Peter Miller - Teaching in Second Life: more than pretty pictures?

Peter Miller
Biological Sciences
Teaching in Second Life: more than just pretty pictures?

Outline
What is Second Life?
What did we try to do?
Did it work?
What happens next?

Second Life is built from user-generated content (prims)
Architecture
Single prim
Princeton
Urban planning (Unity)
Berkurodam

Mont St Michel

In SL you can build worlds that are imaginary or that no longer exist
HUDs for audience,actors and navigation
Theatron Island

Can we use SL to model the architecture of the cell?
Opening of Skylabs on Nature’s Elucian Omega Island, June 2009
Annu. Rev. Biochem. 2008. 77:583–613

Why? Active learning!

What were we trying to achieve?

Intro: how is information conveyed in SL?
Texturing a prim
Protein rezzing
Database use
Making a presentation

Core skills module; focus on communication and problem-solving
2 h introduction and 5 x 1 h sessions
Introduce students to working in multi-user virtual environments
Context: interaction between host and bacterial cell wall

Cell components
Proteins
Simple image
Multi-prim
Animated texture
Sculpted prim

Peptidoglycan
Prim-based model
Scratch
Image

Student workspaces and cell wall model with proteins

What did we learn?
Students do not know about SL
Students will edit their appearance
Need simple, consistent navigation
Plan carefully (include groupwork)
Meaningful milestones and de/briefing
One hour barely long enough for a class
Hard to be inworldand helping students
Keep it simple

Student evaluations
26% named SL sessions as one of three most disliked elements
100% of students satisfied with project allocation (n = 19)
External Examiner strongly supportive of continued use of SL

Tuberculosis build
Cityscape
Cellscape
Datascape

Features found in alpineTB sanatoria
Notecard
Hyperlinkedimage
Inworld label
Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Cityscape level
Quests across multiple levels,Notecards can be annotated
Integration of images, either inworld or personal

Protein
Gene marker (yellow)with
interactome (cyan) and accessory map
Metabolicpathwaybrowser
Drug
ORFs on giant genome
Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Datascape level
Quests across multiple levelsData/web integration
Shared presenceComparison with other species

Conclusions
More than pretty pictures: context!
Does not
Suit all students
Handle text /web well
Like low-end PCs
Does
Suit visual and kinesthetic learners
Opportunity to tailor projects to students
Development getting easier
Procedural simulation authoring tools
PIVOTE (paramedic training)
Citrus Virtual (H&S)

Elsewhere: Washington U and i-GEM synthetic biology challenge

Student work: Gut microbiota with focus on possible rolesin obesity and diabetes

Issues in kitchen design/layout
Poorly organisedfood storage
Notecard
Hyperlinkedimage
Features found in alpineTB sanatoria
Robot avatar programmedto respond to questions from inspector
Student work: Training simulation for environmental health inspectors