which opens up into a dance and disco platform.
I wish I had been able to take snapshots during the party, perhaps someone out there did? That would be brilliant. Also, I believe the island is still open. Do go and have a dance in the underwater disco (hilarious!), a ride through the air on the beautiful dragonflies (note! Their script has a bug at the moment, it seems – no pun intended – and the student is frantically working on ironing that out before final submission on Friday), a wander through gardens and conference centre, rides on the jet propelled boats or do the underwater treasure hunt. Have a go at the coconut shy, which gives you a green balloon as a consolation price if you are as unlucky as us and don’t hit anything, or ride on the waterslides or the dodgoms, and interact with barmen, snowmen, giant stones. Have a go on the magic carpet and discover its tree-trail, or dance on the giant guitar in the sky, and have a cocktail in the Lizard lounge in the cocktail jugs floating above, or test your skills at whack-a-prim, noughts & crosses and the gun range, or let yourself get fired out of the human cannon. Visit the pyramid at the teleport entrance and have a wander around, marvelling at the creativity of those undergraduates and postgraduates students.
I am right now cradling the questionnaires to myself. Some fascinating stuff here, opening up the floor for some follow-up/additional questions. Luckily, some students are happy to do a follow-up interview (yes … of course entice participation with book vouchers) on avatar and identity, and possibly groupwork (but the time is short and the final hand-in date for their assignments (100% groupwork) is on Friday.
Watch this space! Or a paper near you.
I found the following very interesting, the implications of the immersion of players in two worlds, with both intermixing is rather fascinating.
To quote Gary Hayes:
“A mini ARG (Alternate Reality Game) as part of the 8th LAMP residential in Marysville, Victoria Australia. The video shows the mirror build in SL of the old house where we had the workshop, has clues within puzzles that point you to real world locations and real world locations pointing back to Second Life as part of a quest to uncover the truth. Based on a fictional story I wrote about early settlers, an ancient spell book, witches, the war and evacuated school children, the quest moves into the grounds, secret parts of the building, a nearby sculpture garden and ends in a chanting fire ceremony. Other media involved included live mobile phone role playing, walkie talkies, photographs, websites, placed props/objects. Many seen in the video.
We have a wiki that give more insight into the planning of this and others plus we are able to package one or two should another training establishment need something off the shelf so to speak!”
Filed under: group work, second life, students | Tags: creativity, identity, multimedia design, virtual worlds
Today was the last day of the Second Life labs. As expected, not many students came, most of them probably working frantically towards finalising of the assignments. One more week … and it is hand-in time. However, what we were shown today was brilliant, with creative endeavours that had me amazed, because while I consider myself to be rather creative, I would have never had the ideas that some of the students had.
Wait and see … either come to the Second Life (assignment) Party on Monday, or wait to see some of the work revealed here on the blog (and Judy’s blog).
Anyway, there was an interesting case of blended groupwork. The group (Postgraduates) that had always been working together very well and smoothly, had two members in the lab, and the third in a different location, but all three were together in Second Life, finalising, discussing and working on their project. A very impressive process, which appeared so seamless, if I had not known the third group member was not physically in the lab, but “only” virtually, I wouldn’t have realised.
I am hoping to get a wee focus group together to explore the groupwork issues in more detail, but we shall wait and see, what with the students being busy with the assignments, the “bribery” (heh, we’ve all been students once, haven’t we?) of book vouchers and free lunch might not be enticing enough. Cross your fingers! Also for getting enough interviewees for a closer look at identity issues.
Last but not least, the reason why my MACS lecturer pal and I were laughing out loud tonight? One of the students built an underwater disco, and thus my avatar (still clinging onto the green balloon that I was given as a Trostpreis because I had lost out on the Coconut Shy) was dancing in rather silly moves and grooves. It actually made me laugh out loud in Real Life, until my Real Life partner looked on, bemused. When my pal joined the disco, you had both our avatars, both with green balloons, dancing in different styles and both looking incredibly silly.
See Judy’s blog for a snapshot of our adventure.
More laughter ensued, which lasted for quite a while. (Sadly, the server had a hiccup, thus I couldn’t save the snapshot – but check out Judy’s blog). This is definitely up for an Oscar nomination as “funniest”.
So … not only assignment work but also laughter, amazement, and a display of creativity that has me – to use the term again – gobsmacked. I think we are on to something here. 
Tomorrow is another lunchtime seminar, this time on Enriching VLE Courses with Library Content. The lunchtime seminars are open to interested participants from other universities, not just Heriot-Watt.
The librarians Marion Kennedy and Catherine Ure will introduce the Library VLE Toolkit – a resource for VISION instructors. An overview of the Toolkit is given and a practical application of the Toolkit in enhancing the student’s learning experience is demonstrated.
The Toolkit’s aims are outlined and the main content areas described (Library Integration, Resource Discovery and Copyright). The Resource Discovery section highlights the availability of ready-made learning materials for re-use or re-purposing in VISION courses and the Copyright section offers advice and answers to FAQ’s on using third party materials in VISION courses.
A fuller discussion of the Library Integration section explains the benefits of integrating library materials in VISION courses. The library offers a large pool of electronic materials, including 5000+ journals, electronic encyclopaedias and databases, all of which can be integrated to provide content and learning materials. The broad range of library materials is described as is their role in enhancing the learning and teaching experience by:
- providing a large pool of copyright cleared materials
- allowing the creation of dynamic reading lists
- diverting students from Google and encouraging the use of quality resources and search tools.
This is followed by a practical example of using the Toolkit to create a dynamic reading list, with a demonstration of creating links to the following resources from a reading list:
- individual catalogue records for books and journals – enabling students to check the availability of a item, find its location and place a request if its out on loan
- full-text journal articles using persistent URLs – allowing students to open journal-based reading materials in VISION using links which are less transient or liable to change than those dependent on a search session or a publishers location.
Finally, some future developments are discussed touching on the possibilities offered by the introduction of e-books and the Copyright Licensing Agency scanning licence (if signed). Both these initiatives will increase the availability of electronic texts for use in VISION and will offer further possibilities for enriching VISION courses with library content.
I have read about and heard from people who reported about disconcerting or uncomfortable experiences in second Life. Now, I used to think that this was humbug, since it is “only” an avatar, which is being manipulated by one’s mouse. Granted, there is the aspect of immersion – and a rather important one it is – but until I experienced some moments myself, I couldn’t understand.
I have never been griefed (probably because I don’t actually really go anywhere in second Life, mainly stay on the HWU students’ island or look at certain educational places) but I first experienced a moment of real disorientation and discomfort when SL crashed in a strange way and my avatar plunged into the abyss. It just fell and fell and fell, as if plunging into the darkness of the bottomless sea. It was a most uncomfortable sensation for a moemnt, as I followd the avatar’s descend, unable to do anything about it.
So far so good, an interesting experience and easily discarded. Yesterday, however, I went through the island once more to look for possible “Oscar” nominations for the assignment party on Monday. Checking out a waterslide, my avatar stood on a pool … and went into the pool. No problem, I thought, and enjoyed walking around under water, looking at the pretty white tiles – until I realised that I couldn’t get my avatar back out. I was trapped. In a swimming pool, under water.
After a hearty laugh I tried again to get out, but to know avail. Sending a “help” email out, my MACS lecturer pal and tutor gave me a doh! moment by letting me know I could get out by teleporting the avatar back onto the island. Lo and behold, it worked. But before that, I took a couple of screenshots of my “predicament”.
I think the pool should go into the category of “longest lasting”
By the way, I assume you have noticed, I am using the first person to talk about my avatar. My reasoning is (and I have thought about this aspect of identity for quite a while) that it is I who moves the controls. It is I who uses the mouse and I who does the clicks. Thus the avatar is an extension of my arm – and my Self. (and I’m glad to be out of that pool, it got a bit boring …)
