Final Paper Draft

By Rachel Watson
I have been working on the draft of my final paper summarizing teaching and learning possibilities observed in Second Life. It has been a time consuming process yet I have found it very rewarding as I have been able to intertwine my own experiences in Second Life with text book coverage and literature discussions.
The draft to which I am linking here is just that, a draft. Work still remains to be done on the latter portion and I have not polished the references. I did want to link to it here, partly for anyone to glance at if you'd like, but mostly as a record of my progress.

Link: http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B_V7ghXFuSA_Yzc5OTVjMTQtZjUzZi00YzUxLTk1OGItYThlN2I1MDNmMmMw&hl=en

Educational Possibilities in Second Life - a table summary

Today I began preparing to summarize the educational possibilities that I have observed in Second Life. Towards those ends, I created the following table. It is in draft form but certainly brings together much of what I have learned and discovered in this independent learning project:

Educational Possibility	Ellaboration of examples I observed and descriptions of regions in Second Life (SL) where these teaching / learning strategies are already being implemented	Theory in Literature
Connect with individuals (fellow learners / practicioners / researchers) in geographically distant locations	Within SL one can join groups which immediately allow an affiliation with individuals with like interests. I very quickly joined the Distance Educators Group and receive information on events and resources for distance educators within SL. This included the announcement for the Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Confernce that I attended on March 12th and 13th (http://www.vwbpe.org/ ). I continue to receive announcments for round table discussions and presentations. There are also sims (regions) within SL that provide a place to connect with fellow scholars. One such example is EdTech Island (EdTech (154, 200, 24)) where those interested in educational technology can collect resources and be invited to join groups such as the Distance Educators Group mentioned above.	Rymaszewski et al. p. 11
Active participation (physical presence) in a normally inaccessible event / time period / geographically removed or inaccessible location	Perhaps the most poignant examples that I encountered were those on Bowling Green State University (BGSU) Interaction Island [BGSU Interaction (1, 253, 33). Here, one can visit a planetarium of the solar system in which it is possible to literally walk by each planet and touch it. Also on this island is an Australian Herpetology exhibit where I was introduced to everything from the thick tailed Gecko to the Green Tree Python. Another region that showcases this possibility, is Wyoming Entrepreneur (161, 42, 24). Here I was able to attend a Native American Art show that I otherwise would never have been able to attend in the geographically-distant Yellowstone National Park. It was also in this region that I felt a bit of experiencing a different time period as I rode a horse through the tall grass of the prairie!
Attend academic conferences	Many professional conferences occur in SL. I attended the Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Conference. Please see the following URL for more information: http://www.vwbpe.org/
Access diverse cultures / minority subcultures	I was interested in LGBT/Q spaces and thus located several regions of note: Gay and LGBT Resource Center, Sutherland (15, 12, 89) and Provincetown (112, 137, 29). However, upon visiting Health Info Island (122, 147, 23), I also encountered Disability Island.	Aldrich p. 50, Rymaszewski et al. p. 44
Space for underserved groups of learners	Virtual learning environments can make it easier to find groups of learners who may be excluded from traditional educational systems: Disability island (above) “People with disabilities inhabit virtual worlds in higher proportions than real worlds” (Slide in Virtual Ability Gazebo)
Cost-free learning	Anyone with access to a computer may start a Second Life
Office hours	For online classes, office hours can be held in Second Life. This can enhance the sense of physical presence which is often lacking in online education.
Provide context to the learning activity and thus enhance emotional involvement	UC Davis's Virtual Hallucinations (http://slurl.com/secondlife/sedig/27/45/22/) is a simulation that allows one to hear the voices and have the visual hallucinations that an individual with schizophrenia would experience. As expected, it was an intense and disturbing experience. However, it will not be quickly forgotten and certainly heightened my awareness about schizophrenia. Another good example of a contextualized learning experience was Story Quest Island (115, 247, 21). In this quest, one learns about living with HIV and dying from AIDS by visiting the home of Uncle D.	Aldrich (p. 6) Emotional involvement triggers memory!
Provide context with the goal of lowering learner tension	In nearly every educational space on Second Life, the ambience is one that promotes relaxation. There are usually birds singing, green trees and welcoming signs and furnishings. This is part of what makes me feel that learning in SL is a "guilty pleasure". The BGSU Interaction island and particularly the Butterfly Pavilian on this island (BGSU Interaction, 204, 30, 26) seemed a poignant example of how context can lower tension.	When tension is lowered, learning assessment is more realistic (Aldrich p. 25-26)
Make and display art / creative design / architecture and machinima	Art, design and overall creativity is central to Second Life. Some spaces are designed simply to show beautiful creations (greenhouse island (63, 113, 22)) but in many education sims, art students create and display their work (BGSU Interaction (1, 253, 33) ). Machinima is the art of making films in Second Life. This has the dual learning application of being a learning experience to make the film but also the film may have an educational message.	Showcases the user-generated content of SL (Aldrich p. 57, Rymaszewski et al. p. 3) also show-cases possibility for learner to take something away from the experience - artifacts (Aldrich, p. 68)
Art to bring writing to life	In her VWBPE session entitled Abstract Thoughts to Concrete Examples:Transferring Student Essays to the Virtual Realm in Second Life, Francis Rawlslyn allowed her atendees to tour her island on which students in her literature course had created places about which they had written. The creations were truly detailed and advanced and really illustrated (brought to life) their writing.
Learning a second Language	At the VWBPE conference, the Virtual Language Resource Center (VLRC) sim project was introduced. This sim is a region to which students can go to learn the English by doing day-to-day tasks.
Access to health and nutrition guidance / infectious disease	On the Centers for Disease Control Island (191, 86, 22) one can garner information on the current H1N1 pandemic, sexually-transmitted diseases, workplace safety, emergency preparedness and resources to find family planning clinics. There are striking photos of pathogens ranging from Escherichia coli 0157:H7 to Streptococcus. Another island called Health info Island (122, 147, 23) provides a Heart Healthy Pavilion that had up-to-date information on eating to promote heart function. There were information slides on CPR and a Virtual Ability Gazebo.
Clinical Simulations	At the VWBPE conference, I attended several sessions regarding the possibility of clinical simulations in SL. A safe but realistic environment can be provided, one in which students can learn by exploring and interaction. Students can learn to read vital sign machines and fetal monitors. The presenters noted an increase in student engagement.	HIVEs can allow for failure and this is an important part of learning (Aldrich, p. 4)
Continuing Medical Education for practicioners	At the VWBPE conference, Heyden, Wiecha and Dorland (2010) reported on the use of a medical education pilot study in SL. A coach was provided and the family practicioners practiced with a virtual patient. http://www.vwbpe.org/files/LETTERS_SATURDAY/Saturday_1300_East_1.pdf
Access to technologies / tools that might otherwise be prohibited by cost or limited production	Called Genome Island (79, 160, 67), it offers learning opportunities for students studying all aspects of genetics from molecular to large organismal. There is an Abbey and Garden in honor of Mendel, a Tower with molecular, human, bacterial and drosophila genetics. There is a garden of prokaryotic genetics (including the Plasmid Patio)! For those with interests in larger animals, there is a cattery and a bunny hutch. If, however, you are in search of more molecular methods, you will not be disappointed as there is a DNA analysis room, complete with virtual lab procedures (PCR, DNA sequencing and electrophoresis). Or, for a slightly different “flavor” of molecular, there is a bioinformatics kitchen.
Virtual labs	The best virtual labs that I encountered can be found on Genome Island (79, 160, 67). Avatars can interact with PCR apparati (e.g. a thermocycler) as well as DNA sequencing tools and media / reagents. Some virtual laboratory environments can be found on Centers for Disease Control Island (191, 86, 22) though they lack interactivity.
Virtual Crime scenes	At the VWBPE, Dr. Donald Lehman, Debbie Jeffers and Chad Sherman presented on the design and development of a virtual crime scene and corresponding lab for a capstone experience in a forensics course.
Molecular modeling	Some possibilities for amino acid / peptide models can be seen at: Amino World – ACS (88, 26, 83)
Green Learning	In all cases, learning in SL limits consumables used ranging from paper to laboratory supplies.	Aldrich p. 48
Predictive modeling of change	This is a broad possibility, as instructors could design sims in SL to show students ramificaitons of actions. One specific idea would be the evantual impact of global warming.	Allow the learner to see impacts of action. (Aldrich, pp. 21-37)
Self-paced learning	All of the learning opportunites of which I partook were self-paced. For me, this lowered anxiety and made learning more fun!	Aldrich p. 69
Self actualization	In choosing the physical appearance / mannerisms / gender and even species of one's avatar, one must reflect on one's own nature. This process can be an internal learning experience.	Gender in Second Life (Rymaszewski et al., p. 14, Yee, 2004, p. gender-bending)
Educational Research	Interviews and observations for qualitative research can be performed entirely in SL	Boellstorff (2008)

Coming of Age in Second Life: Chapter 1

Today I began reading Coming of Age in Second Life: An Anthropologist Explores the Virtually Human by Tom Boellstorff (2008). As I dove into the first chapter, I was reminded of how inspirational Boellstorff is to me personally. With his prior ethnographic research centering on sexuality in Indonesia, I could think of no other expert whose perspectives would be more inline with my interests. Boellstorff’s added ethnographic research in Second Life to his repratoire in 2004 and in Chapter 1: The Subject and Scope of this Inquiry, he not only introduces the work but also himself. With extremely descriptive terminology, Boellstorff relates motivation for writing, intended audience, difficulty of addressing all of his hoped for audiences, focus and an explanation of his choice of terms. With convincing rhetoric, Boellstorff argues that Second Life culture is far from “posthuman” and in fact that it is in, “…being virual that we are human: since it is human “nature” to experience life through the prism of culture, human being has always been virtual being. Culture is our “killer app”: we are virtually human.” (p. 5). After reading this passage I was widely grinning as the meaning in his words seemed multiple, defining the human experience as culturally molded and at the same time reflecting, to me, Boellstorff’s own philosophical lens.

 

Although Chapter 1 was merely introductory, I found myself completely engaged in the words. And words are of particular note to Boellstorff. Originally a linguist, he takes great care in choosing the terms that he uses to describe Second Life. He is careful to avoid references to this virtual world that would indicate that it is artificial, fabricated or in any way unreal (p. 17). Clearly describing not only word meaning but also history and root, he makes apparent to the reader, his motivation for choice of rhetoric. And while he is careful to avoid binaries as they relate to underlying ontology, he makes it clear that there is a distinction between the virtual and the real world. Many, he says, would relate a blurring of the boundaries between these worlds, he argues that while virtual worlds have increasing “real” world ramifications etc…, “Such ramifications take advantage of the gap between virtual and actual. They do not blur or close that gap…” (p. 21). He further notes that crossing of the boundary between the two may actually strengthen the distinction (p. 23).

 

Taken not only with Boellsorff’s attention to detail but also with his careful attention to situating himself within the research, as I became increasingly engaged in his writing, I also became more certain of the possibility for my own narrative research within Second Life. At the same time, as I followed Boellstorff’s effort to set the stage for a full-book ethnography of the culture of Second Life I became overwhelmed by how much I still have to learn within my own Second Life.

 

Boellstorff, Tom. (2008). Coming of Age in Second Life: An Anthropologist Explores the Virtually Human. Princeton, NJ. Princeton University Press.

Health and Hallucination

            In my continued exploration of educational locations in Second Life I visited a wiki created by Navid Tomlinson (http://healtheducationsl.pbwiki.com/). He wrote the wiki while working at University of Surrey and while it is a bit dated and not free of grammatical error he does do a competent job of relating some educational spaces in SL. He also does a fairly thorough job of summarizing some important educational benefits when learning in SL. These included the possibilities for collaborations without boundaries, interactivity and exhibit accessibility.

            I chose to visit one of Tomlinson’s suggested locations, Health Info Island (128, 139, 22) and as Tomlinson had related, it was low on interactivity but nonetheless, packed with good information. There was a Heart Healthy Pavilion that had up-to-date information on eating to promote heart function. There were information slides on CPR and a Virtual Ability Gazebo. In the gazebo, I excitedly jotted down the following quote and was stoked by the affirmation that SL truly is an environment friendly to marginalized groups: “People with disabilities inhabit virtual worlds in higher proportions than real worlds”. Additional information was tailored to help the reader make his/her second life regions more accessible to those with disabilities.

            Upon leaving the gazebo, I realized that there was an entire Virtual Ability Island. I made my way onto the island and was surprised when upon glancing at the mini map I realized that there were a large number of avatars very near me. I found this a bit unsettling as most educational spaces on SL are not particularly populated. Thus, after looking around a bit, I decided to teleport somewhere new.

            I am embarrassed to admit that to date I have not yet visited one of the most talked about educational spaces on second life: UC Davis’ Virtual Hallucinations (http://slurl.com/secondlife/sedig/27/45/22/). This simulation allows one to hear the voices and have the visual hallucinations that an individual with schizophrenia would experience. My reticence to visit this region admittedly rooted in some fear. However, I truly wanted to have the experience and finally made the teleport. As expected, it was an intense and disturbing experience. However, it certainly heightened my awareness about schizophrenia as well as widening my view of simulation possibilities in SL. 

Back in Wyoming

Today my Second Life adventures took me somewhat closer to home as I visited Wyoming Entrepreneur (161, 42, 24). There was an opening of an art exhibit of Native American Art. What a wonderful island complete with Old Faithful (I got to see it erupt), Devil’s Tower, elk and buffalo. I got to ride a horse through the neck-high grass as I took in the art work. It was a liberating feeling as the island was not crowded and the sounds of the horse’s whinny was strangely calming on a Friday evening after a long week.