The document summarizes the author's experience using the virtual world Second Life to conduct digital ethnographic research for an art education class. Through interviews and exploration in Second Life, the author found that virtual spaces can inspire creativity, provide educational opportunities, and foster a sense of community. The author concluded that Second Life has potential as a tool for classroom learning by allowing students to be actively engaged through avatar creation, collaboration, and exploring new creative pathways.
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Final powerpoint
1. Art Education in Virtual
Worlds: How students
can be inspired in
second life through
unconventional settings:
Jessica Hickey
Graduate Student Summer 2013
Arizona State University
2. Digital Ethnography
“Digital Ethnography is a qualitative form of
research that consists of 3 stages” (Stokrocki,
1997; Stokrocki & Andrews, 2010).
Stages:
1. Data collection is a process of recording an
event and pertinent information.
2. Content analysis is a search for l themes or
patterns of meaning both scientific and
emerging..
3. Comparative analysis is a process of
interrelating findings or explanations ns to form
new perspectives.
3. Second Life at first glance:
To say Second Life made me calm, cool
and collected would be an outright lie. It
frustrated me, irritated me, and terrorized
my dreams.
But from something I thought I would never
use beyond this class has given me ideas
for new ways to incorporate virtual
learning and technology into my own
classroom.
4. My Name is Jessica Hickey and I am graduate student in Art
Education program at ASU. I also teach full time Junior High
Art in Mesa, AZ. Recently, I was selected to become a
STEAM educator (STEAM- Science, Technology, Engineering,
Mathematics) which means I would be collaborating with
several subject areas to incorporate technology and
interdisciplinary studies into my own classroom.
5. Me as a frustrated green robot.
After Spending many weeks, learning about
second life, mostly as a fat green robot due to my
lack of Second Life knowledge, I started to think
about how I could tie in virtual worlds into my
classroom, and if I am feeling some sense of
community, could my students?
The activities should
be more
cooperative and
less competitive.
” (Carbo 2012)
7. I wanted to be able to think outside of the
box, and more how my students would think
of art… not limited to a gallery or painting.
I wanted to find people that are creative, in
many ways.
I wanted to explore outside of the typical
artworld.
8. I hoped to find a tool that will be able to used
passed the art room, but give students real world
knowledge in a new way. What peaked my interest
was finding a reading on how Second Life was used
to address body issues.
“A teacher in New York has used Second Life to help
conduct a unit on self-image, with the kids using
avatars to visualize their body ideals and issues—
something that would be more difficult to do in real
life. And there’s still a lot of potential, as Second Life
lets students and teachers model complex objects:
A working volcano, for example, could be created
from scratch to study geology.When asked whether
she thinks Second Life will become the next big thing
in ed tech, Schrock is circumspect.” (Rapp 2008)
9. Research Interests
Can virtual spaces create a sense of
community in a real life classroom?
Can virtual spaces/avatars be used as a
conventional teaching tool?
Can students be inspired by virtual
spaces/people from Second Life?
11. Methods
I will interview 3 avatars, learning about their
ideas of Second Life, Art, and how they
contribute to the art world.
I will look for common words that they use to
describe art and the work that they do
I will use a table graph to compare data
collected from the interviews as well as
personality traits.
12. Describe
Describe briefly avatar and quote from
conversation in notes I will describe the
locations and events that occurred.
13. Interview 1:
Insight Homewood
After having a class period
at Angel Manor, I came
across this avatar who at
first glance I thought would
just be a viewer of art, but
he also has created things
in SL such as small clubs
and staircases. He felt all
art was equal and it really is
in the eye of the beholder.
He felt that SL gave him a
greater appreciation for all
things in RL.
We met at Angel Manor at
his favorite piece
:http://maps.secondlife.co
m/secondlife/Angel%20Ma
nor%20Estate/75/35/29
14. “[18:56] Insight Homewood: I view the real world
with more of a sense of wonder now, having
taken it for granted before. “
15. Interview 2: Avanthalas
Absent Avanthalas Absent is quite skilled
with changing appearances, and
often did as we approached
different areas in second life. She is
the creator of a Lewis Carroll
themed museum which offers
biographical information of his
work, books and art, but also offers
several interactive experiences
such as coasters, boat rides, and
chess. This avatar was eager to
show me how to do several things
on SL such as a complete
makeover.
We interviewed two places. First
the museum, then her ranch:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secon
dlife/Mieville%20Shelley/18/113/763
http://maps.secondlife.com/secon
dlife/Hazel%20Woods/94/165/29
16. 17:58] Avanthalas
Absent: You have to
learn SL while you're
here. =P
[18:05] jshickey: Do you
collaborate with
anyone on this? [18:06]
Avanthalas Absent:
No... I'm OCD about
detail and a little bit of
a control freak about
projects.
17.
18. Interview 3: Kriss Lehmann
Kriss Lehmann lives in the
Philippines, and lives
completely off the work
he and his wife do on
second life. He even met
his wife on Second Life!
He does not consider
himself an artist, but he is
the creator of several
trees in SL which he
originally started to make
by using Photoshop. He is
very detail oriented and
strives for perfection in
every endeavor.
19. [17:21] Kriss Lehmann: I
don't get inspiration so
much inside SL, as I do
from the real world. Even
though you can create
any type of fantastic
environment in SL, I find
that real life nature is awe
inspiring enough for me.
SL just become my
canvas to take what I see
in real life and recreate
and expand on it
20. Kriss has a beautiful store that
gives a very peaceful experience
to the audience. Even though he
does not consider himself an artist,
it takes a creative to imagine all of
this!
21. Each interview offered a unique
experience and added to
making an exceptional learning
tool through discovery, trial and
error.
22. Words Used in Common
Art, Artists, Artwork: 23
Learning: 18
Create: 12
Collaborate: 6
Inspiration 5
Explore: 5
23. Avatar Behaviors/ Biographical
information
Insight
Homewood
Avanthalas Absent Kriss Lehmann
Age/Sex/Job 60/Male/Unem
ployed
38/Female/Due to
illness, unemployed
36/Male/ Works in
Second Life
Average time
spent on SL per
week
6 -8 hours 10-12 hours 20-60 hours
Personality on
SL
Social, likes to
learn from
people and
collaborate
Helpful, likes to
teach, works alone,
but will buy art from
others for her
museum.
Works alone, but
enjoys talking to
others and selling
his trees
“Look” on SL Man in top hat
and tails, with
cane
Varies between
Alice from Alice and
Wonderland and
Victorian look
Beachwear,
strong build,
“surfer” look
24. Content Analysis
Question Insight
Homewood
Avanthalas
Absent
Kriss Lehman
Do you Create in
Real Life?
No Yes Yes and No. Use
Photoshop for
trees used in SL
What are the
benefit to
creating/viewing
art in SL?
Can view Art
without being
rushed, and for
lower cost
Can create
quicker,
Museum basic
took only 1
month
Can sell
something and
make living while
working from
home.
Is Art in Second
Life comparable
to Real Life?
Yes, and equal Yes and Equal Both have
advantages, but
inspiration always
comes from RL
Do you feel SL
could be used as
a tool in
classroom
learning?
Yes, like Angel
Manor, it gives all
of your senses a
show.
Yes, student can
research on SL
about artist
work, like Lewis
Carrol
Yes, with default
avatars and
heavy monitering
25. Second Life is an open-ended
online world. Users design their
own surroundings, and create
avatars as their characters to work
there. (Carbo 2012)
Interpret: Content
Analysis and COnclusion
26. Summary
After spending 5 weeks in Second Life,
interviewing, exploring, and learning I feel that
there can be some warrant to use this in the
classroom as well as giving students a sense of
community, and show them that there are more
than one pathway to be creative and give
them real world experiences.
“Virtual worlds can provide an assortment of
learning opportunities, from identity formation to
social net- working, entrepreneurial skills, and
financial literacy,” (Brown 2009)
27. Summary Continued
As many teachers know, getting your students to be interested
in a project is having that hook. Creating an avatar, being apart
of something where you can collaborate with others and learn
from them (and not from the teacher) is that hook. This puts the
students in the drivers seat and offers them a way to be
constantly actively engaged.
“In addition to content-rich explorations, students in a virtual
environment learn social, technical, and practical life skills in a
setting that keeps them engaged, inquisitive, and playful.
(Brown 2009)
Even though these SL creatives did not necessarily see
themselves as artists, I certainly view them in that light. They are
creating, and contributing to the viewer, all with a goal to send
a message.
28. References:
Brown, Maureen. (2009) Walk, Fly or Teleport to Learning: Virtual Worlds in
the Classroom
Retrieved from:
www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/recordDetail?accno=EJ859575
Carbo, Ruben. . (2012). How Students Use Second Life for Digital Learning.
Retrieved from http://www.edudemic.com/2012/02/internet-classrooms-using-
second-life-for-virtual-learning/
Rapp, David. (2008). Virtual Classroom, Second Life.
Retrieved from:
http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3749877
Editor's Notes
This is my interpretation of Digital Ethnography in PowerPoint form. I will be analyzing, interpreting and c describing my experiences in second life in hopes of finding ways to connect Second Life to a real life classroom.
Second Life was a new world to me. Sometimes I would teleport into a dance party, take a chair tour or be able to wonder in different lands recommended to me. I got to see how much Second Life captures real people and emotions., or even on some occasions people and their alter egos/ Second life had endless opportunity to those that were savvy with it. I had originally worked in Second Life in 2009 and could barely remember how to work my avatar. What I do know is how far it has come from then, and was shocked and impressed.
Insight was interesting to talk with, but realized he just occasionally views art. His main purpose for Second Life is to connect to people and listen to Jazz music. He often listens to music his father listened to and really was in awe that second life could bring such a fond memory for him. He dabble sin creating clubs and starcases, and admits that he is just as confused as I ma at first.
We stayed in this room for the entire interview.
The theme for the museum was Alice and Wonderland as well as biographical information on Lewis Carroll. In the picture we are in a room that everything is out of proportion giving the experience of Alice drinking the potion to make her too small. I enjoyed being able to interact with many things here such as the tea cup and there was even mice and a mouse trap to look out for.
Avanthalas took me through the whole museum which has a boat ride, and a large chess set. During the museum trip she taught me how to animate myself as well as change body styles and clothes, which is why I look like a Victorian Peter Pan. She was adamant about me trying until I got it. Our interview was just over two hours between her lessons, tour, and my questions.
After the Museum tour she showed me another land she constructed where she creates, sells and breeds horses. We took a short ride and she even gave me my own horse.
Originally I was expecting to find a small old man as Kriss Lehmann’s avatar like in the You tube video I watched, but he recently went with a change, like his new store. He was very busy creating new things and I had to talk to him in between additions because his computer would act up.
Kriss explained to me some of the pros and cons of using second life in education and I was surprised that in a virtual world people could be taking things too far. After research I discovered that there are restricted lands for educators, but with art shows it gets tricky.
The picture on the right: Kriss is explaining how he even constructed the tiny dragonfly you see floating above the pond. Second Life took him from a general IT guy to someone who is detail oriented.