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Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Solving particular solutions in SL teaching
Here's our collaborative docs on a few solutions
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfzrcdcd_59g3d9w4
CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONS TO TEACHING IN SL
Problem addressed
We were part of a large class learning about Second Life, that has met synchronously once a week inworld. Class members were located in very different time zones from the UK to the US and through to Australia. We choose, as our group teaching project, to address "Facilitating New Users." We spent some time brainstorming beyond the basics of creating an avatar and learning to work. Our aim became to help new residents and new teachers learn some of the skills needed for teaching in SL, namely a relatively easy way to create a feeling of 'groupness', the ability of think about ambient sound as a factor in immersive learning and to think about what constitutes good manners and appropriate academic self-presentation in SL.
How we solved it
We created a class that offered three experiences that would address a range of necessary skills. We used tools and materials that were either already present in SL, or were easily constructed by novices. As using voice for group instruction has, in our experience, caused significant issues when some members of the audience have voice and some do not, we decided to conduct the class using chat. Chat is the 'natural language' of SL and reduces some technical difficulties, while improving accessibility.
The first activity divided the class into small groups and used making a T-shirt as an ice-breaker activity. This enabled students to build skills in both dressing and managing their inventory. Many of the students had not realized that simple clothes creation was a built in feature, and that there were fabric textures in their library. Students also learned negotiation and co-operation through the choice of the pattern for the shirt. Instructors could use this as an icebreaker in a class and also begin, through the design choice, to establish a sense of community and cohesiveness among their students. The activity concluded with a reflective discussion of learning and application for this exercise.
The sound exercise asked students to walk around the garden in which the class was held and to notice the ambient sounds and their internal reaction to them. The sounds included surf (the garden is close to the beach), ducks, hummingbirds, and a peacock, bees, locusts, squirrels, frogs, rain and thunder, This gave students an opportunity to think about ambient sound in relation to both speech and background environmental sounds. In the reflection discussion afterwards, they noticed that environmental sounds can really enhance some aspects of immersion such as setting mood or scene. There was a lively discussion about sound in relation to accessibility and enabling equal access to communication in terms of group discussion as well as physical ability.
While our manners class both taught SL skills in both teacher and student presentation and etiquette in a fun and lighthearted way, the presentation itself was complex. We prepared a powerpoint and presentation board ahead of time. The commentary for the slide show was stored on a note card to be copy-and-pasted in for each slide, taking into account an average reading speed. The presenter created 13 different costumes as folders that were dropped onto the presenter to quickly change appearance, based on the content of the slide and/or commentary. These included both human and non-human characters. Shortly after the presentation commenced, the other group members began "griefing" - changing into animal avatars and threatening and bumping audience members, repeatedly calling out stock phrases and generally behaving badly. The presenter continued the presentation, attempting to regain control, yelling (in text) "I AM THE TEACHER" several times. We found that our audiences appreciated the humor and profited from both good and non-examples of appropriate self-presentation.
Result
We have run this same session 3 times for different audiences and each time has been successful but, like any real-time presentation has turned out differently. Our learners have been from a wide range of backgrounds from non-academics to experienced online tutors and members of the international business community. Attendees have also been from a range of disciplines and interests. We found it interesting that we have managed to reach our audience each time, despite technical difficulties, by thinking quickly on our feet and adjusting the timing and content of the presentation. As teachers, we've also learned the value of extensive preparation and practice ahead of time and learned to solve problems quickly you as they arose. These are supported by the recommendations of Sanchez and Mayrath et al as follows:
Supporting the social system
a. Interaction between students should be designed for instructional as well as social occasions.
b. Social spaces should be created in the virtual environment to allow students to hold informal
gatherings. Encourage the social use of the tool 1
• Have clearly stated learning objectives for the activity that relate to overall course objectives
• Have interesting and debatable topics that are anchored in context of class for each session 2
Annie & Mauri
Sunshine & Ceclia
References
1. A Sociotechnical Analysis of Second Life in an Undergraduate English course Joe Sanchez School of Information University of Texas at Austin, U.S.A., joesanchez@mail.utexas.edu
A Sociotechnical Analysis of Second Life in an Undergraduate English Course
2. Using Second Life in an English Course: Designing Class Activities to Address Learning Objectives
Using Second Life in an English Course: Designing Class Activities to Address Learning Objectives
Michael Mayrath
Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment,
The University of Texas at Austin, U.S.A., mmayrath@austin.utexas.edu
Joe Sanchez
School of Information,
The University of Texas at Austin, U.S.A., joesanchez@mail.utexas.edu
Tomoko Traphagan
Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment,
The University of Texas at Austin, U.S.A., tomoko.traphagan@austin.utexas.edu
Joel Heikes
Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment,
The University of Texas at Austin, U.S.A., joel.heikes@austin.utexas.edu
Avani Trivedi
Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment,
The University of Texas at Austin U.S.A., avani.trivedi@austin.utexas.edu
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfzrcdcd_59g3d9w4
CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONS TO TEACHING IN SL
Problem addressed
We were part of a large class learning about Second Life, that has met synchronously once a week inworld. Class members were located in very different time zones from the UK to the US and through to Australia. We choose, as our group teaching project, to address "Facilitating New Users." We spent some time brainstorming beyond the basics of creating an avatar and learning to work. Our aim became to help new residents and new teachers learn some of the skills needed for teaching in SL, namely a relatively easy way to create a feeling of 'groupness', the ability of think about ambient sound as a factor in immersive learning and to think about what constitutes good manners and appropriate academic self-presentation in SL.
How we solved it
We created a class that offered three experiences that would address a range of necessary skills. We used tools and materials that were either already present in SL, or were easily constructed by novices. As using voice for group instruction has, in our experience, caused significant issues when some members of the audience have voice and some do not, we decided to conduct the class using chat. Chat is the 'natural language' of SL and reduces some technical difficulties, while improving accessibility.
The first activity divided the class into small groups and used making a T-shirt as an ice-breaker activity. This enabled students to build skills in both dressing and managing their inventory. Many of the students had not realized that simple clothes creation was a built in feature, and that there were fabric textures in their library. Students also learned negotiation and co-operation through the choice of the pattern for the shirt. Instructors could use this as an icebreaker in a class and also begin, through the design choice, to establish a sense of community and cohesiveness among their students. The activity concluded with a reflective discussion of learning and application for this exercise.
The sound exercise asked students to walk around the garden in which the class was held and to notice the ambient sounds and their internal reaction to them. The sounds included surf (the garden is close to the beach), ducks, hummingbirds, and a peacock, bees, locusts, squirrels, frogs, rain and thunder, This gave students an opportunity to think about ambient sound in relation to both speech and background environmental sounds. In the reflection discussion afterwards, they noticed that environmental sounds can really enhance some aspects of immersion such as setting mood or scene. There was a lively discussion about sound in relation to accessibility and enabling equal access to communication in terms of group discussion as well as physical ability.
While our manners class both taught SL skills in both teacher and student presentation and etiquette in a fun and lighthearted way, the presentation itself was complex. We prepared a powerpoint and presentation board ahead of time. The commentary for the slide show was stored on a note card to be copy-and-pasted in for each slide, taking into account an average reading speed. The presenter created 13 different costumes as folders that were dropped onto the presenter to quickly change appearance, based on the content of the slide and/or commentary. These included both human and non-human characters. Shortly after the presentation commenced, the other group members began "griefing" - changing into animal avatars and threatening and bumping audience members, repeatedly calling out stock phrases and generally behaving badly. The presenter continued the presentation, attempting to regain control, yelling (in text) "I AM THE TEACHER" several times. We found that our audiences appreciated the humor and profited from both good and non-examples of appropriate self-presentation.
Result
We have run this same session 3 times for different audiences and each time has been successful but, like any real-time presentation has turned out differently. Our learners have been from a wide range of backgrounds from non-academics to experienced online tutors and members of the international business community. Attendees have also been from a range of disciplines and interests. We found it interesting that we have managed to reach our audience each time, despite technical difficulties, by thinking quickly on our feet and adjusting the timing and content of the presentation. As teachers, we've also learned the value of extensive preparation and practice ahead of time and learned to solve problems quickly you as they arose. These are supported by the recommendations of Sanchez and Mayrath et al as follows:
Supporting the social system
a. Interaction between students should be designed for instructional as well as social occasions.
b. Social spaces should be created in the virtual environment to allow students to hold informal
gatherings. Encourage the social use of the tool 1
• Have clearly stated learning objectives for the activity that relate to overall course objectives
• Have interesting and debatable topics that are anchored in context of class for each session 2
Annie & Mauri
Sunshine & Ceclia
References
1. A Sociotechnical Analysis of Second Life in an Undergraduate English course Joe Sanchez School of Information University of Texas at Austin, U.S.A., joesanchez@mail.utexas.edu
A Sociotechnical Analysis of Second Life in an Undergraduate English Course
2. Using Second Life in an English Course: Designing Class Activities to Address Learning Objectives
Using Second Life in an English Course: Designing Class Activities to Address Learning Objectives
Michael Mayrath
Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment,
The University of Texas at Austin, U.S.A., mmayrath@austin.utexas.edu
Joe Sanchez
School of Information,
The University of Texas at Austin, U.S.A., joesanchez@mail.utexas.edu
Tomoko Traphagan
Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment,
The University of Texas at Austin, U.S.A., tomoko.traphagan@austin.utexas.edu
Joel Heikes
Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment,
The University of Texas at Austin, U.S.A., joel.heikes@austin.utexas.edu
Avani Trivedi
Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment,
The University of Texas at Austin U.S.A., avani.trivedi@austin.utexas.edu
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
SL assessment and language learning
We've been thinking about assessment in terms of our intercultural project recently. Much of the recorded learning activity has taken place within a blog and it's been interesting to see how communication taken place within the blog. I've also been thinking about how different communication is in SL, and how best to take advantage of both. The blog offers a community an opportunity to share their reflections on culture and personal experience, and in-world ways to discuss and collaborate on shared tasks and adventures.
We're planning on using a quiz on cultural places in SL, and I've explored quiz balls such as the one mentioned in http://www.bretagdesigns.com/technologist/?p=92. The other forms of assessment in this week's reading are interesting, but beyond what I need at the moment.
Language learning involves 4 core skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking and these can be sub-divided further into other skills. Obviously there is a lot more to language learning than that, but it's not really the space here to talk about that in detail. With communication forming a core part of language learning assessment activities such as SL travel diaries, reflective actions, creative projects and discussions are simple and yet very effective for language teachers.
Sometime in the week I think I'm going to look at Second Life In-World English Assessment Test
Talkin' Assessment in Second Life http://www.bretagdesigns.com/technologist/?p=92
Evaluating the instructional effectiveness of Second Life. http://www.utexas.edu/academic/diia/secondlife/assess.php
Second Life In-World English Assessment Test http://esl-secondlife.blogspot.com/2007/10/second-life-english-in-world-assessment.html
We're planning on using a quiz on cultural places in SL, and I've explored quiz balls such as the one mentioned in http://www.bretagdesigns.com/technologist/?p=92. The other forms of assessment in this week's reading are interesting, but beyond what I need at the moment.
Language learning involves 4 core skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking and these can be sub-divided further into other skills. Obviously there is a lot more to language learning than that, but it's not really the space here to talk about that in detail. With communication forming a core part of language learning assessment activities such as SL travel diaries, reflective actions, creative projects and discussions are simple and yet very effective for language teachers.
Sometime in the week I think I'm going to look at Second Life In-World English Assessment Test
Talkin' Assessment in Second Life http://www.bretagdesigns.com/technologist/?p=92
Evaluating the instructional effectiveness of Second Life. http://www.utexas.edu/academic/diia/secondlife/assess.php
Second Life In-World English Assessment Test http://esl-secondlife.blogspot.com/2007/10/second-life-english-in-world-assessment.html
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Andragogy and SL
Andragogy and Malcolm Knowles
I enclose the full bullets from the first reference below (#1 ) as I felt that they should be included. I remember these articles from many years ago when I worked on an MLE project for a consortium delivering teacher training qualifications. Now, when I re-read these points I am amazed at how many of these reflect my experiences in SL. The self-reflection and growth of the self, the close relationships and bonds that encourage that personal growth in friends. That we bond together and try to help those around us to reach their full potential.
In terms of relevance to language learners, the Fidishun article raises interesting points about the autonomous learner and the autodidact. This type of learning is actively encouraged in languages, and is a movement that started when student numbers started to reach capacities beyond tutor availability. Language resource or self-access centres support the independent language learner, whether they are studying for a full-time course or evening classes. One of the issues that I frequently talk about is the need for autonomous learners to have access to help in choosing instructional models and appropriate resources. That, even if they have some confidence in creating a structured environment, they may like support or a means to move forward in their learning. (#2) Autonomous learning materials in resource centres suggest activities but may not include support materials or a learning path. Web-based materials may indeed offer the ability to experience alternative scenarios, and offer the opportunity for reflection (#2), but there is a need for instructional design at some stage in the learning. I feel that there is an opportunity to create rich and interactive autonomous language learning experiences in SL with good pedagogy and with Knowle's informal education goals.
Malcolm S. Knowles (1950) Informal Adult Education, Chicago: Association Press, pages 9-10.
Learning goals for adult informal learning:
#1 malcolm knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogyhttp://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-knowl.htm
#2 Fidishun, D. (2006). Andragogy and technology: Integrating adult learning theory as we teach with technology. Retrieved on January 3, 2006, from http://markmcmanus.ca/Resources/Adult-Learners-Integrating-Adult-Learning-Theory-with-Technology.pdf
I enclose the full bullets from the first reference below (#1 ) as I felt that they should be included. I remember these articles from many years ago when I worked on an MLE project for a consortium delivering teacher training qualifications. Now, when I re-read these points I am amazed at how many of these reflect my experiences in SL. The self-reflection and growth of the self, the close relationships and bonds that encourage that personal growth in friends. That we bond together and try to help those around us to reach their full potential.
In terms of relevance to language learners, the Fidishun article raises interesting points about the autonomous learner and the autodidact. This type of learning is actively encouraged in languages, and is a movement that started when student numbers started to reach capacities beyond tutor availability. Language resource or self-access centres support the independent language learner, whether they are studying for a full-time course or evening classes. One of the issues that I frequently talk about is the need for autonomous learners to have access to help in choosing instructional models and appropriate resources. That, even if they have some confidence in creating a structured environment, they may like support or a means to move forward in their learning. (#2) Autonomous learning materials in resource centres suggest activities but may not include support materials or a learning path. Web-based materials may indeed offer the ability to experience alternative scenarios, and offer the opportunity for reflection (#2), but there is a need for instructional design at some stage in the learning. I feel that there is an opportunity to create rich and interactive autonomous language learning experiences in SL with good pedagogy and with Knowle's informal education goals.
Malcolm S. Knowles (1950) Informal Adult Education, Chicago: Association Press, pages 9-10.
Learning goals for adult informal learning:
- Adults should acquire a mature understanding of themselves. They should understand their needs, motivations, interests, capacities, and goals. They should be able to look at themselves objectively and maturely. They should accept themselves and respect themselves for what they are, while striving earnestly to become better.
- Adults should develop an attitude of acceptance, love, and respect toward others. This is the attitude on which all human relations depend. Adults must learn to distinguish between people and ideas, and to challenge ideas without threatening people. Ideally, this attitude will go beyond acceptance, love, and respect, to empathy and the sincere desire to help others.
- Adults should develop a dynamic attitude toward life. They should accept the fact of change and should think of themselves as always changing. They should acquire the habit of looking at every experience as an opportunity to learn and should become skillful in learning from it.
- Adults should learn to react to the causes, not the symptoms, of behavior. Solutions to problems lie in their causes, not in their symptoms. We have learned to apply this lesson in the physical world, but have yet to learn to apply it in human relations.
- Adults should acquire the skills necessary to achieve the potentials of their personalities. Every person has capacities that, if realized, will contribute to the well-being of himself and of society. To achieve these potentials requires skills of many kinds—vocational, social, recreational, civic, artistic, and the like. It should be a goal of education to give each individual those skills necessary for him to make full use of his capacities.
- Adults should understand the essential values in the capital of human experience. They should be familiar with the heritage of knowledge, the great ideas, the great traditions, of the world in which they live. They should understand and respect the values that bind men together.
- Adults should understand their society and should be skillful in directing social change. In a democracy the people participate in making decisions that affect the entire social order. It is imperative, therefore, that every factory worker, every salesman, every politician, every housewife, know enough about government, economics, international affairs, and other aspects of the social order to be able to take part in them intelligently.
#1 malcolm knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogyhttp://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-knowl.htm
#2 Fidishun, D. (2006). Andragogy and technology: Integrating adult learning theory as we teach with technology. Retrieved on January 3, 2006, from http://markmcmanus.ca/Resources/Adult-Learners-Integrating-Adult-Learning-Theory-with-Technology.pdf
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Universal avatars
Take your SL identity between worlds. Interesting, but that could be an amazing tangle for authentication.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7038039.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7038039.stm
Virtual Worlds and the Visually Impaired
So one of my questions on technologies to support visually-impaired residents in SL is answered by this project. It looks as if IBM do some very interesting research, and we can only hope that it becomes widely available. I can also see the usefulness of this project for helping teach those that have recently lost their sight, to move around in real life.
Sonar is something of a dream, the project idea for the London Underground hasn't materialised. I've seen this product by Wayfinder, called Wayfinder Access, though I haven't tested it out. Their other software works well though. www.wayfinder.com
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6993739.stm
Sonar is something of a dream, the project idea for the London Underground hasn't materialised. I've seen this product by Wayfinder, called Wayfinder Access, though I haven't tested it out. Their other software works well though. www.wayfinder.com
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6993739.stm
British Sign Language and SL
This is a really interesting development in SL, and I'd love to see this in action. Particularly if there's a way to express BSL (British Sign Language) in all it's richness and subtlety. I'll never forget being in a crowded cafe which was filled with noise and energy as a group of excited teenagers talked with their teacher. However, the cafe to me was 'silent' and I didn't understand a word. I did enjoy watching and the experience though very much.
The enabling of signing communities could create a need for a whole new translator. One that translates between the different signing communities, and perhaps back into English, French, German, Greek and so forth. I'd hate to see any community be cut off from the potential to participate and build communities that we currently have. Just as voice can take away a hearing impaired person's ability to contribute fully, and the shy person's ability to participate.
Technique links words to signing
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6993326.stm
The enabling of signing communities could create a need for a whole new translator. One that translates between the different signing communities, and perhaps back into English, French, German, Greek and so forth. I'd hate to see any community be cut off from the potential to participate and build communities that we currently have. Just as voice can take away a hearing impaired person's ability to contribute fully, and the shy person's ability to participate.
Technique links words to signing
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6993326.stm
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