A View from Second Life’s Trenches: Are you a Pioneer or a Settler

A View from Second Life’s Trenches Are you a Pioneer or a Settler? NMC Summer Conference Cynthia Calongne Colorado Technical University June 8, 2007

Second Life
Philip Rosedale, Philip Linden in SL
Founder and CEO of Linden Labs
Every day - 120,000 people log into SL
They spend 4 hours at a time in world
The average user - 15 hours per week

Blending Real and Virtual Meetings

Growth in Second Life
June 2007 over 7 million accounts
March 2007 -- over 250 Universities and 2500 educators on SLED
Gartner projects 80% of Internet users will be in Second Life by 2011

Exploring New Frontiers

Second Life Statistics
120 square miles >2x San Francisco
10% of users stick with SL, similar to blogs
40k simultaneous logins, >6500 servers
The user-to-user economy is >US $15 million/mo - land, clothes, jewelry furniture

A Lush Landscape

Pioneers and Settlers
Pioneer -- discovery and innovation
Explorer -- takes risks, tries new techniques
Innovator -- seeks to define new methods
Mitigates risk while trying new methods
Settler -- successful operations
Colonizes and maintains steady progress
Stabilizing influence, assessment, analysis
Manages risk using proven methods

Settlers or Pioneers?

Teaching Approaches
Traditional Lecture
Sage on the stage
Learners are passive
Student presentations
Individual or panel
Q&A sessions
Activities
Labs & Procedurals
Socratic discussion
Instructor-guided content Student-driven content
Case Studies
Immersive roleplay
Concepts & objectives
Applied Learning
Projects and portfolios

NMC Teachers’ Buzz Meetings

Settler and Pioneer Styles
Lecture
Seated, raising hands
Speaker control
Orderly, easy to read
Focused discussion
Models RL behavior
Some ideas are lost
Some participants get bored
Open Discourse
Guided exploration
Everyone contributes
Great for brainstorming
Cognitive Burden
Constrains our ability to think, reason & respond
Distracting
Includes off-topic notes

CS 672 - 1st Day in SL

GlobalKids in Second Life

GlobalKids -- Take a Stand

English Composition in SL

Writing Assignments in SL

Virtual Classrooms

Slides and Streaming Video

Virtual and Real Campus

Teaching Activities in SL
Create your identity
Teach and mentor
Social networks
Class projects
Roleplay
Learning games
Blended reality
Exploration
Build
Avatar
Classes, office hours
Share ideas, meet
Applied learning
Immersive learning
Interactivities
Real-virtual meetings
Visit, tour, study
Create and customize

Teaching at NIU in Second Life

Ramapo in Second Life
Ramapo in New York
Suffern Middle School
Classes & SL groups
Language Arts
Geometry
Entrepreneurs
Robotics
History
400 8th Graders
Peggy Sheehy
Gus Woodward
Second Life activities
“ Of Mice and Men”
Geo gallery
Business sales
Design and scripting
Ellis Island
Inventions

Virtual World Class Rules

Imaginative Instruction

Ramapo’s Creative Spaces

Studying Immigration

Teens in the Courtroom

Modeling Geometric Problems

Student Conference Center

Biographies and Resumes

Coca Cola, Sony, Linden Labs

Literature at Ramapo Photos courtesy of Peggy Sheehy of Ramapo

Facilitated Team Discussions Photos courtesy of Peggy Sheehy of Ramapo, Suffern Middle School in NY

Bridging Universities University of Queensboro University of Calif, Davis Survey Instrument in SL Voices and Perception

Mathematics Comes to Life Seifert Surface’s Research on Mathematics

Modeling the Problem

Inside the Model -- New Frontiers

Second Life CTU Classes
Virtual Office Hours
Underwater offices
CS 672 - 11 students
Merry go round
Radar system
Tree that grows
Water park and star
Basketball
13 Projects
Amusement Park
Island requirements
Game maze with traps, treasure, gadgets, and capture the flag

Virtual Office Hours

Students Explore Without Fear

Challenging Safe Practices

Projects Grow Between Classes

Analogous Problems

Defining and Measuring Quality

Exams focus on applied and activity-based learning methods

Exam Feedback

Crossing Boundaries DART Dementasia Aerial Rapid Transit

Managing Innovation & Change

Modeling Behavioral Changes

Emergent Behavior Bridging CS 641 with CS 382 Software Design

Team Project - 12 Students

Enthusiastic Maze Game Design “ I survived the Maze Game” shirts Traps and Scoreboard

Course Assessments
Course objectives
Competency evaluation
Valid use of Second Life
Measurements
Critical Analysis and Synthesis
Learner Independence
Projects and Activities
Successfully achieved the learning outcomes
Rubrics and grades
Better understanding of requirements, concepts and design issues
Student-driven design

Legitimacy in the Academy

Assessing Education in SL

Next Steps
Collaboration and community
Extracurricular events
Cultural venues
Discovery
Career development
Learning extends beyond the classroom
Student services and blended reality events
Music, dance, art
Exploration and games
New tools and technology
Business and industry

Art that Comes Alive

Testing the Boundaries
Activities that map to learning outcomes
Student-driven participation
Quests and interactivity
Immersive learning environments
Temporary learning spaces -- contextual environments
Educational games, immersive activities
Planning, design and development
Foster self-discovery
History, literature, clinicals, & procedures
Ephemeral - rendered and removed quickly

Settlers Build for Success
Assessment
Learning - grades
Course - refinement
Degree - quality
Course Design
Standards
Proven methods
Accreditation
Stability
Planned growth
Do you seek growth and new frontiers?
Are you focused on maintaining a successful program?

Blending Pioneers and Settlers

A View from Second Life’s Trenches Are you a Pioneer or a Settler? Lyr Lobo in Second Life Ryl Redgrave on the Teen Grid at Ramapo [email_address] For more information, contact

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A View from Second Life’s Trenches: Are you a Pioneer or a Settler

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