We have now held 2 SL sessions with real students!
We have trialled a number of methodologies/ SL features including:
• A treasure hunt (students seek prims containing “note cards”) which provide information that they then need to discuss
• Recording the group discussions in “chat logger”
• Using SL as the first point of contact for the course information and the Moodle site as the secondary source of information
• Delivering a lecture through SL
• Facilitating group discussions through SL
Treasure hunt for note cards
On reflection we were probably way too ambitious for our first trial session! Oh well, full marks for enthusiasm! As it was we had various technical difficulties and trialling a treasure hunt was too difficult for us at this stage of our competence. However I think the students enjoyed the concept and the one note card that they were able to get produced a great discussion. This was hampered by the fact that my Avatar, Lucille, could not use voice due to technical difficulties.
Recording the group discussions in “chat logger”
The Group chat was logged on the chat logger. I am not sure at this stage, how to use this log of chat and how it could be uploaded to the Moodle site for this course and further used as a learning tool. But it does provide evidence that could b used to verify students’ thoughts and contributions which could be used for Assessment evidence!
Using SL as the first point of contact for the course information and the Moodle site as the secondary source of information
One drawback of Moodle which is pretty important from an educational point of view, is that is looks so boring at first view. (Well, that is my opinion and Jason agrees with me on that!) We discussed using SL as the first point of engaging the students, and using the Moodle site as the site to refer them to, to find a greater level of detail.
So with the trial students we have taken this approach. Checking the Moodle site I can only see 2 students have actually referred to it at the time of writing this, so I am not sure how successful this concept has been. It may be, that these are the only 2 students wanting to gain credit for doing the course.
Delivering a lecture through SL
Lucille delivered the lecture on SL in an informal lecture theatre that Trudy had provided. This was much more controlled and orderly than the previous session, although the students were much more passive, as they would be in a normal stand and deliver lecture. In the real life setting the lecturer can gain feedback from the students during this kind of lecture by watching the body language, eye contact and facial expressions. In SL these visual cues are absent and it feels very one way. I used Ariki’s idea of asking the student to give me a “k” by chat, if they were following me. This gave immediate feedback and I found it very encouraging, other wise it was hard to even know if the students were still at their computers. I also stopped fairly frequently and asked for verbal comments, asking students by their Avatar names what they thought of the various points being made.
It will be interesting to ask the students whether they found the lecture methodology in SL boring or not. I had assumed that because I was delivering the lecture at 6.30 at night that I would not be interrupted by any other work colleagues. However, I was a bit taken aback when a colleague popped into my office to ask me a question, The person concerned quickly realised that I was otherwise occupied but it did throw me a bit and I momentarily lost concentration.
Facilitating group discussions through SL
To do this I used the technique of naming avatars and asking for their opinions or thoughts. It would have been helpful to have a list of the participants at hand and tick every time I asked particular names, I may have favoured some above others unintentionally. This technique also puts people on the spot which is a bit unavoidable. We could introduce a system whereby they can say, Pass and we move to another person.
Recommendations
• Try a pedestrian approach for the first session. There will be technical issues and they will be enough to sort out in the first instance.
• Introduce a system for students to give feedback eg k= OK.
This could be expanded to cover a few other situations, eg r=please repeat etc
I think there are already some short hands such as AFC= Away from computer
This gives immediate feedback without halting the flow of the conversation in voice or the chat.
• For facilitated discussions use names to address questions
• Have a list of the participants at hand and tick every time you address questions of the Avatars, ensures no one is overlooked
• Don’t use a stand a deliver approach ONLY, (15 min is plenty for that) mix it up and get those Avatars moving around, keeps engagement levels up.
Meg (Lucille Lemondrop)
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Review of our second live session!
Have just finished the second live session in Second Life with our students. I felt it was a much smoother session this week – we had fewer technical issues and it all seemed to run well.
We started off with a live lecture about Ethics – written by Deanne Gray, and given by Lucille (Meg). We had some discussion scattered in amongst the lecture.
We then hopped down from the elevated lecture area in the sky, and walked over to four large boxes – each containing a notecard with a separate ethical dilemma attached. We discussed two of the scenarios tonight.
Here are a few thoughts I had:
TechnologyI was intending to use WeGame as the screen recording tool, but I gave up on it in the end as I couldn’t seem to record the ‘in-world’ sound. So I quickly downloaded and bought the full version of Fraps (it was only $50.00 so not too pricey).
The free version allows you to record up to 30 seconds but if you want to record more than that you need to purchase the full registered version. It all went pretty smoothly from then actually (in terms of recording).
Camera angles
Camera angles and techniques are a separate matter!!! Actually upon review there are a few nice shots but a fairly obvious point to record here is, whoever is actually doing the recording needs to only concentrate on that! It would have been good to plan some shots and angles but we would need more time and resources (ie people!) to do that properly.
Unnecessary sounds!
A few other things to remember when recording – I should have turned off the keyboard / typing sounds – as I could tell it was a little distracting for Meg (Lucille) as it sounded like someone was asking a question, when it was just me pasting the text of the lecture in the chat. On that though – I think that worked reasonably well – timing it was interesting – do I paste a whole sentence at once… or two… or just a phrase….? :-). We’ll get feedback from the students as to how helpful the lecture text being pasted into chat was.
Lucille’s mic worked today which made a huge difference I think to the smooth running of everything – although having said that, my mic didn’t work when I was recording – but I didn’t need to issue instructions to students so it was fine.
I figured out what I did wrong with the notecards last week - I created three objects and attached notecards to them but had only dropped the notecards into the content of one of them! This week I created four objects and four notecards and it all worked perfectly. Was satisfying to have another chance to figure it out and then get it right. I don't THINK I'll forget that, but I'm recording it here just in case!
Overall
I felt the students seem to be reasonably engaged – both Meg (Lucille) and Jason (Ariki) did a great job of checking that the students were all still actively participating.
I’m very tired though! Intense scripting (although basic!!) and building (ok yes still extremely basic!), planning and preparation, then running the session – have been sitting here intensely concentrating since 2.30 and it is now 7.00pm! It’s apparent how much the three of us (Missy, Ariki and Lucille) are all learning though and I’m looking forward to the next session next week. We have a few students creating some Machinima scenarios (animated movies made in Second Life in this instance) for this group of students to view and discuss (if I can actually get the media player working!!).
Cheers
Trudy (Missy Oximoxi)
We started off with a live lecture about Ethics – written by Deanne Gray, and given by Lucille (Meg). We had some discussion scattered in amongst the lecture.
We then hopped down from the elevated lecture area in the sky, and walked over to four large boxes – each containing a notecard with a separate ethical dilemma attached. We discussed two of the scenarios tonight.
Here are a few thoughts I had:
TechnologyI was intending to use WeGame as the screen recording tool, but I gave up on it in the end as I couldn’t seem to record the ‘in-world’ sound. So I quickly downloaded and bought the full version of Fraps (it was only $50.00 so not too pricey).
The free version allows you to record up to 30 seconds but if you want to record more than that you need to purchase the full registered version. It all went pretty smoothly from then actually (in terms of recording).
Camera angles
Camera angles and techniques are a separate matter!!! Actually upon review there are a few nice shots but a fairly obvious point to record here is, whoever is actually doing the recording needs to only concentrate on that! It would have been good to plan some shots and angles but we would need more time and resources (ie people!) to do that properly.
Unnecessary sounds!
A few other things to remember when recording – I should have turned off the keyboard / typing sounds – as I could tell it was a little distracting for Meg (Lucille) as it sounded like someone was asking a question, when it was just me pasting the text of the lecture in the chat. On that though – I think that worked reasonably well – timing it was interesting – do I paste a whole sentence at once… or two… or just a phrase….? :-). We’ll get feedback from the students as to how helpful the lecture text being pasted into chat was.
Lucille’s mic worked today which made a huge difference I think to the smooth running of everything – although having said that, my mic didn’t work when I was recording – but I didn’t need to issue instructions to students so it was fine.
I figured out what I did wrong with the notecards last week - I created three objects and attached notecards to them but had only dropped the notecards into the content of one of them! This week I created four objects and four notecards and it all worked perfectly. Was satisfying to have another chance to figure it out and then get it right. I don't THINK I'll forget that, but I'm recording it here just in case!
Overall
I felt the students seem to be reasonably engaged – both Meg (Lucille) and Jason (Ariki) did a great job of checking that the students were all still actively participating.
I’m very tired though! Intense scripting (although basic!!) and building (ok yes still extremely basic!), planning and preparation, then running the session – have been sitting here intensely concentrating since 2.30 and it is now 7.00pm! It’s apparent how much the three of us (Missy, Ariki and Lucille) are all learning though and I’m looking forward to the next session next week. We have a few students creating some Machinima scenarios (animated movies made in Second Life in this instance) for this group of students to view and discuss (if I can actually get the media player working!!).
Cheers
Trudy (Missy Oximoxi)
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Session 1 reflections
Summary
Points to note
1. Have back up mics/machines/internet connection :-)
2. Fully script lesson AND post into chat as well as talk live
3. Check the technology such as scripted objects
4. Def use SL for content delivery and discussion.
5. Have back up mics/machines/internet connection :-)
6. Was helpful with a small group interacting in a chat. But larger
group and a chat log over differnt topics makes the convo confusing. Need to think through the chat logger use
Our first 'live' session with the students was tonight!
Have just finished the first live session with the students. Great to be through with the 'first one' ! Here are some of my thoughts:
I'll start with the frustrations so the blog post ends on a nice note :-). Although let me say from the outset, I think that overall, it went well.
Technical issues - I personally had so many it was almost funny! I was frustrated with the issues I was having prior to and during the session - my mouse wasn't working - the wireless one went flat, and the plug in one wouldnt register, my headset was working, then not working, I couldn't log into the internet to begin with, then Second Life crashed 3 times before I could log on. Then I couldn't record the sound using WeGame ! I got 4.22 minutes of the session as a movie. So with that going on - I didn't feel I helped Jason and Meg a lot - and when it was my time to speak I was occupied with a number of issues, and helping people log on, get there via IM etc etc. And for some reason two of the notecards I had attached to objects didn't work - but they worked when I tested them just prior to the session (I created them just prior to the session!!) so not sure what happened there.
We also had some audio issues but once everyone stopped using the handsfree mode, the echoes stopped and it was a lot easier - although not for Lucielle (Meg) who didn't have any sound at all so couldn't speak to us or hear us!
Some technical notes (as opposed to issues!):
The Sloodle chat logger worked well after I actually logged in to Moodle and opened up the chat session there - but I didn't think I had to do that - but at least I had tested it enough to be able to figure out what to do when it wasn't working so I was grateful for that!! It also didn't capture chat that was happening as an Instant Message (private message between avatars) so that is good to know for the future. The activity we had set up was for the students to work in pairs to discuss the information found in the notecards (placed in 3 different areas on the island). So the chatting was a bit hard to follow I think.
Overall though, Sloodle tools worked well. For this session we only used the Chat Logger (Web Intercom) and the Reg Enrol booth (to register everyone's avatars in Moodle).
Personally I found it hard to just 'be there' for the students as I was trying to fix technical issues - but I think Jason and Meg did a great job interacting with the students and keeping everything running - especially Jason - it all fell to him really due to Meg (Lucille) not having sound and me working on technical issues!However - all of that said, I enjoyed the whole process and am looking forward to the next session so we can build on what we all just learnt together. And really, this session was about induction and I think the students did really well to fly, move around, and manage their avatars, speak, chat, dance some brilliant crazy dance moves (!!)(thanks Matt) - as well as dress themselves! So overall I'm happy with it!!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
A little 'ah-ha' moment :-)
After quite a technically frustrating day (problems with Second Life, Moodle AND Sloodle), I finally got something to work!! The Sloodle Web Intercom (chat logger) - is now working for us. The 'ah ha' moment was the realisation that a student is still able to participate in a chat session even if they had trouble getting on to Second Life. They could still participate and communicate via the Moodle chat window as though they were there in Second Life. A really useful tool should students lose connection in the middle of a session too. This is all possibly really obvious to those that have been using Second Life / Sloodle for a while - but having just discovered the two way functionality and tested it - and knowing that it really does work - is a nice moment :-). So I'm going to celebrate and have lunch now!!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Ariki's update
Another video update :-). The place I visited was pretty cool. Everything is massive (no I am not that small)
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Some thoughts...
Hi everyone.
During a meeting recently, we spent some time looking around Second Life and just navigating. Being a relatively creative person, I began to brainstorm some ideas regarding different opportunities for teaching and educating youth workers (and youth in general) about different aspects of life, and indeed, how these can be expressed through Second Life.
My thoughts (brainstorming) regarding space ran something along these lines:
. Creating room (space) for teaching on body image and self esteem in relation to youth. A room could be specially designed that has a series of posters, each providing different aspects to the body image debate. It was envisaged that each poster (or wall) have some challenging questions for youth in how they view their body and cultural perceptions of beauty. The final challenge after viewing this would be for the participant to change their avatar appearance before venturing back out into the wider space of Second Life and recording their interactions with others, particularly any changes.
. Another room (or building - space, however it is defined) allocated to issues of bullying, either in the school environment or the Second Life environment itself. This could provide information regarding bullying being a form of abuse and how to address this issue. Closely identified with discussions on self esteem, this wall could also include a series of "strengths" (modelled closely on a strengths perspective in therapeutic practice) and provide opportunities for youth to identify themselves in relation to their strengths, rather than being defined by others.
. Another space could be allocated to discussions regarding health and well being and holistic approaches to this. A series of posters (or walls) with information, suggesting that health and well being incorporates emotional, mental, social, financial, sexual, physical, spiritual rather than being limited to traditional understandings. These would also include a series of questions calling youth to challenge themselves in identifying the areas of their life needing assistance in terms of wellness. Ultimately, these would also have referral suggestions (particularly in relation to emotional and mental health) and also provide assessment and helpful tools such as how to design their own "eco-maps" and "lifestyle wheels" for understanding their holistic health and working towards maintaining it.
A few thoughts for now - I will add more as I come across them in my mind! :-)
Feel free to comment, add or make suggested changes to the aforementioned ideas.
Peace, Dee :-)
During a meeting recently, we spent some time looking around Second Life and just navigating. Being a relatively creative person, I began to brainstorm some ideas regarding different opportunities for teaching and educating youth workers (and youth in general) about different aspects of life, and indeed, how these can be expressed through Second Life.
My thoughts (brainstorming) regarding space ran something along these lines:
. Creating room (space) for teaching on body image and self esteem in relation to youth. A room could be specially designed that has a series of posters, each providing different aspects to the body image debate. It was envisaged that each poster (or wall) have some challenging questions for youth in how they view their body and cultural perceptions of beauty. The final challenge after viewing this would be for the participant to change their avatar appearance before venturing back out into the wider space of Second Life and recording their interactions with others, particularly any changes.
. Another room (or building - space, however it is defined) allocated to issues of bullying, either in the school environment or the Second Life environment itself. This could provide information regarding bullying being a form of abuse and how to address this issue. Closely identified with discussions on self esteem, this wall could also include a series of "strengths" (modelled closely on a strengths perspective in therapeutic practice) and provide opportunities for youth to identify themselves in relation to their strengths, rather than being defined by others.
. Another space could be allocated to discussions regarding health and well being and holistic approaches to this. A series of posters (or walls) with information, suggesting that health and well being incorporates emotional, mental, social, financial, sexual, physical, spiritual rather than being limited to traditional understandings. These would also include a series of questions calling youth to challenge themselves in identifying the areas of their life needing assistance in terms of wellness. Ultimately, these would also have referral suggestions (particularly in relation to emotional and mental health) and also provide assessment and helpful tools such as how to design their own "eco-maps" and "lifestyle wheels" for understanding their holistic health and working towards maintaining it.
A few thoughts for now - I will add more as I come across them in my mind! :-)
Feel free to comment, add or make suggested changes to the aforementioned ideas.
Peace, Dee :-)
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