A1258690381OsBdg - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Title: A1258690381OsBdg


1
Blue Skies!
Blue Skies!
by Matt Poole Director of IT Programs National
College
2
The project build a campus on a shoestring!

• Traditional web-based learning is self-paced and
  can transcend barriers of space and time to bring
  people together. 
• However, it tends to lack the non-verbal cues and
  spontaneity that we rely on to convey much our
  interpersonal message content. 
• Second Life has the ability to fill in some of
  this missing content in though the use of
  interactive virtual spaces and avatars that are
  capable of gestures, facial expressions and voice
  chat. 

3

• To date, over 100 colleges have created campus
  presences in Second Life.  Most of these campuses
  contain large virtual spaces (some unused),
  immaculate landscaping and sophisticated
  architecture.
• An individual teacher, however, might not know
  how or where to begin or whether it might be
  prohibitively expensive.

4

• The main questions to be answered by this project
  were as follows
• 1.What are rental vs. purchase options for a
  small facility?
• 2.What subordinate tasks must be accomplished in
  order to create a facility by a desired deadline?
• 3.How much would these options cost?
• 4.What are the advantages and disadvantages of
  using the medium for educational purposes with
  adult learners?
• 5.Were learning outcomes helped or hindered by
  using Second Life?

5
(No Transcript)
6

• A premium account
• A 512 or 1024 m2 parcel
• 117 vs 234 prim limit
• Land tiers

Land Ownership
7
Land Ownership (contd)

• It is also possible to rent. Rentals properties
  are common and allow you to keep your basic
  membership and perhaps have increased prim
  limits.
• The disadvantage of renting is that it makes it
  more complicated to control access and media
  streaming into your parcel.

8
IIT Building
9
(No Transcript)
10
What Works and What Doesnt

• Classes ranged from five to eight students and
  were conducted in the Institute for Interactive
  Technology virtual classroom building.
• The associate degree students were using SL as a
  hybrid/online component for a traditional
  classroom session. The grad students were all
  online, and had never met each other or me in
  person.
• After each session, students completed a brief
  survey of their impressions of the medium.
  Results were mixed, generally reflecting computer
  literacy and whether or not they had technical
  issues.

11
Recommendations

• Buy between 1024 m2 and 1536 m2 on the mainland.
• If you choose to go with a tower, you will need
  to build or purchase one. The one used at IIT
  was an Imperial 512, by the Imperial Foundation.
• Another option is to do a search for mega prims
  and to use those to build a basic structure. A
  20x20x1 platform with four 20x3.75x1 walls with
  a grassy texture for the platform and a brick
  texture for the walls works well as a five-prim
  floating classroom (on a 1024 or larger parcel).

12
Recommendations (contd)

• Search for teacher freebies, instructor
  freebies and most especially conference goody
  bag.
• Make some signs to advertise your presence.
• Spend some time in-world and explore the
  educational sims to see what others are doing.

13
Conclusions

• Set up student accounts ahead of time.
• Seminars work well in Second Life.
• Voice works best for the speaker, text for the
  students.
• Check student settings beforehand if possible.
  There are always technical issues. Have a Plan
  B.
• Dont lecture if you can help it. Give your
  students a mission or a project and cut them
  loose.  Scavenger hunts work particularly well.
• There are many free or low-cost resources for
  teachers in SL. Spend some time in-world and
  find ones you like!

14
References
Au, W. J. (2008). The Making of Second Life
Notes from the New World. New York,
Collins.   Bugeja, M. (2007) "Second Thoughts
About Second Life." Chronicle of Higher
Education Careers, Volume DOI.   Carr, P. and G.
Pond (2007). The Unofficial Tourists' Guide to
Second Life. New York, St. Martin's
Griffin.   Lamb, G. (2006). "At Colleges Real
Learning in a Virtual World."   Percival, S.
(2008). Second Life In-World Travel Guide.
Indianapolis, Ind., Qua Pub.   Rymaszewski, M.,
Au, W., Wallace, M., Winters, C., Ondrejka, C.,
and Batstone-Cunningham, B. (2007). Second Life
The Official Guide Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley and
Sons.    White, B. A. (2008). Second Life a
Guide to Your Virtual World. Indianapolis, Ind.,
Que Pub.
15
For more information Poole, Matthew (2007)
"Blue Skies Education in Second Life," Christian
Perspectives in Education Vol. 1 Iss. 2,
Article 4. Available at http//digitalcommons.li
berty.edu/cpe/vol1/iss2/4 http//www.mattpoole.n
et/blog.
Questions?