Category 21st Century

Aug 28 2011

Anatomy of a Lecture: Webinar vs VW Presentation

Although telling is not teaching there are reasons to present,  times when an expert  must provide information regarding a particular topic.  We’ve all attended lectures/presentations  and have had varying degrees of  learning from our attendance.

A typical Webinar session contains areas for presentation and interaction

The basic lecture in the digital age takes advantage of  digital presentation tools coupled with webinar/online presentation software.  The online meeting/webinar is a way to save time and money by providing a format allowing participants to logon to a website, and participate in a synchronous session with colleagues from remote locations.  The presenter and participants use audio and text, allowing for different modalities including side text conversations with colleagues without disrupting the general session.  Video is often available via webcam, typically a ‘talking head’.   The presentation is generally a PowerPoint or slide show with links and relevant documents provided.  In addition to the cost and time savings benefits, sessions can be recorded for future reference.

A Virtual World presentation contains areas for presentation and interaction

In a virtual world educational setting the lecture contains similar elements with some unique distinctions.  Again, text and audio communication abilities, note-taking,  recorded sessions and  non-disruptive side communications are the norm.  The obvious difference is visible in the comparison of the two screenshots posted here.  A virtual world provides a visual setting that is very much like a real world setting, though it could be placed in some extraordinary setting for added fun.  A camera control allows the participant to look around the room and zoom into  a presentation slide much like happens in a face-to-face presentation.  Attending a Virtual World presentation provides a “game” look and feel, considered by some as silly and unnecessary and by others as more engaging and natural.

Having attended both types of presentations I find them similar in the screen controls and options.  The engagement  factor is difficult to describe, best to experience it.  The virtual world method is a closer connection to real life presentation because of the visual setting, it does however require some skill and knowledge in computer interfaces and in many cases a special viewer.  There are some web-based virtual world settings, none are yet at the mobile device stage.  I’m guessing the technology will advance, bandwidth will improve and the two formats for delivering online synchronous presentations will meld bringing us the best of both.

Techplex Engineer describes the work of one of the teachers in a Summer Institute Course
Aug 1 2011

Blurring the Lines Between Teacher and Learner

Techplex Engineer describes the work of one of the teachers in a Summer Institute Course

I was building on Reaction Grid and in need of a script so I looked at the map, located a couple of green dots and teleported over to request help. Techplex Engineer, an Anime-haired avatar greeted me cordially and immediately guided me to exactly what I was seeking.  Curious about the surroundings of the sim I had never seen, I inquired about the project and the blue haired Avi told me he was teaching teachers as part of a Summer Institute Outreach Program at the University of Maine’s School of Education.  The name of the Course was “Creating An Immersive Virtual Learning Environment“.

Part of the project from the Summer Academy was a World Religions Plaza for use with high school students.

My interest piqued, I continued to ask questions, finding my new virtual friend to be knowledgable and adept at explaining.  He provided pertinent web-sites, information about getting my mossy path to look seamless, and demonstrated layering of prims for particular effects.  Techplex explained that the teachers in the course were learning to build and use this environment to become “a new breed and begin to integrate this type of learning into their classrooms and to transform the classroom into a more stimulating and exciting way to learn”.  He was the co-instructor and “thankfully” not responsible for grading.

As is common in virtual environments, we exchanged ideas, discussed strategies and shared resources.  The chance encounter was worthwhile, helpful, and meaningful to me as a veteran teacher.  My new virtual colleague is a recent High School graduate on his way to the University this fall to major in electrical engineering.

Jul 15 2011
Gallery

Supporting Learning Styles in the Virtual World

This gallery contains 2 photos.

Differentiating instruction includes supporting various student learning styles and is a challenge as teachers tend to teach in their own preferred style.  For the skilled instructor, using learning style models, personality indicators and/or intelligence inventories, Virtual Worlds can remove some limitations … Continue reading →

Jul 6 2011
Gallery

Digitally Amplified Literature in the Virtual World

This gallery contains 5 photos.

Rod Humble of Linden Labs recently described the Virtual World as “creative space”.  Jeddin’s Underground City sim on Second Life is a creative space melding the ideas of Descending Road author/creator with 3D artistry and SL scripting to make what the artist … Continue reading →

Jun 27 2011

Student Machinima at ISTE 2011

Almost half (17 out of 40) of the entries in the ISTE 2011 Machinima competition are student created and range from a 5-year-old working in Minecraft to university students working in Second Life to demonstrate their learning. Attendees in Philadelphia as well as those attending virtually can view the machinima at the iste Wikispaces .  Machinima was created in a number of virtual worlds, including Second Life, Reaction Grid, MineCraft, World of Warcraft and WolfQuest and covered a variety of curriculum areas including history, social issues, creative writing and science..  Be sure to access the ballot at http://bit.ly/j8Amyj  and vote for your favorite student created machinima.

Jun 14 2011
Gallery

Creative Commons: Royalty Free Content for Virtual World Creations

This gallery contains 2 photos.

Copyright laws apply in the virtual world just as they do in the real one.  In the United States, Educators have had some flexibility with Fair Use and  The TEACH Act but those rules are very specific and sometimes a little complicated … Continue reading →

Jun 1 2011
Gallery

Living Literature in Virtual Worlds

This gallery contains 7 photos.

The use of Virtual Worlds to explore and enhance the literary experience is a useful activity for pre-reading, ongoing as a specific piece is read, and/or  as reinforcement after the reading is complete.    The value of a virtual world in … Continue reading →

May 18 2011

As The Virtual World Evolves

Many virtual worlds require the downloading of a particular viewer to access the virtual world and to interact with it.  Some require nothing but the web, a browser and a current operating system.  Jibe is one of those worlds which I was able to visit recently.

Walking amongst giant chickens in JIbe. They clucked and pecked but I survived.

The look  is similar to OpenSim or Second Life and the feel is like these worlds in MouseView, kind of takes getting used to.  Creating in the environment seems less laborious than the virtual worlds  I typically visit.  The creation/building tool, available as a free add-on, is reminiscent of what you see in a typical graphics program.

A flat terrain in JIbe is "brushed" with hills.

Changing the terrain is as simple as painting with a digital brush. Adding a field of ferns was a s simple as dipping the brush into the “fern” paint and then brushing the terrain in with ferns.

Ferns "painted" into the terrain do not require individual placement.

I  got the feeling that the creation and building within this web-base world was simpler than in the virtual worlds requiring a special browser.  The interaction was not as smooth or easy for me.  It seemed a little unstable but impressive that any of it could be done on the web on my Macbook Pro in Safari.  Perhaps the potential lies in the limitations and lack of complexity.

The Jibe Tools.

The registration was simple (name and password),  avatar selections are reasonable and there is an asset store with objects for free and for purchase.  The items can be imported into Jibe and placed, moved, and rotated as desired to complete the environment.

A Cart from the asset store is duplicated and added to the environment.

The simplified interaction and limited choices in this web-based world reminded me  of the new “basic” browser in Second Life.  Both types of virtual worlds are changing, maybe to accommodate an audience maybe to make a profit, maybe because people have a natural inclination to improve and change what they have.  For whatever reason, the end user will ultimately benefit.

Apr 19 2011

Middle School Students Build A Virtual World

The students in “Norma Underwood’s” class in an Arizona public school are building and scripting in a 3D environment, sculpting in Rokuro, collaborating on projects, and communicating with their peers and interested visitors.  I had the opportunity to visit Norma’s  virtual class space on Reaction Grid,  never having to leave my home state over 2000 miles away.  What a treat  to see 12 and 13 year olds assembling, communicating and cooperating in a medium that many are completely unaware of.

The class is an art class, lucky for these students they have a teacher who acknowledges and has taken the time to learn an art medium for the future.  The young architects and 3D artisans have used floor-plans to build 3D homes, decorated them and added items like video games and chess sets. Learning objectives  focus primarily  on standards in the area of art and mathematics. Additionally, Norma is incorporating 21st Century objectives like collaboration, communication and problem solving.  These are not as easily tested in the traditional assessments required by the state but obvious in the products the students have created and obvious as well when you watch them engaged in their work.

Apr 8 2011

Virtual Worlds as Part of a Transmedia Literacy Experience

Transmedia Storytelling is a strategy that uses current and emerging technologies along with traditional strategies to enable the participant to become immersed in a story to increase engagement and understanding.  Henry Jenkins, Professor of Communications, Journalism, Cinematic Arts, and Education at the University of Southern California, explains that “In transmedia, elements of a story are dispersed systematically across multiple media platforms, each making their own unique contribution to the whole.” It is a strategy that is used in the world of marketing and entertainment, still lagging in the education sector.

Telling stories across multiple platforms and formats addresses multiple learning modalities, encourages participation and motivates participants.  Stories are used to teach a wide variety of concepts at all levels of education.  A virtual world with a sim designed to draw students into a “game”  could potentially result in a high level of learning of a literary work, historical event, or scientific phenomenon.  The compelling attributes of transmedia storytelling are the capacity to engage participants and the capacity to promote creativity among the participants.  Engagement is crucial to meaningful learning and creativity is identified as a 21st Century skill necessary to solve problems and be competitive in a global environment.  As we look into school reform and teacher preparation for 21st Century schools it may be beneficial to ensure that teachers have some knowledge and skills in the the use of Transmedia storytelling.