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A View from Second Life’s TrenchesAre you a Pioneer or a Settler?

NMC Summer Conference

Cynthia Calongne

Colorado Technical University

June 8, 2007

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Second Life

Philip Rosedale, Philip Linden in SL Founder and CEO of Linden Labs

Every day - 120,000 people log into SLThey spend 4 hours at a time in worldThe average user - 15 hours per week

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Blending Real and Virtual Meetings

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Growth in Second Life

June 2007 over 7 million accounts

March 2007 -- over 250 Universities and 2500 educators on SLED

Gartner projects 80% of Internet users will be in Second Life by 2011

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Exploring New Frontiers

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Second Life Statistics

120 square miles >2x San Francisco

10% of users stick with SL, similar to blogs

40k simultaneous logins, >6500 servers

The user-to-user economy is >US $15 million/mo - land, clothes, jewelry furniture

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A Lush Landscape

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Pioneers and Settlers

Pioneer -- discovery and innovationExplorer -- takes risks, tries new techniques

Innovator -- seeks to define new methodsMitigates risk while trying new methods

Settler -- successful operationsColonizes and maintains steady progress

Stabilizing influence, assessment, analysisManages risk using proven methods

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Settlers or Pioneers?

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Teaching Approaches

Traditional Lecture Sage on the stage Learners are passive

Student presentations Individual or panel Q&A sessions

Activities Labs & Procedurals

Socratic discussion Instructor-guided content

Student-driven content

Case Studies Immersive roleplay Concepts & objectives

Applied Learning Projects and portfolios

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NMC Teachers’ Buzz Meetings

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Settler and Pioneer Styles

Lecture Seated, raising hands Speaker control Orderly, easy to read

Focused discussion Models RL behavior Some ideas are lost Some participants get

bored

Open Discourse Guided exploration Everyone contributes Great for brainstorming

Cognitive Burden Constrains our ability to

think, reason & respond Distracting Includes off-topic notes

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CS 672 - 1st Day in SL

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GlobalKids in Second Life

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GlobalKids -- Take a Stand

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English Composition in SL

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Writing Assignments in SL

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Virtual Classrooms

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Slides and Streaming Video

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Virtual and Real Campus

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Teaching Activities in SL Create your identity Teach and mentor Social networks Class projects Roleplay Learning games Blended reality Exploration Build

Avatar Classes, office hours Share ideas, meet Applied learning Immersive learning Interactivities Real-virtual meetings Visit, tour, study Create and customize

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Teaching at NIU in Second Life

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Ramapo in Second Life

Ramapo in New York Suffern Middle School

Classes & SL groups Language Arts Geometry Entrepreneurs Robotics History

400 8th Graders Peggy Sheehy Gus Woodward

Second Life activities “Of Mice and Men” Geo gallery Business sales Design and scripting Ellis Island Inventions

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Virtual World Class Rules

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Imaginative Instruction

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Ramapo’s Creative Spaces

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Studying Immigration

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Teens in the Courtroom

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Modeling Geometric Problems

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Student Conference Center

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Biographies and Resumes

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Coca Cola, Sony, Linden Labs

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Literature at Ramapo

Photos courtesy of Peggy Sheehy of Ramapo

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Facilitated Team Discussions

Photos courtesy of Peggy Sheehy of Ramapo, Suffern Middle School in NY

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Bridging Universities

University of Queensboro University of Calif, Davis

Survey Instrument in SLVoices and Perception

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Mathematics Comes to Life

Seifert Surface’s Researchon Mathematics

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Modeling the Problem

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Inside the Model -- New Frontiers

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Second Life CTU Classes Virtual Office Hours

Underwater offices

CS 672 - 11 students Merry go round Radar system Tree that grows Water park and star Basketball

CS 641 - 17 students 13 Projects Amusement Park Island requirements

CS 382 - 12 students Game maze with

traps, treasure, gadgets, and capture the flag

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Virtual Office Hours

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Students Explore Without Fear

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Challenging Safe Practices

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Projects Grow Between Classes

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Analogous Problems

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Defining and Measuring Quality

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Exams focus on applied and activity-based learning methods

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Exam Feedback

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Crossing Boundaries

DART

DementasiaAerialRapidTransit

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Managing Innovation & Change

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Modeling Behavioral Changes

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Emergent Behavior

Bridging CS 641 with CS 382 Software Design

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Team Project - 12 Students

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Enthusiastic Maze Game Design

“I survived the Maze Game” shirts

Traps and Scoreboard

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Course Assessments Course objectives

Competency evaluation Valid use of Second Life

Measurements

Critical Analysis and Synthesis

Learner Independence

Projects and Activities

Successfully achieved the learning outcomes

Rubrics and grades

Better understanding of requirements, concepts and design issues

Student-driven design

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Legitimacy in the Academy

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Assessing Education in SL

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Next Steps Collaboration and

community Extracurricular events

Cultural venues

Discovery

Career development

Learning extends beyond the classroom Student services and

blended reality events Music, dance, art

Exploration and games New tools and

technology

Business and industry

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Art that Comes Alive

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Testing the Boundaries Activities that map to

learning outcomes

Student-driven participation

Quests and interactivity

Immersive learning environments

Temporary learning spaces -- contextual environments

Educational games, immersive activities

Planning, design and development

Foster self-discovery

History, literature, clinicals, & procedures

Ephemeral - rendered and removed quickly

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Settlers Build for Success Assessment

Learning - grades Course - refinement Degree - quality

Course Design Standards Proven methods

Accreditation Stability Planned growth

Do you seek growth and new frontiers?

Are you focused on maintaining a successful program?

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Blending Pioneers and Settlers

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A View from Second Life’s TrenchesAre you a Pioneer or a Settler?

Lyr Lobo in Second LifeRyl Redgrave on the Teen Grid at Ramapo

calongne@pcisys.net

For more information, contact