1 Using Virtual Environments for Online and Campus Classes Dr. Cynthia Calongne Institute for Advanced Studies Colorado Technical University Lyr Lobo in Second Life UMBC Workshop January 21, 2010 Licensed under a Creative Commons Share Alike with Attribution License
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Using Virtual Environments For Online And Campus Classes
Workshop held at UMBC on January 21, 2010 on teaching and learning using virtual environments, part 1 of 2 by Colorado Technical University professor Cynthia Calongne, known as Lyr Lobo in Second Life.
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Using Virtual Environments for Online and Campus Classes
Dr. Cynthia CalongneInstitute for Advanced StudiesColorado Technical University
Lyr Lobo in Second Life
UMBC WorkshopJanuary 21, 2010
Licensed under aCreative Commons
Share Alikewith Attribution License
2
Agenda
• Virtual world workshop content
– Virtual world skills & competencies
– Examples from virtual world classes
– Teaching strategies
– Enhancing the learning experience
– Rubrics and assessment
– Mapping objectives to activities
– Educator and student resources in Second Life
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Using a Virtual World for Learning• Self image
• Social networks
• Mentor, feedback
• Class projects
• Roleplay
• Tool integration
• Immersive learning
• SL skills
• Build simulations
• Sense of presence, identity
• Attend classes, collaborate
• Office hours, facilitation
• Applied learning activities
• Immersive learning, case studies
• Web 2.0, course tools, media
• Context-sensitive or stimulating
• Camera, navigation, to socialize
• Create content & an environment
80% of the world’s Internet users will be in a virtual world by 2011 (Gartner, 2007)
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Basic Second Life (SL) Skills
• Appearance– 1st self or ideal self?
• Move and look – Arrow keys or Navigation
menu
– Camera controls
• Communication– Voice, text, gestures
• Group Notices, IMsLyr and her robot avatar
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Virtual Office Hours
Meetings in an underwater office. Come on in! The water’s fine!
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VE Class Considerations
• Learning environment– Public or private?
• MS Powerpoint slides– SL slides & textures
• 3D content – Create or purchase
• Student content
• Size -- purchase or free– Island, parcel or sandbox
In April 2008 - over 100youth-oriented virtual worlds were active or in development
In Aug 2008 - it grewto over 150 virtual worlds [6]
In Jan 2009 - over 200virtual worlds
• 59 have micro transactions• 57 require subscriptions• 46 use advertising
From Virtual Worlds Management by Show Initiative [6]
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SL Featured Examples
• Operation Relief Worker Rescue Challenge– Game simulation kit – Hostage rescue game
• Created by educators at Air University
• Assessment – includes doctoral student research
• CTU examples –highlights from 16 classes– Emerging media & social games
• Mars Expedition Challenge – Space simulation and trivia game
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Teaching in a Virtual World
Features
• Immersive environment
• Interactive & engaging
• Purchase or create– Power of creation & control
– Flexible & adaptable
• 3D content, animations, gestures, sounds, scenarios
• Educational community
Requirements
• Hardware & bandwidth
• Virtual world competencies
• Integration & design– Design skills
– Assessment & rubrics
• Planning effective simulations for learning
• Finding good contacts
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Your Avatar: Who Are You?
• Subcultures and roles– Teacher
– Parent
– Scholar
– Lover of life
– Curious child
– Researcher
– Comedian
– Entertainer
– Sage, elder
What we know about youThe tip of the iceberg
The inner you
37Who is the avatar on the far right?
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Choices for your avatar
• Avatar type– Gender
– Species
– Race
– Ideal vs real
– Context sensitive
• Nonverbal– Animations & gestures
– Sounds
• Appearance– Skin, shape, hair, eyes
– Image and style • Welcoming
• Impressive
• Intimidating
• Thought-provoking
• Expressive
• Powerful
• Super geek
• Hip
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8th Grade Immersive Literature
Roleplay and conflict, an immersive literature experience for teens on
the Teen Grid
Suffern Middle School students at Ramapo portrayed the roles
from the book, Of Mice and Men
by John Steinbeck.
Imagine living the scenes from literature
and history rather than memorizing them.
A juror hollers “Boo!” when Curley takes the stand [11]
40Dance and animation in Second Life
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Virtual World Culture
• Second Life cultures– Educators
– Professionals
– Global cultures
– Furry
– Fantasy (Elves, dragons)
– Geeks (tech, robots)
– Arts, music, literary
– Adult
– Teen grid
• Ideal self– Imaginative
– Creative
– Enabled
• Real self– Recognition
– Self representation
– Disabled
42Which of these avatars is not real?
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A researcher from the Meteora region (NOAA)
gave a presentationat the NMC
Rock the Academy Symposium dressed
as Admiral Grace Hopper
He also demonstratedTwitter feeds in
Second Life and at a latersession, SLOODLE
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A Strategic Thinking class meets with the instructor and Lyr.How many students do you see?
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During class, students develop their Second Life skills and
discuss the course concepts
Students sharing ideasin social networks
CS 820 Class Fall 2008
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Bransford Simulation - Assessing Cooperative Work in a MUVE
Presentation, videos from the experiments and an opportunity to participate [8]
47DNA strand at the Pencil Factory Lyr and robot Slonny #5 (on right)
Lyr and student test accessibility projects in 2008
Data Visualization and Usability Evaluations
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CS 820 Fall 2009 students learn to use & prototype in Second Life
CTU Learning Simulations and Games
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CTU StudentSL Projects from 2007
Duck shoot
Ferris wheel – rotation & State machine problem
Duck shoot prototype in the background
Created in 1-2 weeks
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Systems Engineering Methods class (above)
Monorail and a rollercoaster
Software Requirements Engineering class (right)
Roleplay of customer & design team meetings
The software requirements migrated from a monorail to a rollercoaster
1st day in class
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Monorail rises 300 meters to the game platform
SW Design Specification
SL Game PrototypeCapture the flag game
with traps, treasure, scores
Played the game & refined it the last week
Software Design
Undergraduate class project
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Traps in the Game Maze
53CS 820 Summer 2009 students study futuring and innovation
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The Value of Education in SL
• It takes effort to create content, train faculty and adopt a new course delivery paradigm & it is worth it
• Stimulates discussions and applied learning activities
• Fosters student-led learning and collaboration
• Educators monitor activities and mentor
• Class sessions take less time and are focused
• Builds community and crosses boundaries– Collaboration with other schools and the research community
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SL Research Links
• Second Life – http://secondlife.com/
• Second Life Grid – Business & Education– http://secondlifegrid.net/
• Second Life Education Support Faire 2009 statistics– http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Education_Support_Faire#Second_Life_Education_Support_Faire_2009_-_Statistics