Machinima is a way of making animated movies with nothing more than a computer and screen capture software and “filmed” either in a virtual world or Video Game. The “movie” can be used “as is” without any editing or embellished with sound, music, special effects, text, and editing.

Considering the components of a typical lesson/unit plan, either teaching a process or introducing new content, machinima could be incorporated to bring interest, help explain, and just get attention in a way that today’s students are used to.

• Lesson/Unit Introduction:  A short clip  introducing a topic in any subject area is possible with a machinima.  Virtual worlds allow for scenes and actions that would be impossible to recreate in the physical world.  As you look over your lesson plans the introductions used to introduce concepts on history, science, math, and literature will trigger ideas of making a machinima to make that  introduction more interesting, relevant and memorable.  Using a video game to make that introduction is certain to catch student attention, you can open a free introductory account in most games  to use for machinima and virtual world registrations are free to join.
• Lesson Objectives:  When you give students objectives for a lesson or unit it is typically in words, written and spoken.  How about having an avatar tie the objectives as they go through some motions or appear in a setting to bring attention to the highlights?  Perhaps supplying the objectives in an animated fashion will support students in successful learning.
• Lesson/Unit Materials:  As your machinima library grows, movies will be included in lesson/unit materials and can be shared with colleagues.
• Unit Procedures:  Teaching requires the use of multiple procedures to ensure learning,  those that involve student interaction and collaboration have proven effective.  Student created machinima is a potentially effective addition to the more traditional activities that you currently use.
• Unit Assessment:  Student created machinma is a form of authentic assessment, evaluated with the use of a rubric provided to students at the start of the unit.
• Remediation & Enrichment :  Machinima works for  both enrichment and remediation as students can work in groups and develop machinma ensuring objectives, keeping in mind that grouping students to ensure success is important.
• Differentiating Instruction:  Developing any project in a group requires use of various skills and knowledge.  All students can contribute to a machinima as there is a variety of skills and levels involved.

As you wind down the school year and the think about how to do it better next year, consider incorporating machinima into your teaching repertoire.  You may want to register for the free Machinma course beginning on June 4 at the P2PU.org site.

Related articles

• Forbes Games: Google Bets On Machinima (forbes.com)
• Yep, Google’s in the Content Business. And Now It’s Fessing Up to Its Machinima Investment. (allthingsd.com)

The Block message I got when attempting to logon to Google Hangout.

The Internet is vast, diverse, and can be dangerous just like our physical world.  Helping our youth by imparting information regarding the world and how to deal with it goes back to the beginning of time, I am sure that cave dwellers cuddled their young and protected them from wild and wooly creatures that lurked about.  Today, we hold a young child’s hand when we cross the street, ensure the use of a safety belt and a bicycle helmet, and provide them with information on a variety of topics as it is requested and on their level of understanding.  We even allow a child to use a knife when making a peanut butter sandwich, a milestone for some on the way to independence.

Children walk to school, cross streets and use sharp instruments at school (scissors, pencils).  Yet when it comes the Internet, school districts  BLOCK any site that just MAY have something that is potentially perceived as harmful.  I wonder how much of this “protective” action is about protecting the child and how much is about protecting the organization/school/district from a fear of a liability issue?   I recently asked someone connected to the workings of our technology firewall why Google Hangout was blocked, as I had used it professionally (from home) and as a professional developer saw the potential for its’ use in instruction and coaching.  The response I got was “somebody probably saw something”, unclear as to what the something could be I accepted the fact that I will need to keep my hangouts – professional or otherwise, after hours.

I understand that a firewall is both to keep people out of your network and to keep people on the inside from getting out, each with reason.  A firewall is important to keep confidential information (student and staff records) and financial records (my paycheck) safe from nefarious action and it also serves to keep inappropriate information from impressionable young minds  (violent and sexual content included).  My school district purchased a software firewall to do this job.  So, being a machine and not being able to judge, the machine simply blocks anything with particular words.  Included in these words are “games” and “social networking”, thus no Google Hangout, Youtube, Facebook, parts of LinkedIn or anything that resembles a game (educational or otherwise).   Oddly Twitter was given a reprieve, no doubt some human intervention on that one.

I have tried to fight the battle only to be told “Don’t go there” and I see my colleagues accepting this method of dealing with the Internet by working around it.  They use smartphones to bypass the system, download and save Youtube  clips to use in the classroom, and do their professional development at night from home where they can access the latest information and collaborate with fellow practitioners without hitting that block.

Despite the fact that most teachers are more than capable of supervising students so that they are kept safe from the dangerous parts of the Internet the BLOCK is easy and efficient.  Blocking is not unique to my district, I’ve compared notes, but it does seem that smaller school districts and Charter schools do have a more open attitude towards innovations.  I wonder how students who are allowed to use Internet games and social networking sites compare with those who are blocked from exploring these innovations during the school day.  I’d love to hear from teachers who are permitted to guide their students in the use of these emerging and widely used tools.

Learn to build an Alternate Reality Game at ARG Academy

The ARG Academy Open Online Course begins on Monday May 7 and ends on Monday May 28, 2012.  The 3-week course has an objective developing an ARG to be used at the ISTE Conference in June as well as providing resources, atmosphere and collaboration for individuals or groups to build ARGs to be used in their own teaching and learning environments.

Expand your Machinima skills in the Machinima Open Online Course.

The Machinima Open Online Course begins on Monday June 4 and ends on Monday June 18, 2012.  The 3-week course is designed for people who want to learn more about Machinima production in virtual worlds and MMORPGs.  Those interested in entering a machinima in the SIGVE EDUMachinima Fest may very we’ll choose to do it through the course.  Participants may choose to work alone but are encouraged to develop a machinima as a group.

Individuals who participate in both courses may choose to use the Machinima to enhance the elements of the Alternative Reality Game.  Sign up at P2P University to participate in any or all of this fun and free opportunity to extend your learning.  Both synchronous and asynchronous activities are included and synchronous times will vary to meet needs of those in different time zones.

Related articles

• Alt-Minds: Please Don’t Let A Phone Ruin Your Game (rockpapershotgun.com)

The Google Hangout screen on the right includes the screens of of 9 colleagues, each of which can be viewed with a click. The screen on the left shows me in a game moving about and getting instructions from more experienced participants.

The Google Hangout screen on the right includes the screens of 9 colleagues, each of which can be viewed with a click. The screen on the left shows me in a game moving about and getting instructions from more experienced participants.

Those who teach or meet in immersive settings must often take time to troubleshoot technical issues or coach newcomers on basic functions and tasks.  With the large number of Virtual Worlds,  Browsers, Browser Versions, OS Versions,  and setting variables it is helpful to actually “see” the other person’s screen to be able to direct them adequately.  I was personally the recipient of this type of “distant coaching” through Google Hangout.  I was able to share my screen and describe what I was attempting to do and in turn received very direct direction and feedback to support my objective.  At the same time I was able to view others’ screens and have them demonstrate precisely what I needed to do.

Viewing one participant’s screen in Second Life while keeping track of the others (thumbnails) in World of Warcraft. taking a look at what each person is doing more closely is a click away.

Google Hangout added another dimension to my in world, immersive experience, as my avatar performed tasks and my colleagues gave me both audio and text directions.  As the 10 of us (according to the website Google says 9 is the limit but we had 10) communicated and supported each other, we made connections as to how this easy to use tool could be used to supplement and provide support for any online learning.  The tool provides scaffolding in that you can demonstrate on your computer all or any participants to see and hear verbal instructions, then see what students are doing and direct them as you listen to their responses and questions.  Students may look at each others’ screens and help each other out as well.  Google Hangout also allows for video camera sharing as well as computer screens, providing a format for synchronous learning that is engaging and personal, an element sometimes left out of online learning.

Though sharing screens is a feature of webinar software, it typically requires the facilitator to give and take permissions and screens shared are usually one at a time with some lag time in between.  Google Hangout makes it easy for all participants to switch between screens as concepts and ideas are discussed.

Related articles

• How to Use Google+ Hangouts for Your Business (socialmediaexaminer.com)
• Top NFL Draft Picks to Hold Google+ Hangouts With Fans (mashable.com)
• Moving To Google Hangouts (avc.com)
• Google Hanging Out (cyberculturalist.com)
• Use Slideshare in Google+ Hangouts (freetech4teachers.com)
• Google+ Hangouts offers Apps that can be very Useful (beast4romtheeast.wordpress.com)
• Cacoo Gives You a Virtual Whiteboard for Google+ Hangouts (techinasia.com)
• Google+ Hangout Can Energize Marketing Plans (contently.com)
• Cacoo Gives You a Virtual Whiteboard for Google+ Hangouts (techinasia.com)
• Google+ Hangout Can Energize Marketing Plans (contently.com)

Educators attend a conference presentation in a traditional space in an immersive environment, via avatar representations.

I come across an article several times a week that describes a K-12 district or a state’s efforts for offering the opportunity  for students to “learn online”.  Higher education has been involved with online/distance learning for a longer period of time and those articles are more about reforming and broadening access.  E-Learning, online learning, distance learning, virtual learning are all used to describe learning where students use a computer from a remote location to participate in a course of study.  Upon examination of specific “online courses”, it is clear that online teaching and learning experiences are not equal.

I first took an online class about 10 years ago. I logged onto a website and followed links to complete the task of reading information,  lots of it.  There was a syllabus breaking the content into modules by week.  Sometimes there was a movie to watch or audio clip to listen to and always an assignment to work on, independently.  Each week of reading was followed by an assessment of some kind, usually a multiple choice test.  With the exception of the computer, these online classes were similar to how my mother took correspondence courses many years ago.   My online classes did offer some interaction with the instructor and fellow students,  posting an answer to the instructor’s question and then responding to 2 or 3 fellow participants (a requirement that was sometimes contrived) and e-mail, as needed, typically to solve a technology issue.  At the high school level students are typically required to call instructors, via phone, once a week.   The online learning experience was useful for those who could not fit a class into their physical life schedule and promised “anytime, anywhere” access.  Individuals were typically motivated to complete the course and did so, earning the required credits.

More recently,  I have talked to colleagues completing a degree program online.  Their experience are similar to the one described above, with the addition of collaborative work with fellow participants required.  The work is generally some sort of project that necessitates research, writing, consensus building, and splitting the work up to be done independently with a final collection of the independent work to be submitted for a “group grade”.  The groups meet synchronously or asynchronously and communication is generally in text via e-mail, google docs and sometimes Facebook.

At the most engaged level, students meet as a class in a synchronous setting.  It can be in a webinar with video, a Skype group session, a Google Hangout (limited to 9 people), or an immersive environment.  There is a specific time and the place can be anywhere a person can get an Internet connection.  Synchronous sessions online provide personal interaction that online participants often report as lacking.  Webinars allow video cam of both instructor and participants and Immersive environments provide for avatar representations of people.  Communication can be either text, voice or both and in immersive environments (virtual worlds) participants may be in any type of environment from a traditional classroom or auditorium setting to a planet in space or a fantasy location.

For individuals who dismiss online, e-learning, virtual learning as a “read – memorize – test” process that does not require a teacher, I suggest investigating the inclusion of  engagement technologies described above.  An instructor/facilitator is ALWAYS necessary to guide the learning and monitor for understanding.  Online teaching requires some technical knowhow but depends largely on good teaching intuition and communication that motivates participants to engage.

Related Articles

• eSchool Media Recognizes Avaya With Readers’ Choice Award for Efforts to Expand Online Learning (avaya.com)
• Drop In! Top Schools from Berkeley to Yale Now Offer Free Online Courses (mashable.com)
• The LMS Divide – Social Presence in Online Learning (onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com)
• MIT open-sources online learning (news.cnet.com)
• Manifesto for teaching online (downes.ca)
• Online learning promotes passivity (mathbabe.org)

That we can align  MMORPG activity to the workplace and/or professional development symbolically may be a relatively simple task, to demonstrate the effectiveness of changing behavior among participants requires evidence and measurement.  The body of evidence is growing.    Jane McGonigal has presented her ideas and research on this type of transformational change.  Dr. Chris Dede has also researched and presented on the topic, as have others in the military, the medical field and education.

Perhaps using gaming technology and theory combined with instructional design and pedagogy would yield the benefits we continue  to strive for in education, professional development and leadership development.

Related articles

• Serious Games: Developing a Research Agenda for Educational Games and Simulations
• The Social Responsibility of MMORPG game companies
• WoW in Education: A MOOC Adventure
• World of Warcraft Sessions at VWBPE

My Orc character dances with fellow EDU orcs at the end of the evening on Day 1 of my WOW experience. Good to have friends, in any world.

The VWBPE MOOC took me into WoW last week.  It was a bit of a learning curve, but  my Virtual World (SL, RG, Opensim) experience did give me some frame of reference, particularly with basic movement and communication skills.   My ugly little avatar was able to terminate some doubly ugly creatures and move up to level 2 (83 to go).  On the first day communication was limited to text chat so my colleagues and I logged onto Second life and used the voice chat there while we experienced WoW and explored areas completely new to me.  The second day of my participation, MOOC participants got instructions for using Ventrilo for using voice, the ability to verbally request assistance and receive coaching along the way made a big difference.

Second Life (on the left) provided voice chat while our MOOC activity unfolded in WOW (right screen).

Having been skeptical of the use of any games that incorporate warfare for teaching, I was surprised with the amount of non-violent interaction.  Much of it was learning the basics of the user interface and some rudimentary information about the game itself, much too complex to master in a few hours.  What became important to me was what was going on in my head, what I had to do and think about in order to make progress.  My online colleagues, some of whom have extensive experience in the field of psychology and neurobiology, discussed their use of this environment in teaching explaining that interactions their students experience in this environment creates meaningful cognitive change.  Teachers can structure  activities to influence the change towards particular objectives.

Receiving instructions upon arrival at WoW. Anxious to progress, I learned about myself, others, and the group as a whole.

The group, including individuals with significant MMORPG experience and some with no experience,  had the opportunity to meet up with a group of WoW educators, members of the Cognitive Dissonance Guild.  The group has been exploring this platform since 2007 and welcomes interested teachers from both the K-12 and higher education arena.  A member of the Cognitive Dissonance Guild who joined us one evening currently uses WOW with middle school students (WoW in School), reporting positive changes in both behavior and academic achievement.  Students learn concepts in multiple areas including mathematics, economics and mythology.  Communication and collaboration are a must.

This graphically rich and engaging environment provides an opportunity to develop interpersonal skills and an understanding of human dynamics.  I cannot help but wonder about the potential for the teaching of Leadership skills.  Much of a Leadership program I went through, both in a higher education setting and in my workplace, required the study of leadership theory.  Though this academic study is important it fails to address application of theory.  Instruction of the application of skills typically relies on limited internships and somewhat contrived role-play in a classroom setting.  Though there is value in these, perhaps the complexity of a MMORPG like WoW would more effectively advance the application of leadership theory.

My week in WoW was eye-opening, intellectually stimulating, and fun.  I now have more informed questions regarding the use of MMORPGs in education and will make an active effort to find the answers.

Teachers attend Machinima Monday at the Montmarte Theatre in Second LIfe.

The second week of the 4-week VWBPE Games and Education Tour MOOC had a Machinima focus.  What fun to watch and participate with fellow educators as they crammed an incredible amount of energy, curiosity, intellect, humor and talent into developing machinima to help us all learn to do it better and to help our students with machinima as a learning strategy.  The word that kept cropping up was FUN…and fun it was, sometimes funNY.

The week started with a Second Life Machinima Monday meeting with non-educators, an introduction to some machinima created by artists using this medium to relay emotions and ideas.  There was much discussion on technical issues…aspect ratio, capture tools, in world camera devices, editing software, special effects, space navigators to name a few.  Always a benefit to get a different perspective.  Our Hostess, the gracious and talented Chantal Harvey facilitated the conversation and welcomed teachers to join the digital artisan group.

Discussing a possible script with an alien avatar – the alien ended up in the movie Sand Surf Saloon.

The remainder of the week consisted of working groups, and some individual work on machinima with the of using the medium for teaching and learning.  The MOOC participants were all comfortable in virtual environments and some, though not all,  had significant comfort with creating machinima.  The week was an opportunity for educators to work together on a machinima project and reflect on the potential use with students and in delivery of instruction.  K-12 and higher education educators worked side-by-side, incorporating strategies, taking on a variety of roles (script development, actor, director, machinimatographer, builder, costume designer, sound editor, video editor, stunt actor, special effects editor), and collaborating to complete a project in less than 1 week.

Attendees enjoy teacher created machinima at the Gaity Theatre on Second Life.

The exercise served to help us understand what we can expect of your students and what skills our students will need and will develop as they participate in this kind of learning activity.   The culminating activity was a Premier held at the Gaity Theatre on Caledon in Second Life, a tour destination from week 1 of the MOOC.

As the ISTE Conference this summer draws near, this talented group of machinima educators will continue to polish off their work and encourage colleagues and students to submit their digital creations to the ISTE EDUmachinma Fest.  No doubt we will have entries form the growing number of virtual worlds and from a growing number of participants.

The VWBPE Machinima developed last week:

Sand Surf Saloon; Cowboys and Aliens
http://staff.tamucc.edu/jdoan/MOOC/Cowboys and Aliens.mp4

Learning is unveiling

VWBPE 2012 Volunteer Appreciation

SIGVE Machinima Promo

Mosel SL machinima

They Came for the Cavorite
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzj6oDfq8T0

Tours in Second Life began at the Aether Education & Travel sim on Second LIfe – Jaguarland’s Bay Boat Welcome Center deck.

Week 1 of the VWBPE MOOC involved touring a variety of sites and grids appropriate for education at various levels.  I went to some places I had visited before and some I had never visited.  Having a guide certainly helps as the highlights are quickly pointed out making self-exploration, at a later time, easier.    Our tour guide, Aevalle Galicia, is an adept tour guide running tours across the metaverse, out of her location on Second Life, Jaguarland’s Bay Boat Welcome Center deck.

Tour participants could not resist getting on stage and performing at Caledon’s Gaity Theatre.

The first tour of the MOOC was a trip to theatre venues, Ballet Pixelle Theatre , Gaity Theatre and The Rose Theatre.  The Rose Theatre is a beautiful place to walk around, including grounds and multiple rooms for performances, visiting and dancing.  Ballet Pixelle is currently “dark” as the virtual ballet is in rehearsal for an opening on April 15.   If you have not seen a show here, it is well worth the visit.  The Gaity theatre was a fun place to visit and we all could not resist getting up on stage and performing.  I am looking forward to another visit when there is a show planned.  Gaity is a “Theatre of Varieties!  Fine Family Entertainments comprising Musical, Dramatical, Rhetorical, Terpsichorian, Vaudevillian and Burlesquian attractions under the personal direction of Miss Persephone Gallindo.”

Gulliver is all tied down and visitors can join the villagers in climbing on top of him at this InWorldz sim.

Tour 2 of the MOOC required registering on another Grid, Inworldz.  Due to time zone issues I had to make the trip alone but the avis at the Inworldz entry point were friendly and helpful.  Someone gave me the address of the Gulliver’s Travel Sim, as well as some spots where I could “de-ruth”.  The Gulliver’s Travel sim is a great spot for anyone reading the work.

JoKaydia offers immediate help for newcomers into the Grid.

Tour 3 was again on another grid, Jokaydia.  This is a nicely planned Grid and though I had to visit alone due to timezone and physical world requirements, the guide left notecards with landmarks.  Synchronous time is great, but when schedules make it impossible it is nice to have strategies to catch people up.

Playing with a pile of gold in an old Roman Building.

On Thursday tour embers traveled in time in SL to visit Ancient History sites.  ROMA’s multiple sims, a very large build with interactive locations.  A 30 minute visit is not sufficient to see it all.  The historic visit continued to the Acropolis sim.  Here there is typical Greek architecture and the Parthenon up on a hill, overlooking the village.  A note-card provided upon arrival gives the history of the ruins and  describes the current state and efforts to preserve.  This sim give both a historic and modern perspective.  The sims are both rated mature so visits to these sims have restrictions.  The concepts however, are worth recreating in other  locations and they are examples of using the environment for the teaching of history.

Trying to keep up with my in-world friends in my flying machine on Caledon.

Fun Friday tour  ”play date” was to  the Iron Cloud high above Caledon Middlesea, and fun it was!  Tour participants had a great time with flying machines. This is a potential machinma location, once you learn to control your ship.  Avatar flying is not allowed so you have no choice but to use a ship.  The activity lends itself well to map-reading as you have to use the map and know directions to keep up with others as you zoom around the sims.

Dressed in Mayan attire at a temple at the welcome area of Mayan Island in Second Life.

Although I missed the Maya Island Tour on Saturday, I went back on my own, got my Mayan outfit for free, and looked around at this amazing build.  The Mayans won multiple awards at the VWBPE Conference, including best poster and educational machinima.  It includes quests and challenges for visitors that inform about this culture.  The University of Washington’s Certificate in Virtual Worlds Class of 2011 built the Mayan Island experience.

The PTSD sim has participants walk through a mall as “visions” pop up at certain times explaining how and why a trip to a mall can be difficult for individuals suffering from PTSD.

The last tour of this MOOC week was  to the T2 PTSD Experience to see the tiered simulation as well as visit the area of the upcoming May stream of the Federal Consortium of Virtual Worlds.  Although I had read about this use of Virtual Environments, it was enlightening to actually participate.  This was a serious sim to visit and demonstrated that use of the environment.  The visit required several uniform changes and included an anxiety HUD.  The sim builders do recommend physical word counseling from a professional to those suffering from PTSD, but the sim is a potential supplement of that counseling as well as providing an understanding of the issue, for family and friends.

The MOOC Tour provided a variety and offered additional landmarks for those wishing to investigate more.  You can view additional pictures on the MOOC Tour Flkr, or better yet visit on your own.   The VWBPE MOOC site on P2P has more reflections, ideas, and links for more educational sites.

Related articles

• About MOOC as a reflective SPACE (vwmooc.wordpress.com)
• World of Warcraft Sessions at VWBPE (vwmooc.wordpress.com)
• Pixellated Ballet Entertains Audiences in a Virtual Environment (gridjumper.net)
• Enhance your Virtual World IQ; Join A MOOC (gridjumper.net)

The Central Auditorium was the scene for multiple presentations during the 3-day VWBPE Conference.

On march 15-18 many of my virtual colleagues met to provide and to attend numerous presentations on several educational topics, mostly the use of using virtual environments in education, at the VWBPE Conference.  Learning will continue via the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) to anyone interested.  The week I am facilitating, with a little help from my friends,  will begin with a field trip to Machinima Monday’s meeting.  The Machinima Monday group  focuses on machinima and though not a group of educators they are undoubtedly learners and supporters of learning for those interested in the topic of machinima.  They are a Professional Learning Community.

Builder’s Brewery was one of the sponsors of VWBPE 2012 Conference. Members of Builder’s Brewery are members of a very large and global learning community.

Groups like New Citizens Incorporated, Builder’s Brewery and Danish Visions in Second Life provide classes for building and scripting in 3D.  These groups also provide a vehicle for communication (the group chat) even when one is not in a specific class.  The global members of these learning communities respond to questions and offer resources and advice 24/7.  Groups in OpenSim worlds work the same way as they do in Second Life, though the response time may not be as quick depending on time zones and times.  The peer coaching/mentoring attributes of professional learning communities are evident in these groups and other groups associated with a multitude of focus areas and the support often occurs through a variety of web-based resources such as blogs, wikis and other social media outlets.

I began to participate in virtual worlds because I had an interest, thought it would be useful for education and my job, and it looked like fun. My learning is evident in what I can do and what I can describe though  I didn’t get inservice points or a training stipend, am not listed in a LMS for my learning and I can’t use my learning for recertification. I’ve participated in a number of authentic learning communities,  learning from and with those in other industries as well as from and with fellow educators.  Learning experiences have been both in synchronous and asynchronous formats.  Much of my collaborative learning has been done with those from other communities, states and countries.   My virtual PLC pals are generous with sharing what they know and generous with their time.  We exchange e-mail, respond to   tweets and blogs, and meet in the virtual world to demonstrate, try something new or just talk and reflect.  My virtual world PLC activity  does not require rubrics, criteria, checklists, rules or forms.  I just show up and participate to whatever extent suits my needs.