Aspects of information literacy in virtual worlds

Aspects of information literacy in virtual worlds

LILAC 2009 (1 April 2009)Vicki Cormie, Denny Colledge, Marshall

Dozier, Lyn Parker, Sheila Webber

Purple OR orange

This slideshare pdf has slides used for a handout distributed in the LILAC symposium. There are introductory slides, followed by 3 short sets of slides; created by Sheila Webber, Lyn Parker and Marshall Dozier.

Pancha [email protected]

Maggie [email protected]

Lulu Quinnell

[email protected]

Sheila [email protected]

[email protected]

https://webmail.shef.ac.uk/horde/imp/[email protected]&name='Vicki+Cormie'&actionID=156&array_index=54&index=68204�

http://delicious.com/LILACSLLinks to websites, articles, tutorials, videos, and

places in Second Life

Topics: Education in SL and Libraries/Librarians in SL

Second Life

• 3-D Online Digital world, owned by Linden Labs• Most things created by SL residents: SL fashion

designers, architects, bakers, animal makers ….• Avatars- 3D representation of yourself – free to

signup and can live on freebies, but need Linden dollars if want to own land, buy clothes etc.

• Communication through text chat, Voice and Instant Messaging

• 40-80,000 people online simultaneously• http://www.secondlife.com/

http://secondlife.com/�

Sheila Webber/

Yoshikawa

[email protected]://information-literacy.blogspot.com/

http://adventuresofyoshikawa.blogspot.com/

Information tools inworld: 1 - Search in SL

What is “information” in SL?These slides highlight some ways you can get information in SL

2 -Avatar info in

SL

3 -Object info in

SL

4 - Land info in SL

Study in information behaviour• 40 semi-structured interviews (2 per student) carried out

in SL late Nov - early Dec 2008 (for assignment)• Students undertook critical incident interviews with SL

residents (a time when they had an information need relating to a SL activity) in SL itself

• Informed consent, and chat transcripts logged• Convenience sample, mainly solicited through the SL

Educators & (UK) Virtualworlds discussion lists• 11 Canadian undergrad students; the rest educators,

librarians or SL developers from various countries• Not a full analysis for this studySheila’s students have interviewed people in SL about “a time when they needed information for a SL activity”. This tells us some more about information and information behaviour in SL

Observations • Examples of topics: buying land; obtaining

things (e.g. business clothes; tables; games); how to open a virtual parachute; finding good “camping” sites; preparing for a job fair

• My students (and I) able to identify behaviourrelating to real life research models of information behaviour (patterns of information seeking etc.)

Sheila Webber, 2008

Observations 2• People important as sources of information and advice• People and web search common starting points; also

one’s own inventory• Mixture of tools and people. inside and outside SL• Information encountering common (as with Ostrander,

2008)• Rich mix of sources used• Undergraduate students exhibited less complex

information behaviour and were using SL-specific techniques/tools less

Note: there are links here with research into “everyday information seeking” in RL –but people actually emerge as important in most studies where the researcher bothers to ask about “people” sources.

Implications – information literacy as an enabler in a virtual environment

• As in real life: empowering and helping problem solving• As in real life, problem solving and Inquiry Based Learning

approaches synergistic with IL development• May not be supported by real life formal information

literacy teaching, which focuses on text and on searching (rather than browsing & encountering) individually (rather than collaboratively)

• SL Information literacy may be fostered when exploring SL information is part of educational aims/activitiese.g. developing a build about a novel; creating a virtual shipyard

• As more use of virtual worlds – more need to think of SL information literacy (but which need to include “real life” information literacy)

IL models & tools in SL -3 types in SL

• Complete models – more holistic understanding & examples (e.g. the 7 Pillars model on the next slide)

• Tools/quizzes/information related to specific aspects of IL (e.g. the puzzles on Knowhow Island)

• Tools etc. related to specific library resources

Questions include:- What approaches to teaching & learning are implied? (possibly –transmissive approaches which are not really aligned with higher-order learning goals concerning evaluation etc.)- How could the models and tools be used? (the same object might be used in a rather transmissive, or a more constructivist, way)- What aspects of IL are covered most? (searching & evaluating?)

Model by Sheila Webber/Yoshikawa on Infolit iSchool in SL

The example is a problem (should we panic about bird flu) with material created by Sheila’s students (e.g. mindmaps)

Some interactivity e.g. you can click on posters or pillars for more information or for web links

Images have been removed for this Slideshare version in case they breached copyright

We showed the University of Nottingham’s Library Garden, which has areas where (for example) you can click on flowers to find out about different types of material, or release balloons as you learn about dissemination of research

We also showed Knowhow Island, which has a number of well-built puzzles relating to information literacy, including a fun “Boolean Logic” swimming pool!

Lyn Parker/ (SL) Maggie Kohime

[email protected]

4/6/2009 Lyn Parker/Maggie Kohime LILAC 2009

Overlap with other literacies

• Multi-tasking environment• Digital literacy• Geospatial awareness• Visual literacy• Communication skills and participating in virtual

communities for educational /work purposes• Adapting to new technologies

• Overlap with other Web 2.0 applications

4/6/2009 LILAC 2009

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Sign up to groups in Second Life and on the Internet, follow twitter stream, post to blogs and wikis and take photos/video of events and activities; all while reflecting on what is going on!! Transferable skills from one platform to another – Second Life has 3D dimension which means need visual literacy and spatial awareness Heightened sense of presence - collaborative, building sense of community, sharing experiences - also true of other Web 2.0 technologies

Geospatial information

• Geographic information - navigating by – Maps

– coordinates,

– teleport to landmarks

• Recognition of Real World buildings

• Relates to mash ups in web 2.0 using maps to illustrate information


7 Pillars Model in Second Life

• Recognising an information need– As with other platforms, knowing where to start is

the most difficult aspect

– Learning curve getting used to technology

– Acquire information from browsing and encountering initially

– Guided activity needs to be task based, with support (often f2f), list of places to visit or tours provided, teleporting or via balloon rides


Presenter

Presentation Notes

SL unique in being mix of people and surrounding environment - immersive educational site Reliance on peer support, tutor facilitation, knowing where to get help

Addressing information ‘gap’

• Different types of resources– In world

• People/Groups

• Help button

• Search

– Internet• People/Groups – Email distribution lists SLED

• Secondlife wiki

• Google search – YouTube videos, blog posts,


Presenter

Presentation Notes

Increasingly being able to merge 2 and get access to Web pages in world. Merging of technologies from 3D television with Internet to accessing Second Life from a mobile phone! Personally prefer Google search to inworld search. Most avatars are talking to and asking other avatars for info and good places to go and landmark. Use people as experts - similar to Web2.0 technologies with Twitter, Blogs, social networking.

Construct search strategies

• Search engine in Second Life unsophisticated

• No phrase searching

• Tabs – Classified, Events, Showcase, Land Sales, Places, People, Groups

• Ads appear for one week, cost and how much pay determines where appear on list

• Register places and groups so included in search


Presenter

Presentation Notes

Reason why rely on people is that search engine in Second Life is not brilliant!

Evaluation of information

• People main source of information• Profiles – right click for further information

both Second Life and ‘First Life’• Flatter structure within Second Life, peer to

peer rather than tutor to students• Objects such as presentations, notecards etc

similarly can right click touch and edit to find who created the object, original owner, and any editors and link to their profiles


Presenter

Presentation Notes

flat structure, no longer traditional idea of authority - need to show students where to find that information, does exist. - similar to looking at source of Web page. People – can set up a profile, accessible by right clicking, picture, link to website, 1st life, favourite places or picks, Using My Notes to keep track of your interactions with others, groups belong to. Can then offer friendship so build up community of practice.

Apply, Communicate and Organise

• Ethics

• Systematic record of searches

• Use of notes function within profile

• Organisation of inventory with landmarks, calling cards, objects, clothing

• Keeping track of items added, duplication of entries

• Sort by name and date only at present


Creation of New Knowledge

• Collaboration – learning together• Synthesise information from variety of sources,

both in world and on Internet• Participation in discussion• Group decisions/team working online• Tracking discussion, keeping track of decisions,

summarising points at regular intervals• Similar skills to other online conferencing systems

– employability skills in 21st century?


Presenter

Presentation Notes

Use of collaboration tools for practice professionals and others off site to support learning and practice development. ("They also need to develop skills in collaboration and team work, and the ability to critique each other's work and reflect on their peers and their own work.")

Reference enquiry• [4:27] Maggie Kohime: hi• [4:27] JG Dover: Hello• [4:27] JG Dover: I have not used SL for sometime• [4:28] JG Dover: I cant find any note cards at Education UK• [4:29] Maggie Kohime: what type of notecards?• [4:29] JG Dover: Information about meetings etc• [4:30] Maggie Kohime: ok well SLED have a calendar which lists activities in SL -

educational ones :-)• [4:30] Maggie Kohime: http://sledevents.blogspot.com/• [4:31] JG Dover: I will look for that thank you• [4:31] Maggie Kohime: it is also useful to join groups• [4:31] Maggie Kohime: if you right click on my profile you will see which groups I

belong to, mostly librarian• [4:32] JG Dover: Thanks OK• [4:37] Maggie Kohime: well I will let you continue to investigate you might want to

look at the student village• [4:38] Inventory item offered• [4:39] Maggie Kohime: see you soon, bye for now


Presenter

Presentation Notes

focus on the skilled librarian and less the "library” Offer roving reference

Marshall Dozier / (SL) Pancha Enzyme

[email protected]

Information about the creator is clear in Edit mode

Reproduced with permission from Chez Nabob http://shop.onrez.com/Chez_Nabob

This is a poster from an anti-content-theft campaign amongst SL fashion designers

Reproduced with permission from Chez Nabob http://shop.onrez.com/Chez_Nabob

A few places to peruse

• Warner James Au [blog] How Ironic Are Intellectual Property Rights In Second Life? http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2009/03/ironic-property-rights.html

• The DMCA and YOU http://secondlife.com/newsletter/2007_01/civiccenter.html

• Outcry as ‘Copybot’ threatens copyright protection http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2006/11/14/outcry-as-copybot-threatens-copyright-protection/

Sheila and Pancha discussing this part in SL, at the weekend before LILAC