Learning Experiences with Social Software - Second Life

Authentic Learning in a Virtual World

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:26:00 -0500

Below is a link to the Authentic Learning in a Virtual World presentation.

Note: The flash file is nine mb and may take a while to download and play. Also, the videos in the original presentation are not available in this online version.

Click anywhere on the slide to advance to the next slide.

Presentation in Flash format

Also, here is a link to the video of Tom Morrell's virtual poster project that I showed during the presentation (QuickTime required).

-Carl

Second Life Evaluation at Hamilton College

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:26:00 -0500

With all the attention that the media has been giving Second Life lately, questions about use of Second Life at Hamilton College are coming up. Below is some information that may help answer some basic questions that people may have.

Second Life is being evaluated by ITSST, and is not currently officially supported by ITS. We are interested in exploring how Second Life can be used academically, but the faculty members and/or students should understand that any projects that we take on at this point in time are considered to be experimental, and that users could experience situations such as loss of data or Second Life suddenly not being accessible. Therefore, Second Life should not be considered for "mission-critical" communication or directly associated with grades. Any requests for use of Second Life should start with a conversation between ITSST.

Some potential uses of Second Life include communication (both text and audio), virtual poster and video exhibits, science simulations, and simple 3D design. Second Life has a virtually unlimited number of other potential uses. Some uses are much more resource-intensive than others.

Second Life can be a challenging environment for new users. It is therefore advisable that any faculty member or student who is interested in using Second Life consult with a technologist in ITSST prior to making any decisions about how appropriate it is for their intended project.

Second Life can be accessed on the Macs in the MPC using six available USB drives. More drives can be made available if necessary. Draft policies for use of Second Life at hamilton College are available here.

If using Second Life as a presentation tool or resource, it is very important to have backup media in case the Second Life grid goes down. It is possible to record Second Life to video using an third-party recording tool (FRAPS), but this process has only been tested on the Windows platform and requires additional cableing and considerable customization of sound settings.

Currently, the Macs in the MPC do not support voice chat. This may be due to the version of OSX being used on those computers, the hardware of the machines, or a combination of the two. initial testing with iMacs indicates that voice chat will work once the new computers are installed this Summer.

I would like to stress that though we are very interested in hearing from faculty regarding potential uses of Second Life for evaluation purposes, no teams in ITS should be expected to provide any official support at this point in time. Individuals requesting support for any use of Second Life should be referred to ITSST. Please email me at crosenfi@hamilton.edu with any questions.

Thanks,

-Carl

Second Life Presentation Ideas

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:52:00 -0500

Below are some initial ideas for our presentation at Colgate with links to videos demonstrating what I would show "in-world."

Note that the video are not web-optimized. If you are using a less than blazing connection, you may wish to right-click the links to download them before viewing. Also, I have not edited them, so there may be some odd viewing angles and other issues.

An introduction, showing Hamilton (and perhaps Colgate) land in Second Life, flying, the inventory, interacting with other avatars, rezzing and interacting with objects, using the inventory, searching, and teleporting.

SL Intro

Changing the Appearance of SL Avaters

Interacting with Objects

A brief overview of the building tools and a demonstration of building an object in Second Life (Krista would be better at this than me). Then we could show some virtual artwork that others have produced in Second Life.

Building in SL (Balloon)

Scripting in SL (Float)

The Evolutions Museum in Second Life

Some examples of how Second Life might be used to teach chemistry, including open-source molecule-builders and the scripted molecules that we are working on at Hamilton.

SL Molecules

A brief introduction to putting photos and other images and video into Second Life. The video below shows the manual way of adding video using parcels. I'm hoping to find a video player that allows more control.

Creating a Video Screen in SL

Subdividing Land into Parcels for Multiple Videos

Continuing on with a discussion of how the streaming video, text chat, voice chat, and avatars can be used to conduct real-time media critiques, even across great geographical distance.

Image Critique in SL

Media Critique in SL

Some discussion about use of voice chat, specifically for language instruction.

Teaching Tamil in SL

Possibly teleporting to another area of Second Life to show what has been done, such as virtual art exhibits. Perhaps we might even run into someone (as did I) who would be willing to chat for a few minutes.

The Van Gogh Museum in SL

Meeting New People in SL

SL Science Fair

These are just some initial ideas - we can add, subtract and modify as desired.

-Carl

I Met a Student in New Zealand Today...

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 16:12:00 -0500

While looking for educational resources in Second Life today, I meet two students whose instructor is holding class primarily in the Second Life virtual world. One of the students, "Teina Mehina" told me a bit about the class and agreed to provide more information later. Both Teina and her classmate, 'Ramya Link" both seemed interested in sharing their experiences. Below is a transcript of our conversation:

[9:05] Teina Mahina: Hi Carl

[9:05] Ramya Link: Hi Carl

[9:05] You: Hi

[9:05] Teina Mahina: Yeah - thats what I mean !

[9:05] You: What is this place?

[9:05] Teina Mahina: I'll be more careful next time...

[9:06] Teina Mahina: Its the Campus: Second Life sandbox area

[9:06] Teina Mahina: You can build here...

[9:06] You: Is it for Edcuational projects?

[9:06] Teina Mahina: Well - yes, if you like...

[9:07] Teina Mahina: More a practice area here in this square... for students and their teachers...

[9:07] Teina Mahina: The buildings around here contain student work and stuff

[9:07] Teina Mahina: Are you a student or educator?

[9:08] You: Students of what school(s)?

[9:08] Teina Mahina: Errr various places... from the real world...

[9:08] You: I am a Educational Technologist at Hamilton College

[9:08] Teina Mahina: Neat - where is Hamilton College?

[9:09] You: Clinton, NY, USA

[9:09] Teina Mahina: :-) hi - we're students from a tech in New Zealand...

[9:09] You: wow, that's very interesting

[9:09] Teina Mahina: Looking for our lecturer... he's currently in Austia but said he'd pop in to see us

[9:10] You: what do you do here in SL for class?

[9:10] Teina Mahina: Hmmm - this course we are doing has been very interesting

[9:11] Teina Mahina: We were given a list of tasks to complete... the experiences can be used to support an assignment that is on community and games...

[9:11] You: Are the students and teachers in different physical locations?

[9:11] You: or on the same campus?

[9:12] Teina Mahina: Well its a masters course... in RL we have 'class' for 8 hours one weekend a month

[9:12] Teina Mahina: We meet physically in Auckland... but I live in Wellington...

[9:12] You: what kind of tasks do you do here in SL?

[9:13] Teina Mahina: This component is online...

[9:14] Teina Mahina: Er...there are six... for example: Join a community of your choice and particpate in an activity

[9:14] Ramya Link: Taena, tell him the assignment is about a critical examination of Electronic games in enhancing social interaction of a selected group of people!

[9:14] You: Are you too busy to chat now? If so, can I ask you more questions about your class at a later time?

[9:14] Teina Mahina: Well done Ramya :-)

[9:15] Ramya Link: No worries!

[9:15] Teina Mahina: That would be really good - to contact you later cause I'd love to talk about this in greater depth :-)

[9:16] You: Thanks! How can I contact you again in SL. I'm new to the technology

[9:16] Teina Mahina: I'm just doing that...

[9:16] Ramya Link: As an educator, Carl might find what we are doing as meaningful! as Piaget says, interacting with the environment to learn the meanings of abstract concepts!!

[9:16] Second Opinion Networked Kiosk: Thank you! The latest edition of the Second Opinion newsletter will be delivered to you momentarily.

[9:17] Teina Mahina: :-)

[9:17] You: Thanks

[9:17] You: Can I share our chat with colleagues?

[9:17] Teina Mahina: As you have accepted the friendship offer you & I will know when each other is online and can contact each other via IM

[9:18] Teina Mahina: Do you know how to use IM ?

[9:18] Teina Mahina: Sure!

[9:18] Ramya Link: Taena , say yes!

[9:18] You: I can figure it out, I think

[9:18] Teina Mahina: :-)

[9:18] You: ok, I'll let you go, but will contact you again soon

[9:18] You: thanks again

[9:18] Teina Mahina: I found it all VERY confusing at first - all this new stuff to pay attention to!

-Carl

Does Second Life Have Nine Lives?

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 13:37:00 -0500

Excerpt:

Second Lifers are willing participants. Not only do they give their time gladly to the system, but quite a few make money at it, too. For instance, users can pool their online cash to build 3D amusement parks, then charge other users admission to enter them. Even companies from Adidas to Reuters have lined up to figure out new ways to sell their wares in Second Life's pixel-based world.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20061121/tc_nf/48074