Identity and Culture in Virtual Worlds

TEACHING IN VIRTUAL WORLDS: IDENTITY AND CULTURE Paper presentation by Dr. Cynthia Calongne Institute for Advanced Studies Colorado Technical University Licensed under a Creative Commons Share Alike with Attribution License Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education March 29, 2009

Lyr Lobo in her nature spirit avatar Avatar Design by Lyr Cover slide: Lyr Lobo as a shadow robot dancing with herself

An Educause SAC Story
The National Science Foundation (NSF) had recently updated their website
Someone asked if the NSF needed a Second Life site
Why?
Persis Trilling noted that Second Life centers on people interacting with each other and the content
Immersion, interaction & a sense of presence
Engaging and personal

Is this avatar new or experienced? How do we know?

First day in Second Life for which of these avatars?

Crossing boundaries: Eric McLuhan as Pharaoh

Your Avatar: Who Are You?
Subcultures and roles
Teacher
Parent
Scholar
Lover of life
Curious child
Researcher
Comedian
Entertainer
Sage, a wise person
What we know about you The inner you

Who are these people? Who is the avatar on the far right?

Paper Highlights
People make a virtual world come alive
It is that shared experience and the awareness of others that makes the content come to life.
Situated learning, culture and behavior
Anonymity can enhance learning and communication across cultural boundaries.
Representation: identity in the classroom
Students and instructors need to recognize one another.

This is not your Mama’s classroom! Who is the avatar in the center?

Slide from TCC 2007 by D. Antonacci and N. Modares Focus on diversity and situated learning

Idealized self or real self? October 2006 Heading to Ramapo on the Teen grid!

CS 855 Futuring and Innovation Summer 2008

By January 2007, Second Life had over 2.5 million unique residents Who is this man? His avatar looks like a cartoon. Why do we take him seriously?

Chart Copyright © 2007 by the Virtual Environments Info Group http://www.virtualenvironments.info In April 2008 - over 100 youth-oriented virtual worlds active or in development In Aug 2008 - it grew to over 150 virtual worlds In Jan 2009 - over 200 virtual worlds 59 have microtransactions 57 require subscriptions 46 use advertising From Virtual Worlds Management by Show Initiative http://www.virtualworldsmanagement.com/2009/youth-01-26-2009.html

Choices for your avatar
Avatar type
Gender
Species
Race
Ideal vs real
Context sensitive
Nonverbal
Animations & gestures
Sounds
Appearance
Skin, shape, hair, eyes
Image and style
Welcoming
Impressive
Intimidating
Thought-provoking
Expressive
Powerful
Super geek
Hip

Above: Who is this avatar? Wireframe of an avatar

Lyr Lobo looks better with skin

TCC 2007 Pre-conference in Second Life organizers Who is the dog in the center?

Rise of the machines: How do we tell who is real from other objects?

Life 2.0 - who is the avatar on the left that helps users with 25 groups stay in touch?

Virtual World Culture
Second Life cultures
Educators
Professionals
Worldwide cultures
Furry
Fantasy (Elves, dragons)
Geeks (tech, sci fi, robots)
Arts, music, literary
Adult
Teen grid
Ideal self
Imaginative
Creative
Enabled
Real self
Recognition
Honest
Disabled

Kiwi educators and teen grid mentors - dressed as what subculture?

Which avatar is not real?

Real avatars, real people - who is on the left?

Ready to teach! Playful and imaginative learning environments In the photo above: What 5 letter word describes this group?

What 7 letter word describes what these students are doing while sitting in the wheelchairs? A CS 820 Usability and Interaction Class tests their accessibility projects

Who is this avatar? Bonus question: Where does Hack work and integrate content into Second Life?

Who is this little girl? At the NMC NML2009 Thursday Xu

Above: Who is the avatar featured on the right? Corwin and Lyr in her normal shape

Wright State MBA students their 1st day in Second Life

A Strategic Thinking class meets with the instructor and Lyr. How many students do you see?

We develop Second World skills and our identities in a virtual world class Students sharing ideas in social networks CS 820 Class Fall 2008

TEACHING IN VIRTUAL WORLDS: IDENTITY AND CULTURE Dr. Cynthia Calongne Lyr Lobo in Second Life Twitter Lyrlobo For more information, visit: http://ctusoftware.blogspot.com http://www.slideshare.net/lyrlobo Lyr Lobo CS 820 Usability and Interaction class 2009

Identity and Culture in Virtual Worlds

by Cynthia Calongne

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