Virtual Worlds: Second LifeDr. Laura
NicosiaAssistant Professor
English Department
AJ KeltonDirector
CHSS Technology Services Unit
College of Humanities and Social Sciencesat Montclair State University
What do you already know about
Second Life?
Why talk about Second Life?
What is Second Life?
Started in 2003
“Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents.”
A flexible space for learning and exploration
An opportunity for people to interact in a way that conveys a sense of presence lacking in other media.
Generalized rather than contextual, applicable to almost any discipline.
What is Second Life?
Second life is NOT a game - there are no rules or a fixed goal-oriented purpose.
15-20K sign ups daily - over 10.5 million total
25 - 50K residents on at one time
over $1 million spent daily (real US dollars)
Well over 200 educational institutions
Over 250 “sims” dedicated to education
What is Behind Second Life
a scaleable co-located grid of servers running Linux
Real-time 3D streaming at DSL/Cable modem (or higher)
Rigid body physics simulation, streaming positional audio (distance and direction)
Persistent desktop access - everything resides on the grid
Cross-platform portability
Infinite avatar customization - no two avatars alike
Uploadable textures, audio, Quicktime video can play in-
world.
International Language Support - chat and communicate in
local languages, inc. Asian character sets. European
keyboards supported.
Technical Requirements
•Highest speed connection (no dial up)
•Best Graphics Card (specific)
•Windows 2000 / Mac OS X 10.3.9
•800MHz Pentium III / 1 GHz G4
•512 MB RAM
A Universe of Virtual Worlds
Second Life
Active WorldThere
SL Teen Grid
WhyvilleToontown
Sims OnlineVirtual EarthHome
MetaverseProtospher
eMuse
Coke Studios
Sora CityDreamville
TowerChatTravelerHabbo Hotel
The ManorMokitownCybertown
Virtual Ibiza
Voodoo Chat
Playdo
Worlds.com
MooveThe Palace
A Universe of Virtual Worlds• 22 virtual world platforms listing over 11.8 million
users, and that only includes numbers from 7 of the 22
•18 virtual worlds for Teens and Tweens listing over 52.3 million users from 12 of the 18
•15 virtual worlds for kids listing over 16.7 million users from 9 of the 15
Do the math: 55 virtual platforms w/ 80.8 million users
Show me the money
“We don't see any slowing in the market adoption of virtual worlds technologies and expect investment in the space to continue. In fact the market is growing significantly, with the rate of adoption of virtual worlds increasing as the technology matures and has more to offer both consumers and enterprise customers.”
Christopher Sherman
Executive Director of Virtual Worlds Management
Pedagogical Validity for Teaching with Second
Life
First, we recognize…There is significant media hype focused on the “darker sides” of the in-world experience - violence, sex, drugs and rock & roll
The label of “gaming” poses an image problem for SL insofar as its potential uses in secondary and/or higher education
Without proper directions, goals and objectives, SL is as aimless and as pedagogically bereft of meaning as any other poorly designed or poorly deployed classroom lesson
However, withconstructivist pedagogies
ComprehensionComprehension soars when millennials soars when millennials engage with their avatars and co-journey engage with their avatars and co-journey through the learning environment’s through the learning environment’s unfolding episodes and processes (Dede)unfolding episodes and processes (Dede)
Learning communitiesLearning communities are fostered are fostered
Collaborative knowledge-building Collaborative knowledge-building develops develops and cognitive capital is distributed among and cognitive capital is distributed among groups and individualsgroups and individuals
Meet Students in “Interesting” Places
Immersion yields enhanced Immersion yields enhanced motivationmotivation
Hands-on, constructivist practices pose Hands-on, constructivist practices pose challengeschallenges and peak and peak curiositycuriosity
MMUVEs MMUVEs reach learnersreach learners who do not succeed in who do not succeed in conventional classroom settings, as well as conventional classroom settings, as well as “traditional” learners“traditional” learners
The use of MMUVEs allow for delivery of The use of MMUVEs allow for delivery of sophisticated content in sophisticated content in context context andand application application
http://muve.gse.harvard.edu/rivercityproject/
Dede’s research Dede’s research onon
MMUVEs showsMMUVEs shows
Second Life permits the use of
unconventional educational settings
and hands-on experiences that
would be difficult/impossible in Real Life. Such as…
Dante’s Inferno and Linden Hills
Second Life provides
Guided Inquiry,Guided Inquiry, where experience is where experience is central to learning central to learning
ScaffoldingScaffolding of in-world prior of in-world prior experiences through seeking, experiences through seeking, sieving and synthesizing sieving and synthesizing experiencesexperiences
DecentralizationDecentralization of the class, where of the class, where knowledge is created across a knowledge is created across a community rather than delivered community rather than delivered from an individualfrom an individual
In the process, we… Share and exchangeShare and exchange resources, resources, cultural knowledge, stories and cultural knowledge, stories and experiencesexperiences
Engage in Engage in social explorationsocial exploration using a using a multiplicity of perspectives and points multiplicity of perspectives and points of viewof view
Apply Apply critical thinkingcritical thinking and problem- and problem-solving in context and in processsolving in context and in process
UnlearnUnlearn assumptionsassumptions about about communities and the “Other”communities and the “Other”
Exposure to the
“Other”
But, how do we teach content and skill sets using
Second Life
Second Life:
Cybergogy and
Cyberpraxis
Pedagogical Pedagogical considerations:considerations:
AsynchronousAsynchronous participation and deep participation and deep reflection at each user’s pacereflection at each user’s pace
SynchronousSynchronous virtual exchanges to virtual exchanges to heighten immersion and foster heighten immersion and foster interactionsinteractions
A combination of A combination of mediated,mediated, situated situated learning-environments (teacher learning-environments (teacher established challenges) and established challenges) and free, evolvingfree, evolving situated learning environments (to situated learning environments (to experience virtual exploration)experience virtual exploration)
If you build it,they will come
Construct 3-D Sites
Autonomous Learning
Students visit the always available site
They enter the learning space
Explore and orient themselves
Encounter your assigned tasks
An effective virtual An effective virtual learning environment learning environment
(VLE) may:(VLE) may:SupplementSupplement face-to-face interaction face-to-face interaction
Be used Be used in combinationin combination with other with other multi-media (e.g. videoconferences multi-media (e.g. videoconferences embedded within the SL platform or embedded within the SL platform or concomitant with SL)concomitant with SL)
Be an adjunct to Be an adjunct to BlackboardBlackboard or or another more linear, asynchronous another more linear, asynchronous interactions with discussion groups interactions with discussion groups and blogs and blogs
Hold Meetings In-world
Ultimately, We MustMake the environment part of the learning experience—not an end unto itself
Enable metacognitive reflection on the SL experience
Construct feedback loops and self-renewing frameworks to inform our praxis
Investigate the pedagogical successes and failures of using Second life for our classes and disciplines
Now that we have the site, content
and tasks:Who owns
the material
?
Copyright vs. Creative Commons
Intellectual Property Issues:
•Valid for 70 yrs past the death of the creator
•Grants permissions that are “all-or-nothing” (Public Domain or Creator Ownership)
Copyright
Creative Commons Licensing (CC):
• Offers the option for full permission to modify, copy, and use (with attribution)
• Allows creators to reserve some rights
• Permits varying levels of public use:
• May specify “No derivatives”
• May restrict “commercial” uses
• May require “Share-Alike” uses
Institutions of Higher Ed such as:
•MIT uses OpenCourseWare for all graduate and undergraduate courses (Non-Commercial, NoDeriv, Share-Alike permissions)
•Rice University uses Connexions (Full attributions only)
How do I use CC?• Go the website:
http://www.creativecommons.org
• Answer a few questions
• The site indicates appropriate license for your needs
• Site provides HTML code to add to the online work page
• Code includes logo that links to CC page for use instructions
There are nagging questions…
Question 1:
What is acceptable attribution?
Question 2:
What is the definition of “commercial” use?
Question 3:
Must attribution accompany the image
immediately?
Question 4:
If I use Share-alike item, must my entire project be Share-
alike as well?
How will these rulesbe enforced?
Question 5:
For discipline-specific For discipline-specific uses of SL in the class:uses of SL in the class:
““101 Uses for Second Life 101 Uses for Second Life
in the College Classroom”in the College Classroom”
Dr. Megan S. Conklin—Elon UniversityDr. Megan S. Conklin—Elon Universityhttp://trumpy.cs.elon.edu/metaversehttp://trumpy.cs.elon.edu/metaverse
The CHSS Pilot Project
Recreate What Exists
Walk into a story
Always “On” Content
Traditional Spaces
Create Something New
Engage Your Students
Challenges
Genome Island
The Second Louvre
NOAA
Business
Spaceport Alpha and Delta
Renaissance Island
San Francesco Assisi
InfoIsland
Princeton
The Sistine Chapel Vassar
Vassar Island
The Lost Gardens of Apollo
Abbott’s Aerodrome
?