NECC 08

WOW. 18,000 (Count those zeros) edugeeks in one place. That's 6,000 more people in the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center in San Antonio Texas than there are residents in the "big" town I drive 12 miles to for grocery shopping.

The National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) is the annual conference put on by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). This year over 1,000 workshops, one hour presentations, topical lounges and playgrounds were offered for the attendees. The daily events schedule, used to choose the sessions to attend, was a spiral bound book!

The edges of the conference were a little blurry. While, for me, the conference kicked off with an opening reception Sunday evening, there were a number of events earlier on Sunday - affiliate gatherings, membership welcome and the opening key note address. A day earlier many attendees participated in EdubloggerCon. I think I was the last attendee in the conference center Wednesday night when the tech guys came to unplug the amazing wired and wireless network that supported hundreds of event computer- and thousands of participant laptop- activity. I was uploading and tidying my posts to the sl-educationblog.org blog for which I was conference correspondent.

Imagine food for 18,000. Yes. We were fed at the opening reception! Already I'm thinking, "Great conference!" There were long lines at first - at the scores of tables set up through out the convention center - as we all feared there could not possibly be enough food for the slow and weak. But there was actually enough guacamole for the masses, and more than enough tacos, chalupas, tomales and frijoles to fill our bellies.

To my amazement Second Life was featured everywhere in the conference.
Though most of the sessions were on other educational technology topics: multimedia, blogging, podcasting, tech in math, tech in social studies... Second life was prominent in the opening celebrations, in the closing keynote, in a number of workshops and presentations, and was displayed on very large screens throughout the convention center.

During the opening reception (remember those punch bowls filled with guacamole) a band called One Horse Shy performed rockin' alt-country for our dancing pleasure. On a platform to the right of the stage sat five people, vaguely like judges. But they were not judges. They were, as their name tags indicated, digital rockstars. Each was assigned a band member. For the entire concert each drove the avatar of their designated band member who performed live (with sound streamed from San Antonio) iSL at ISTE's replica of the Alamo. The digital One Horse Shy played for the dancing pleasure of those who couldn't make the trip to San Antonio, and for those conference goers who were too shy to dance iFL. (Honest. There were people in the lounge nearby dancing their avatars iSL.) To the left of the stage on the larger than life projection screen, the digital lead singer swished her yellow flexi skirt and leaned into the microphone (remarkably like she did iFL).

Shall I admit that during the four days I attended exactly one workshop - the one I co-presented? Does that mean for me it was a bust? Oh no. I talked with incredibly creative people, networked, connected with people I have only previously met iSL, learned things that blew my mind. For instance, I met a woman who is a tech coordinator in Australia for a k12 school where all the students are required to carry cell phones. That's right - they are not required to drop their cell phones (and iPods) in the box at the front office; they are required to have them in class. They take pictures, record interviews, take notes, and get called at home to take quizzes by speaker phone when they are out sick.

I learned how a third grad teacher uses his blog as a course management system (like Moodle). He posts assignments. Kids get into their blog, and follow the assignments like an adventure - which leads them to podcasts and youtubes and math problems... Think of the reading and writing those kids do!

I learned that Sketch-up, Alice, Active Worlds, River City and increasingly Teen Second Life, are used all over the country (and in others) to engage kids, to teach advanced computer skills, to develop collaboration, problem solving and communication skills, to teach science and language arts. I learned that Texas, a place where intelligent design is taught as a legitimate scientific theory, requires all high school students to take a course in Microsoft Office apps and are taught to create access databases. Vermont did not look so good.

There was surprisingly little about higher education.

I worked for half a day in the SL Playground, where conference attendees could sign up for an SL account and learn the basics. And one night back at my hotel... I assisted at an SL wedding between one of the conference attendees and the desk clerk. Before you get the wrong idea, let me explain.

I was minding my own business catching the wireless in a pleasant lounge on the second floor. I over heard lots of giggling and guffawing from the floors above and below me. A man and women scrambled past me repeatedly going between the lobby and the third level. During one of their passes they asked me if 1. I was a conference attendee and 2. if I had heard of SL. I was informed that their group, from a school district in Ohio, had been assigned by their tech coordinator to have some kind of "authentic" experience iSL while they were at the conference. They had enlisted the help of the lovely desk clerk, who had on his own time, made an sl account and become proficient enough to participate as the groom in this staged wedding. I got to join in the fun and provide a freebie wedding gown from my 150Megapack. And when the vows were said and the groom wanted to kiss the bride, I quickly dropped them a hug script. Members of the Ohio team performed the roles of minister, photographer and witnesses. There was apparently much dressing up (don't know why the bride did not have a dress as all the men were in Tuxes and the women in lovely outfits), venue hunting, script writing etc, before I arrived on the scene.

I haven't even begun to mention the warmth that passed between those of us who had previously only met iSL or the smells, sounds and much needed breeze that met me on the River Walk. I had a damn good time.

Virtual Web Quest - It's a SLeb Quest!

Here's the SLeb Quest (I hope I just coined that).

The Task
You are journalists on assignment. Your editor (me) was to have a brief - containing the goals of your assignment and some background info - waiting for you at the airport. It did not arrive. Your team is made up of a project manager, a communicator/fact finder, a photographer and a writer. There is a story to write, but you don't know what it is. As a group you must determine how to divvy up responsibilities. You only have 10 minutes in each location...

Project Manager - Keep track of your team, the assignment and the time. Your job is to make sure the work gets done.


Communicator/fact finder - find people and ask questions. If no one is around or info is unreliable see if you can find out anything by searching google (name of island and "second life" as keywords)

Writer - create a notecard and record what the team learns about each sim. It doesn't need to be good writing, just clear enough for others and me to make sense of. The note card should contain the first name of each member of your team.

Photographer - take photos of the environs, something special about the place, something to show others about this sim, your colleagues in action...

Try to find out what is unique about the place, does it have any educational potential, why do you think I sent you here?

Week 5, In-World Class 3

As we gather for the third time as a full group there is excitement in the virtual air - at least I imagine there is :-). Pamet and Drew have transformed themselves. Later Tiernan reveals that he has identity tricks up his sleeves as well. Others have adjusted hair, changed clothes... Though I have resisted the temptation to change my look for many months, I am drawn into the past weeks discussions and am myself donning a new outfit. Hair and "question reality" button remain so that I am easily recognizable from a distance.

I always pack too much into the agenda. Hour 1: SL version of a webquest. Hour 2: Teen SL with a guest speaker. Hour 3: debrief/sharing from first hour and building basics. Everyone was prepared with voice - just a few hiccups of screeching mics. Still it took us half an hour to get going... onto my agenda. The time was well spent. We are still getting to know each other, people have questions. And given voice I talk, perhaps too much.

The groups did not take off immediately to the first location on their quest, as I had envisioned. I would have traveled first and divvied up assignments once there. But most groups gathered first and made a game plan. I liked it - first because it is a sharp reminder that people have different ways of doing things. Second I had the opportunity to observe some of the process. This was only the second time the class members have worked in small groups, and signs of leadership and trust were apparent in all.

The pressure of our speakers arrival at the second hour left little time for the groups to travel to several educationally related sims. The world of Second Life is vast - with much worth looking at. I hope the brief visits were intriguing and will lead students to go back and explore the same or other sims on the activity note card.

In spite of the rush groups made brief visits to the International Spaceflight Museum, Reflexive Architecture, the Healing Pool, NOAA, Virtual Starry Night, Sistine Chapel, Dante's Inferno, Renaissance Island, Ivory Tower Library of Prim, Camp Darfur. TelRport was not what I had told that group to expect Dr. Danforth where is your testis?!

Selected sites that I don't think were gotten to include the towers at International Schools, Svarga, College of Scripting, Paris 1900, Info International, Greenies and Slolar.

Flexibility in teaching is an important skill. When adding the component of technology the need for flexibility increases exponentially. Our guest speaker did not arrive and my over planning and generally calm demeanor (ok don't talk to my husband about that) came in handy. We debriefed as a group and got spend a decent amount of time on the basics of prims, textures and uploading images to the texture folder.

As I reflect on what I'm doing I remind myself that there is not time to offer people comprehensive training in any aspect of Second Life. The emphasis must be on the potential for teaching and learning and not on specific advanced skills in communication, building, scripting... I offer an introduction to various aspects of virtual existence and encourage students to explore more during the intervening weeks. Once one knows that something can be done, s/he can take one of dozens of free classes offered daily in SL.

Through the instruction I provide in the basics of SL I hope that I am not only exposing students to some of the media available, but also modeling teaching techniques for maximizing the opportunities and minimizing the obstacles of the 3D classroom.

A Brush with Identity

This 2 week session of TandLinVW has the focus of avatar identity. For me this is a key issue in SL. My avatar, Esme has transformed over the year that she has existed. She is young and casually elegant. Her personality is strong, direct, funny, kind, and at ease in unfamiliar situations. And she has made me just a little bit like her. Because of her adventurous nature, she meets many people. I meet many people, and delight at variety of personalities and interests that I find in SL.

Today I had the pleasure to meet a young, generous, quirky, extremely bright, furry. I can't say that I know _much_ about furrys. I know that furrys dress as cartoonish animals and many enjoy cartoonish animal art. (Esme once donned a furry avatar and received a tour of some furry haunts and was only slightly startled to observe furry sex animations.) I did not for instance know that some furrys opt for dominant submissive relationships. I was told today that unlike goreans, furrys are never slaves. My new friend is his master's pet. While he did not want to confuse his furry identity with the work relationship we were establishing, and therefore did not speak at length, he is apparently a furry lifestyler.

Until a year ago, I knew nothing of some of the subcultures that can be found in SL. Some might be fearful or repelled by the prospect of meeting people with such unfamiliar lifestyles and mores. To me it is the wonder of SL. I am safe here. I don't need the protection of my family, neighborhood, social class or ethnic group. I can travel freely among people from different nations, with varied abilities and disabilities, with opposing and similar political views, with lifestyles that I find intriguing, curious or even repellent. None of the obstacles that usually protect me from variety exist. And what I most often find is people who are engaging and helpful and open and curious just like me.

What does it mean to explore an identity in SL? Am I role playing the more confident persona of Esme? Can I learn from this practice to be more like Esme? Am I a voyeur or a participant in an exciting social experiment? As an educator should I steer clear of those who thumb their whiskered noses at the dominant culture? Can I use SL to help my students explore hidden potential within themselves? What is the potential for teens to "find themselves" in the safety of a world that offers Control-Q - the ultimate answer to unsafe situations?

Day Two

Well so much for my deeply thought out plans. Today did not go as well as I had hoped. Technical difficulties, less than perfect plans, unreasonable expectations, slow start and I became flustered. Oh and did I mention that I hate voice.

I decided to introduce voice in this class primarily because I believe that most people like it. Maybe if I can botch it up enough I can change minds (mwuhahaha). I intended to introduce it today and use it initially as a means to convey short bits of information. The idea being that auditory messages from me might rise above the visual over stimulation. I want text to continue be the primary way we exchange ideas with each other in class. 40 Minutes into the first hour and we finally have everyone able to hear me and all other mics turned off. (Several people still don't have earbuds or headsets.)

We started a self paced exploration on changing one's avatar's appearance. Students will be able to return to the island and complete the three stations for 1. saving an avatar and outfit; 2. changing the many perameters of physique and facial features; and 3. creating a new article of clothing. For new members of SL, appearance doesn't seem that important. As time goes on people begin to see that it matters how they present themselves. The choices they make will be highly individual and will likely change overtime. During the next several weeks I hope to promote discussion about avatar identity and presentation. We will read articles about identity, anonymity and some research that is being done about how one's SL identity can affect one's RL identity (weight loss, healthy behavior, confidence...).

Today we made our first foray into the practices of teaching in SL, besides my demonstrations of what works and doesn't (lol) to teach people basic sl tools. We visited with Clowey Greenwood at Biome Island. In addition to exploring some impressive, outsized builds of a drop of pond water on a microscope, and a soda bottle closed eco system, we met with Clowey and asked about her experiences teaching in SL.

We also got to try out the Likert voting floor described in the first post. Now that the basics have been covered the focus will turn to teaching techniques, tools and content.

As I reflect on today several things surface as important. 1. While I will experiment again with voice, it will be okay if I decide that it is not for me. Students will have opportunities to use it themselves and go to other edu events using it. 2. Each class should start off with a tour or virtually physical activity 3. Clowey's use of the class materials box could be useful. Then those who need to know what the schedule is can refer to the one they received. LMs to be used for the day will be there... 4. I have a great group of students that can help each other. I can relax and not try to convey _every_ possible thing each student might need to know.

Day One

The much anticipated - by me :-) -first, in-world meeting of my class occurred today.

Until a week ago I had no idea if there would be enough students to hold the class. My department head told me she knew of at least one student who had definitely registered. With that information I went to the registrar, "Oh no, you have plenty," she assured. She got back to me with a number about a week ago. Twelve students were signed up., my ideal class size for a real world grad course. Let's see how it turns out in-world.

Well we were 19! Fifteen enrolled students, a guest, my assistant and a colleague who was there to document the event via machinima.

I anticipated a much more chaotic start. But everyone arrived at the island, on their own, within the first 5 minutes of the start of class. Sure it was chaotic - 19 people not sure what do with themselves, at least 10 not sure how to move or talk. Very exciting.

I greeted people and announced that the schedule and intent of the day were posted on large signs. The first activity was a scavenger hunt - an introductory lesson to moving, talking and other basic skills. It is hard to know where to look when you are new and many missed my text based greetings and directions. So these were repeated several times. The three hour period was divided into three periods with breaks between. The second involved meeting for intros and group activities in the island's sandbox. The final session was set aside for touring of other Second Life sims.

Scene and task: Marlboro College Graduate Center is a largely undeveloped but beautifully formed island with a central mountain range and river dividing the island roughly in half. Nine glowing flags were placed around the island at increasingly distant and more difficult to navigate locations. At the base of each flag is a notecard giving box. When the box is touch a notecard opens with step by step instructions on how to use a basic feature of sl and gives a task to complete.

Of course there is a glitch. Seven of the nine boxes do not give out their notecards. But the fix is remarkably quick and before most people noticed the box scripts are repaired.

This leaves only the awkwardness and discomfort of people in a foreign land - many not really knowing what is expected of them and fearing that they will do something wrong, get lost, or something unfathomably worse. I am not sure everyone liked it, but they all did fine. As a teacher, I struggle with the balance between throwing students in the deep end and giving them flotation devices that might ultimately cripple their independence. While I hope I don't come off as merciless, I am more likely to throw than buoy.

We gather in the sandbox just before dawn. Only a few people need to be rescued. All are unscathed. Time to practice sitting, standing, texting in a round robin introduction. One of the things about SL that takes some getting used to is that communication is vastly different. I personally think that it is easier to communicate iSL than iRL. But that is never apparent at first (and to some is probably never true). Text communication can be significantly slower than voice - though in large groups it doesn't need to be. There is the to-be-expected long pause between each "speaker" as, people who don't yet know they can prepare their speech in advance, type what they want to say. Then there is the business of standing up and knowing whose turn it is to speak, and all the tabs on the communication window, and the distraction of the sun rise and the sparkle of someone's bling. All so much to take in when you are only 3 days old in SL.

Next activity involves the so important skill of circling up. In SL whenever a new person enters an existing pair or group, the social convention is to reform the circle to include the new member. And groups gather often in sl. We stumble and bump and good humor is exchanged. Beyond circling up, friending is the goal. A teachable opportunity to use the camera controls to face the rising sun is added.

I distribute LMs and we are off to International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) Island headquarters. ISTE is one of the best places I know of to meet educators. There is often a docent on duty, making it a great place to stop by and chat with an experienced SLer and educator. Docents sometimes have a following, so it is not uncommon to arrive and join a stimulating conversation about technology and education (or perhaps sl shopping). ISTE is only the third place in SL to which some students have been, with Orientation Island and Marlboro Grad Center being the first two. Upon arrival there is some confusion as students attempt to talk with the docent on duty. They are in group chat and the docent cannot "hear" them. We fly to the campfires on the beach and enjoy the ocean dolphins and the seating arrangements around and _in_ the campfire, while I tell of events that occur on the island. Our guest happens to be from Cork Ireland iRL. A quick change in my plans and a dip into my extensive tour inventory and we are off to Cork Ireland iSL. A quick look about at the heathered landscape and shop lined cityscape and the class is over.

I am exhausted but pleased. In one session I saw terror turn to achievement, boredom turn to curiosity. Not _everyone_ had a great time, but I think we are off to a great start. It seems like a nice group who will work together. Experienced people supported the inexperienced. Lots of good questions were asked. Everyone tried everything. What more can I ask for.

A rest is in order. Then I must think deeply about how best to build on today's experiences. - Esme

What makes for a good learning environment

The first weekend of May, I begin teaching a fully on-line course called Teaching and Learning in Virtual Worlds. On alternate weeks the class will meet synchronously in Second Life. In between we will work together asynchronously in the course management system Moodle. The course is a 13 week, 3 credit, graduate level, education course offered by Marlboro College Graduate Center in Brattleboro, Vermont. I anticipate my students will come from all over Vermont and hope some come from other parts of the US. (Wouldn't it be great if we got a couple people from overseas?)

So as I make my preparations, I ask the question what makes for a good learning environment.

For a distance course, we have a nice blend of the asynchronous and the synchronous - at least that is the hope. Through moodle activities we will use writing for that deep reflection and discussion that occurs in online forums. Through SL we will have opportunities to meet, get to know, work together in real time.

We will have a chance to explore if virtual presence has an impact on student satisfaction in an otherwise distance course.

Virtual Classroom Space
Sure I will use the occasional slide show. Though I hate voice, I will use it to give instructions to my students at least at the outset. But I refuse to turn second life into a traditional classroom. It is more than a replacement for the bricks and mortar classroom. It offers the potential for things not doable in a traditional classroom. But what?

Just for fun I made a set of 1940s attached bench/desks. We will play at me standing at the blackboard. But this is just my twisted self pushing on our tendency to replicate Real Life in Second Life.

Next in the works is a spaceship command center, where we will take turns being in control.

With my building buddy Entropy Hax, I have created two voting floors. What you ask? Early on I want my students moving their avatars through virtual space, interacting with others. The idea is I ask a series of questions. Avatars move to the segment of the floor that fits their response. The first one is a Likert scale. The floor is divided into 5 sections each corresponding to one of the following: strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree. The second is a three-circle Venn diagram. Responses will lead avatars to one of the circles or their overlapping segments. A yet to be created set of cushions will be used to stand and sit for yes/no questions. I haven't mentioned the content of the questions, or what we will do with the information. My point is that I want to explore how virtual action contributes to learning. Initially we will be using these activities among other things to get to know each other and to practice basic movements.