Second Life Education: Exploring the potential for real learning in a virtual world Clare Atkins Sunset in Bombyx

Challenges of IT Education in the 21st century: skills of critical appraisal and creative problem solving making the system fit the students not the reverse Challenges of talking about Second Life: being taken seriously avoiding the cliches how much do you know already Challenges of this presentation: where to start, where to stop, too much! what to focus on where’s the research who is doing the presenting here Clare Atkins OR……

Challenges of IT Education in the 21st century: skills of critical appraisal and creative problem solving making the system fit the students not the reverse

Challenges of talking about Second Life: being taken seriously avoiding the cliches how much do you know already

Challenges of this presentation: where to start, where to stop, too much! what to focus on where’s the research

who is doing the presenting here

Clare Atkins OR……

Welcome to my world Arwenna Stardust and we mustn’t forget

Arwenna Stardust

NZ Education in a Virtual World eFest presentation 2007 Dr Clare Atkins and Aaron Griffiths Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology Software Educational Resources Limited Arwenna Stardust Isa Goodman

What is Second Life? A 3D real-time fully interactive online digital world, imagined created and owned by its residents – a MUVE Not really a ‘game’ No rules (only principles of behaviour), no specific purpose Can create games within in it, e.g. RPGs, Chess, Slingo An extremely rich virtual environment, highly engaging roleplay opportunities integrated eco-systems, encourages/facilitates a high degree of collaborative action Being taken seriously by businesses, education institutes and entertainment sources 2mins 33secs Currently almost 8m people have visited, almost 1.8m visited in last 60 days and around 35,000 are online at any one time.

A 3D real-time fully interactive online digital world, imagined created and owned by its residents – a MUVE

Not really a ‘game’

No rules (only principles of behaviour), no specific purpose

Can create games within in it, e.g. RPGs, Chess, Slingo

An extremely rich virtual environment,

highly engaging roleplay opportunities

integrated eco-systems,

encourages/facilitates a high degree of collaborative action

Being taken seriously by businesses, education institutes and entertainment sources 2mins 33secs

Currently almost 8m people have visited, almost 1.8m visited in last 60 days and around 35,000 are online at any one time.

The good, the bad and the ugly, …

Real-time weather visualisation, tsunami and hurricane simulations

Events, lectures and interactive life-size models

Historical role playing

Powerful experiential learning

Ready for a visit? Arwenna would like to show us around a few interesting places! She is waiting for us in the NMIT Garden of Learning on EduIsland Arwenna and Aidan at NMIT http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eduisland/94/211/23 here

Arwenna would like to show us around a few interesting places!

She is waiting for us in the NMIT Garden of Learning on EduIsland

Dipping NMIT toes into virtual water End 2006 – Rented space on EduIsland for NMIT for 1 year 2007 Sem 1 – Informal trial with final year IT students 2007 Sem 2 – e-capability project using Moodle, Sloodle and Second Life 2007 June – Decision to buy Koru Island – ready Sem 1 2008

End 2006 – Rented space on EduIsland for NMIT for 1 year

2007 Sem 1 – Informal trial with final year IT students

2007 Sem 2 – e-capability project using Moodle, Sloodle and Second Life

2007 June – Decision to buy Koru Island – ready Sem 1 2008

Why? What it offers students Opportunities to learn through discovery,through real-time role play collaborate with others emotional engagement with learning experience a sense of community have fun and learn without recognising the learning experience the impossible …………… ..? SYD300 students in the NMIT gazebo

What it offers students

Opportunities to

learn through discovery,through real-time role play

collaborate with others

emotional engagement with learning

experience a sense of community

have fun and learn without recognising the learning

experience the impossible

…………… ..?

Why? What it offers staff as Educators Ability to provide ‘engaging’ activities A natural extension to existing eLearning activities Aids to explain and explore difficult abstract concepts Ability to bring distance learners into a class community Easy route to step down from the “sage on a stage” role SYD300 students in the NMIT garden

What it offers staff as Educators

Ability to provide ‘engaging’ activities

A natural extension to existing eLearning activities

Aids to explain and explore difficult abstract concepts

Ability to bring distance learners into a class community

Easy route to step down from the “sage on a stage” role

Why? What it offers Staff as Academics/Researchers Membership of a global community (in a very real sense!) Participation in international debates and conferences Opportunities to talk to/ask advice from significant others Collaboration for practice and research Opportunities to publish internationally An international social network Kiwi Educators meeting June 2007

What it offers Staff as Academics/Researchers

Membership of a global community (in a very real sense!)

Participation in international debates and conferences

Opportunities to talk to/ask advice from significant others

Collaboration for practice and research

Opportunities to publish internationally

An international social network

What’s next? NMIT Koru Island Otago - sustainability TOPNZ Creation of a NZ community – an archipelago of NZ Islands – cooperating, collaborating, sharing resources and expertise That is my vision, and Arwenna’s

NMIT Koru Island

Otago - sustainability

TOPNZ

Creation of a NZ community

– an archipelago of NZ Islands –

cooperating, collaborating, sharing resources and expertise

That is my vision, and Arwenna’s

What is dawning? We have no idea! But we think it might re-shape our world in ways we can’t yet imagine!

We have no idea!

But we think it might re-shape our world in ways we can’t yet imagine!

Please visit Second Life Interest Group www.nmit.ac.nz/research/2ndLife NZ Education in a Virtual World (blog) http://eduforge.org/projects/slcampusnz/ And you are always welcome to email Clare or IM Arwenna!

Second Life Interest Group

www.nmit.ac.nz/research/2ndLife

NZ Education in a Virtual World (blog)

http://eduforge.org/projects/slcampusnz/

And you are always welcome to email Clare

or IM Arwenna!