2. ‘Art education qualitative studies on cyberspace are
emerging.’ (Stockrocki, 2007a)
This cannot be truer than our own Digital
Ethnography in Virtual Worlds online course.
With the growing dependency on internet and media,
online classes are becoming more common, if not
essential.
Cyberspace allows students and teachers from various
parts of the world to communicate and learn from
each other
3. I enrolled in this class as my first online course and I was nervous
seeing as I was more comfortable with a more hands on learning
environment.
I’ve come to find from this course that cyberspace learning is not only
convenient to both student and teacher, but allows students a much
larger opportunity to communicate and learn outside of the ‘classroom’
with other Second Life users.
Second Life (SL) is a virtual world created by Linden Labs in 2003 that
allows users to create avatars and form communities.
In my experience, while tricky at first to use, Second Life was a
wonderful learning tool
4. ‘Ethnography is a process and product of everyday
documentation of an event, and a picture of a group’s
way of life’ (Wolcott, 1988, pg.188)
Digital Ethnography then is immersive research that
exclusively uses online qualitative research techniques.
(Qualitative Research Glossary)
Digital Ethnography has three stages; Data Collection,
Content Analysis, and Comparative Analysis.
5. Data Collection is simply as it says, collecting data, though
there are many ways to go about doing so.
Some of the many ways are through surveys, online or
otherwise, interviews, and various blogging sites such as
Flickr or BlogSpot.
Internet has allowed us to increase our intake of data
collection as well as organize it better, and with worldwide
access via Cyber Space we are able to collect more diverse
data for more definite results.
6. Content Analysis is the refinement, or cleaning up, of
data collected into patterns or themes. (Stockrocki)
Analyzing data is much easier with the easy
organization methods online.
For example, in a social experiment done to find the
basic motivation for joining Second Life, Content
Analysis proved three basic trends; utilitarian needs,
hedonic needs, and social needs. (Zhongyun, Xiao-
Ling, Vogel, Xitong, and Xiaojian ,1-10)
7. This is a method of analysis that compares a certain
organization to another similar organization in order
to answer research questions.
Second Life is a prime choice for comparative analysis
based on the hundreds if not thousands of
communities and organizations that are available to
study.
8. Cyber Space is the notional environment in which
communication over computer network occurs.
With the new age of online learning cyber space is
become increasingly popular as a method to teach.
Second Life is one such cyber space that allows access
to students from all over to meet, hang out, and learn
together.
9. As a music student I wanted to explore the music
communities on SL
What kind of music is performed?
Why do the musicians use SL?
Has SL helped with their music or production of said
music?
10.
11. In searching SL I was able to find this place. Sea Turtle
Island, also called Music Island is a small circularly
built island that host live music events from other
users from all around the world.
The area is a large ocean with several islands including
Sea Turtle Island. The elevation is slightly hilly but
easily traversable. Using your avatar’s flight ability, this
area is easy and fun to explore.
12. Sea Turtle Island, while small had a lot to offer
including a performance area for musicians, CDS
available that other users could buy, pamphlets of
information regarding upcoming performances, and
even a relaxing ferry boat ride to show you the area
around Sea Turtle Island.
13.
14.
15. Sea Turtle Island was not the only place to go! This area
expanded into other islands that were an easy flight
away such as Cedar Island. There were art galleries
available for viewing, a drumming circle open to public
use as well as performance dates, a Quaker meeting
hall as well as an SL Resident meeting hall that is open
to public sittings.
Needless to say, this area had a lot of diversity in it as
well as several learning opportunities.
16.
17. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sea%20Turtle
%20Island/49/9/26
I chose this place looking for a music event and was
pleasantly surprised by the layout. It’s very easy to
navigate and the area is organized and very neat. The
islands give a very interesting travel touch to the area
as opposed to just walking several streets. I felt this
place would be an excellent learning environment not
only for it’s friendly atmosphere but the several
options available to learn from.
18. The music events give students a hands on experience in seeing the
organization and demonstration of live events in SL. The pamphlets
and CDs as well help to not only give more information but also to
market the music musicians perform on SL.
The art galleries on Cedar Island are very diverse and interesting,
perfect for a class like ours in exploration and discussion.
The community is very diverse and friendly, approximately middle
class.
There were also several interaction devices that are entertaining to use,
such as the drum circle, that helps students to explore their SL
capabilities.
Overall, the aesthetically pleasing, multifunctional environment would
serve as an excellent teaching location.
19. [14:09] putri Solo: but you can write your question
[14:09] putri Solo: i will answer it
[14:10] kreakymeds: alright, my first question is how long have you been doing music on Second Life?
[14:16] putri Solo: since sept 2009
[14:17] kreakymeds: cool, how did you discover second life and decide to use it for music?
[14:18] putri Solo: my ex husband introduce sl tome... well he wasstill my husband when i came here.. so
i was duo with him..
[14:19] kreakymeds: wow, are you a singeror musician in real life as well?
[14:20] putri Solo: yes dear
[14:20] kreakymeds: interesting
[14:21] kreakymeds: in some of your songs tonight I heard a few extra singers, do you collaborate with
other musicians?
[14:22] putri Solo: no .. it's just coming from the backtrack
[14:22] kreakymeds: i see, well besides your ex-husband have you sung with anyone else? or just solo?
[14:23] putri Solo: solo
[14:24] putri Solo: i come from indonesia.. so very difficult for me to collaborate
[14:24] kreakymeds: that's cool. How do you pick what songs you are going to sing? Is it personal
preference?
[14:25] putri Solo: yes
[14:25] putri Solo: most of my fav song is rock song
[14:25] putri Solo: sometimes i show for rock song only
[14:25] putri Solo: heheh
20. For my primary interview I talked with a woman from
Indonesia who does singing events in various places on SL.
She told me how not only is she a singer in real life, but she
sings for charity events on SL.
Her main purpose for singing on SL was personal
expression and enjoyment, she sang covers of songs she
enjoyed and stated that singing was ‘her greatest hobby’.
I interviewed her at another good music event location
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Templemore%20of
%20DreamSeeker/84/107/34
21.
22. Sales
Hedonic Needs
Social Needs
Utilitarian Needs
23. The pie chart was based on various SL music related
users I talked with and asked what their purpose of
doing music on SL was.
Based on the people I talked to, the majority of
musicians told me they joined SL for hedonic purposes
in music, which basically means self expression.
A popular idea that I saw several times was the concept
of being able to perform and share music without the
anxiety of a real live audience.
24. In my three research questions, I was able to find some
answers. For the kind of music that was performed, it
was very diverse and specific depending on the
musician. (Though rock and pop were very popular
genres)
Being able to freely chose the kind of music performed
displays the freedom SL gives to its users
As previously stated many musicians in SL chose to do
so for the freedom of expression
25. In Sanchez’s reading, one common theme that was found among the
students studied was that they had to ‘think outside the box’ given the
little instructions they had.
‘Remarks from students show an appreciation for the visual creative
outlet afforded by the virtual world environment.’ (Sanchez, J. 2007)
Creativity is vital to music so being forced into adapting to the Second
Life environment and being able to virtually see the events put on by
other people is a huge opportunity for growth as a musician.
The ‘thinking outside the box’ as well as SL interaction with other
musicians can help one to expand their genre and style and better their
skills.
With all the events and people, it’s easy to see why SL has helped many
musicians improve the production and quality of their music.
26. Sanchez also noted how even the simple act of creating an
avatar made the experience more ‘real’ to the students.
Many musicians on SL perform as such due to the anxiety
of a live audience but this avatar function still gives the
reality of performance and sharing music.
‘To some students, avatars were the only difference between
the use of a virtual world and instant messaging.’
(Sanchez, J. 2007)
Even this simple dynamic of SL greatly affects the learning
experience.
27. Second Life is a wonderful cyber space location where people from very
diverse backgrounds can come and share their expressions, whether
art, music, etc. It’s large versatile spaces and events serve as an ideal
place to teach students online while still making the experience ‘real’ in
a sense and very enjoyable.
Many musicians on SL were able to express themselves in their music
and share it in events with other users.
While difficult at first, Second Life has proven to be a vital tool in Cyber
Space learning.
28.
29. Stokrocki, M. (2007a). Art education avatars in cyberspace: Research in computer-based
technology and visual arts education, In Bresler, Liora. (Ed.). International Handbook for
Research in Technology and the Arts, Part II (pp. 1861-1380). Dordrecht, The Netherlands:
Springer.
Stockrocki, M. Art Education Qualitative Research in Cyber Space. In Miraga, C., &
Smilan, C. (In Press). Inquiry in Action: Paradigms, Methodologies and Perspectives in
Art Education Research. Reston, VA: NAEA
Wolcott, H. (1988). Ethnographic research in education. In R. Jaegger (Ed.).
Complementary methods for research in art education (pp. 187-206). Washington, DC:
American Education Research Association.
. "Qualitative Research Glossary." 2020Research. 2020 Research Inc., n.d. Web. 9 Aug
2012. <http://www.2020research.com/qualitative-research-glossary/>.
Zhongyun, Zhou, Jin Xiao-Ling, D Vogel, Guo Xitong, and Chen Xiaojian. "Individual
Motivations for Using Social Virtual Worlds: An Exploratory Investigation in Second
Life." System Sciences. (2010): 1-10. Print.
30. Sanchez, J. (2007). Second Life: An Interactive Qualitative Analysis. In
C. Crawford et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information
Technology and Teacher Education International Conference 2007
(pp.1240-1243). Chesapeake, VA: AACE
