Ridvan Ata conducted a case study exploring creativity within immersive teaching experiences in Second Life (SL). He interviewed educators who used SL for an Information Literacy module at the University of Sheffield. The study examined how educators expressed creativity according to the Four C Model: personalizing avatars (Mini-c), building 3D structures (Little-c), and maintaining professional blogs and journals (Pro-c). Educators felt SL gave insights to improve their traditional teaching and supported reflective practice. SL allowed for self-expression and helped challenge assumptions in an internationalized environment.

1. Exploration of creativity within
immersive teaching experience
Ridvan Atolia in SL
Ridvan Ata
The University of
Sheffield
School of Education
Slides copyright Ridvan Ata; sources for pictures listed on the final slide VWBPE14 11 April

2. Outline
• Who I am
• Ridvan’s SL journey
• Context of the study
• The Four C Model
• Examples
• My reflections on the concept of creativity in
SL
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3. Where Ridvan comes from
Language: Turkish
Climate: Hot, dry summers with mild, winter; harsh, snowy
Population: 77 million
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4. Ridvan’s journey into Second Life
Born as Ridvan Atolia in 2009
My home in SL
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5. My Study
• Research Area: How do educators implement teaching into
SL/f2f situations?
Methodology: Case Study
Information Literacy module
Inf104
• Observations
• Interviews with module tutors
• Interviews with educators from different countries
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6. Characteristics of Participants
Interviews with Participants
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7. The context
• Information School, University of Sheffield (small UG
programme, larger Masters programme + PhDs)
• Core module in BSc Information Management
programmes + a few other students (e.g. Hong Kong
exchange)
• Inquiry-based approach
for key classes; for all
classes assessment mostly
coursework (not exams)
Images: University of Sheffield
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8. Inf104 module: Information Literacy
• Information Literacy core level 1 module: aims
– to progress students' information literacy in key areas
(working towards being an information literate citizen)
– to develop their understanding of information literacy &
information behaviour theories and practice
• 43 students , 22 from outside UK; 19 female
• Using face to face, Blackboard, web resources
• Mostly students used SL together in lab with
Ridvan and Sheila
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9. Infolit iSchool
Taken by Sheila Webber/ Sheila Yoshikawa 9

10. Infolit Island
• Sheila actively involved in SL for both personal interest and educational aims
• The nature of the class is in the blended form
• The environment is recognised by others
• It has already been identified as worth investigating by other several academic
studies (Alarifi, 2008; 3DVLE, 2010; Webber, 2010)
• Accessibility of it for the study
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11. SL Activities
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12. The of Creativity
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Avatar7: I think it has probably pushed me to be more creative
about how I use space and activities/resources in a classroom.
Avatar12: Having the experience of being able to be truly
creative has "raised the bar" for my real life practice.
Sub RQ: Does teaching in SL give educators insight to
improve their f2f pedagogy?

13. Avatar2, her teaching in SL “was important in a liberation from
assumptions associated with traditional schooling”.
Avatar9: I think it has been one of the things that have kept
me reflecting and learning about teaching.
Avatar19: I think it helped me understand a bit more about my
own assumptions and approaches and challenge with them.
• Reflective Teaching
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14. The Four C Model
• Ward and Sonneborn (2011) conceptualize creativity with the
unique aspects of VWs as places where creativity might be
expressed, by employing the Four C model proposed by
Kaufman & Beghetto (2009)
Four C
Mini-c Little-c Pro-c Big-C
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Creative expression in virtual worlds: Imitation, imagination, and individualized
collaboration.
Ward, Thomas B.; Sonneborn, Marcene S.
Psychology of Popular Media Culture, Vol 1(S), Aug 2011, 32-47

15. The Four C Model
Kaufman & Beghetto (2009)
• Mini-c is nascent form of creativity and about personal understanding of
the world.
• Little-c is about everyday creativity and can be observed through
acquisition of skills.
• Pro-c is creative endeavors by experts in a given domain. Such as adopting
the professional identity
• Big-C is about eminent contributions, ideas that revolutionalise the world.
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16. Ward & Sonneborn (2011)
• Personalisation of the avatar ( Mini-c)
• 3D Builds such as cathedrals, monuments or
other structures (little-c and Pro-c)
Sistene Chapel on the Vassar campus in SL
Van Gogh’s famous Starry Night painting at the
Virtual Starry Night Sim ( Pro-c)
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17. Sheila Yoshikawa
Mini-c Examples ( Personalisation of the avatar)
Early Days in SL in 2007
Taken by Sheila Webber/ Sheila Yoshikawa in 2007
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18. Mini-c Examples
Taken by Sheila Webber/ Sheila Yoshikawa in 2008-2014
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19. Mini-c Examples
Taken by Sheila Webber/ Sheila Yoshikawa in 2013-2014 19
Professionally dressed avatar

20. Little-c Examples
Taken by Sheila Webber/ Sheila Yoshikawa 20

21. Pro-c Examples
VWBPE12
SL Journal Club
VWER
• Webber S (2013) Blended Information Behaviour in Second Life. Journal of Information Science.
• Webber S (2010) Investigating modes of student inquiry in Second Life as part of a blended approach.
International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments, 1(3), 55-70.
• Webber, S. (2010) 3D virtual learning case study. University of South Australia.
http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/3DVLE/siteassets/docs/3DVirtual_Case_Study_BScIM.pdf
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Taken by Sheila Webber/ Sheila Yoshikawa in 2012-13

22. http://infolitjournalclub.blogspot.co.uk/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/23396182@N00
http://adventuresofyoshikawa.blogspot.co.uk/
Pro-c Examples
Taken by Sheila Webber/ Sheila Yoshikawa 22

23. http://adventuresofyoshikawa.blogspot.co.uk/
The blog of Sheila Yoshikawa on her adventures in Second Life since 2007, over
400 entities
Adventures of Yoshikawa
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24. http://infolitjournalclub.blogspot.co.uk/
Infolit SL Journal Club
An online discussion group focusing on information literacy and other
aspects of user education since 2012, over 20 entities
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25. Sheila Yoshikawa
Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/23396182@N00
Over 4,750 images
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26. My Reflections
• Reflective Practice
- Personalisation of experience
- Self-expression
• Internationalization
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27. Ridvan Ata
r.ata@shef.ac.uk
Ridvan Atolia in SL
Twitter:RidvanAta
http://www.slideshare.net/RdvanAta
http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Ridvan/Ata
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What is the value of User Created/Generated Content
within the sustainability of creativity?

28. Image sources
Pictures & Photos by Sheila Webber
https://www.flickr.com/photos/23396182@N00
& Ridvan Ata except the following
1. Cappadocia http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions/turkey-tr.htm
2. Turkey Map of Turkey http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-turkey-map-image6838510
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