Sloodle

http://www.slideshare.net/stevenw/virtual-spaces-second-lives-what-are-the-potential-educational-benefits-of-muves-presentation


Sloodle
Creating a learning environment in Second Life or any MUVE (multi-user virtual environment) is an active learning experience. Students can interact in real-time and have diverse experiences.

If you would like to create a course in Second Life, there is a new project which is pairing Second Life and Moodle, and it's called Sloodle, which stands for Simulation Linked Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment . Here are some interesting features of Sloodle that can assist with educational objectives:

Sloodle Presenter: Allows you to create presentations for use in Second Life or Moodle.

Sloodle Webintercom: Tool that allows in world chats in Second Life to be logged and transferred to Moodle.

Sloodle Toolbar: Toolbar will be displayed in Second Life so you can perform actions quickly. One of the main functions is to access your blog in Moodle with one touch of a button. It can also allow you to make gestures in Second Life as well.

Sloodle Quiz Chair: Allows users to take quizes in Second Life and receive visual feedback. This is an actual chair that will go up or down when students answer questions correctly or incorrectly. Answers and scores are stored in Moodle for convenience.

Sloodle Pile on Quiz: Students can take quizzes in Second Life that were set up in Moodle. The answers to the questions hover above the pile.

Sloodle Prim Drop: This is for students to submit assignments in SL.

Sloodle MetaGloss: Allows access to moodle glossaries from SL.

Sloodle Choice: Allows instructors to bring choice activities from Moodle (such as polls, questionnaires, etc) into SL.

Sloodle Vending Machine: A way to distribute items to your students in SL. Can be done directly without having students log into SL.

Instructors can design their classrooms to fit their courses.

Second Life Revisited

Second Life is a 3D virtual world which is owned and created by the users and is free to download. It was made public in 2003 by Linden Labs. Each member of Second Life creates an avatar, which is a virtual persona. Residents can also buy and sell property and build on the land. Colleges and Universities can actually buy private islands and build virtual campuses for their students. Generally the price for a college or university to buy a private island is around $980. However, Linden Labs will also let an instructor try out Second Life for a class for free. They will be provided a free piece of land for the duration of the course. Second Life can have many educational uses because it allows for interaction that is more involved than discussion boards or email. It is real-time interaction where students can voice chat and look up web resources at the same time.

Best Practices
It depends on how much interaction you would like your class to participate in using Second Life. Some courses are completely desinged in Second Life where there are weekly class meetings and course content is uploaded, or some just have a few semester meetings in Second Life. However, either way it is important to have an orientation session at the beginning of your course to show students the details of getting around in Second Life. Below are a few tips I got from one of my instructors when I first joined Second Life:

Tips for moving around in Second Life:

• Click hold means you click on something but don't release the button
• Click move means you click and hold, then move the mouse while holding
• Hold together means you press at the same time
• Click move mouse to look up down and around
• Scroll wheel to zoom view in/out, including into your head
• Escape key (hit twice sometimes) returns you to default view
• Four arrow keys walk/fly you in the direction pressed (1 or 2 at a time)
• Right click on things (yourself, others, objects) to see what you can do
• Home key starts/stops flying
• Page up/down flies up/down (and lands if you're flying down)
• Hold alt key and click on something to center/focus on it - scroll to zoom, move mouse to zoom and rotate horizontally
• Hold down ctrl-alt and click move to focus and rotate around an object from all directions
• Hold down ctrl-alt-shift and click move on things to pan across it

Top Tips for using Second Life in a course:

1. Have an orientation the first week. This will allow students to be more comfortable if they are new to the program and you can give them the suggested list above.
2. Set up a classroom or campus so students have a place they can be comfortable using. SL is open to everyone, and not everyone has an educational objective.
3. Make sure you are comfortable using SL. The more the instructor knows, the more they can pass on to their students.
4. Keep it structured. Not every student will feel comfortable expoloring this virtual world.
5. Establish objectives for the use of SL in your course.  

How does Second Life benefit education?

• Social Interaction
• Visualization
• Contextualization
• Informal Learning
• Immersion
• Simulation and experential learning
• Role play
• Community
• Content Production

Consider using Sloodle-accompanying Moodle with Second Life.

SecondLife:
http://www.secondlife.com/ 

Educational Uses for Second Life:

http://sleducation.wikispaces.com/educationaluses 

Sloodle:

http://www.sloodle.org/moodle/

SLED (Second Life in edcuation):

http://www.sl-educationblog.org/

Encyclopedia of Educational Technology: Multi-user Virtual Environments in Education:

http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/muveseducation/index.htm

http://www.slideshare.net/stevenw/virtual-spaces-second-lives-what-are-the-potential-educational-benefits-of-muves-presentation

SLED Event

ISTE Island Educator Social
WhenThu, June 25, 6pm – 7pm
WhereISTE Island: http://www.slurl.com/secondlife/ISTE%20Island/90/80/30
DescriptionEvery Thursday at 6 PM SLT (that's US pacific time), we host a social event for educators to meet and network. For further information see http://secondlife.iste.wikispaces.net/events

I attended a SLED event on Thursday, June 25th from 9-10pm Eastern Time. When I arrived, there were a few people there chatting. It was a social/networking event for educators. A little while later, everyone was wondering where the event was because even though some people showed up there didn't seem to be an organized event. Someone mentioned that it was postponed although I didn't see anything about it on the website. As a result, a few of us from this class had our own social event on Second Life. Cheryl, Elizabeth, Andrea, and myself participated. We discussed Second Life, and tried to resolved some technical issues that were mainly related to audio, we discussed our capstone project, and we even conversed with others and received help from other Second Life educators since we were having audio problems. I kept echoing and it was difficult for me to speak as a result but I finally got that resolved. I learned that I have to have my earphones on and the volume turned down.

While I am disappointed that there wasn't an actual event, I enjoyed socializing with my classmates and I will definitely attend more events in the future.

Capstone Project and Random Thoughts

As I was thinking about a Capstone project I have to do for a class, I was thinking really hard about how I can incorporate so many Web 2.0 tools into it and link them all together. With that thinking and planning I had an a-ha moment. For example, I could use Wordle in a different way. I could upload some text/paragraph about a topic and have students guess what it is about. Or with Twitter, it won't just be another boring "What I'm doing at the moment type of thing". I could relay pertinent information while we plan the trip such as tips, tools, things I found to look up, travel info, new information about trip, etc. Then while we are there we could use it to tell what we are doing, where we are, etc. to keep everyone at home informed.  I would love to use Ning so students can have a space online to share their experiences and knowledge. Before the trip it would be important that students know where they are going and to learn about the place more so using Google Earth and Google Sightseeing, YouTube videos, photos, etc. would help them become familiar. Listening to music of that region would also be helpful. Students could even take a virtual fieldtrip to Second Life and explore it there and then compare it to the real Maya Riviera or students who couldn't go on the field trip could still join us and learn about it online. We could even have virtual meetings online regarding the trip which can also be saved for future viewing. I never realized how well you can really stay connected with others through these Web 2.0 tools and how interralated they are. Talk about truly being connected to the world!

Second Life Blog for Educators

I recently came across a blog from Suffern Middle School about how they incorporate Second Life in the classroom. No matter what level you teach, you will gain a lot of valuable information here from how submit a proposal to implementing Second Life activities. This is an absolute must-read for anyone who is contemplating using Second Life in the classroom.

Suffern Middle School in Second Life Blog

Virtual Worlds for the Virtual Future

Second Life
Virtual worlds such as Second Life are great places for students to collaborate, role-play, do simulations, explore other lands, and encounter new social situations as it pertains to Web 2.0. In an online class students often feel isolated from their peers. Even when talking on Skype (unless you utilize the video feature) or chatting with Moodle, it has a somewhat blah feel. However, imagine meeting with your class on the lawn outside of a beautiful building on campus, at the Maya Riviera, or even in outer space! Well, in Second Life you can do those things. It makes an online class feel more like a class. In addition, you can see your classmates and interact with them. You can walk over to them, follow them, stand up, sit down, explore new places, or just chat. You can help each other out and talk and laugh. Second Life is a great Web 2.0 tool that could transform the way we interact, collaborate, and socialize online.

However, Second Life is more than just a social tool. It is a useful educational tool (whether in an online or face-to-face class) that very well could transform education in lead the next version of the web know as Web 3.0 or Web 3D. For example, in a history/social studies class, students could reinact a battle or explore lands where settlers settled and role-play what they think happened. In an English class students could explore the setting of a novel or story and even act it scenes to demonstrate their understanding. For plays, students could practice and perform the play in the virtual world. For science students could explore volcanoes or types of land, clouds, solar system, weather, and even perform experiements or dissect a frog. For a foreign language classroom students could practice speaking the foreign language through real-life scenerios that they would encounter if they were in a target language country. For vocabulary and grammar learning, whether in students' native language or in the target language, students could practice listening, speaking and using the new language. The possibilities are endless. I have tried to create simlations in a f2f classroom but in a virtual world it will seem more real and authentic. In addition, you could take it one step further and have students interact with other students and guest speakers that would make learning really come alive and be more meaningful and more collaborative.

A few advantages of Second Life and other virtual worlds over Skype or some other type of IM or email for example are it is more life-like and more visual. You can see all the participants and interact with them as if you were all there together. You can also give and receive instant feedback in real time. Second Life is most helpful to visual and perhaps even auditory learners if the participants are speaking rather than just typing the conversation. You really feel a sense of extreme interactivity and belonging because you are there in that location with other people who are interacting as they would in their first life.

While I believe that Second Life could help pave the road to Web 3D, there are problems that I foresee. For example, there may be a lot more technical difficulties associated with Second Life than with email. For me, it is more difficult to figure out the functions and operations of Second Life. However, I feel very confident and more proficient with email and instant messaging. Email probably does not appeal to the visual and auditory learners. Email is asynchronous and sometimes you may have to wait a long time for a response. With Second Life where everyone is together, you won't have this problem. Of course you could always have a conference with Skype or Yahoo Messenger by either talking or typing messages but even then the visual aspect is missing.

Some barriers that might prevent an educator from using Second Life are:

1. It may take a long time to learn how to use it.
2. One may not sure how to properly set up an activity and depending on the class if it doesn't go smoothly it will be a disaster and a waste of time.
3. Some students will catch on quickly while others may not understand how to use it and this will waste time and leave them frustrated and they won't learn very much from it.
4. Lack of resources such as computers. Most teachers are lucky to have even one computer in the classroom and it isn't feasible to sign up for the computer lab all the time since other classes use it and some schools have a limit as to how many times you can bring a class to the computer lab. I have had problems where I wanted to sign up my classes for the computer lab and there were a couple of teachers who had signed up for it every single day and the rest of us could not use it.

Virtual worlds can eliminate social and cultural barriers to collaboration because in a virtual world you don't have the us against them problem. Everyone is an equal and even those who are really shy can come out of their shell and be a productive part of the collaboration process. They can hide behind a screen name and avatar and be who they want to be and say what they want to say. It will give some of the quiet kids a time to shine. Also, the kids who are used to always being the smartest in class may find that in an online world they aren't the whiz kid anymore. They may have to work really hard to keep up if it is something unfamiliar to them.

I think virtual worlds such as Second Life will have some impact on education. The biggest problem is teaching educators how to properly utilize these resources. To me, SL is not very intuitive and so there is a HUGE learning curve. Another problem is then teaching students how to use them as well and making sure that they are adhering to the rules and that they are free from inappropriate situations that may arise. Some virtual worlds are not exactly the easiest thing to learn so there is a huge learning curve for both teachers and students. If we can get past that, and have programs that are easier to use and learn and are more intuitive then they may be of more use. Another problem is the lack of funding for many schools. The majority of schools do not have the funding for modern computers with graphics cards. For an online class, you cannot count on students to have computers that will support such graphic-intense programs.

In the future, once it is more commonplace and everyone has the computers and capabilities and knowledge on how to use Second Life, it will prove to be invaluable but not a substitute for the real world. Humans are born as helpless babies needing to be coddled and held. I don't care what anyone says, it is an innate part of human beings. When I work with people, whether in business or social situations, when it is all said and done I prefer to speak to them and meet them face-to-face. There is a lot you can gain from face-to-face interaction, especially when it is a very important matter. Take a job interview or a business meeting. You can talk over the phone, via Skype, or whereever. You might be impressed with what you hear. But then you meet that person and they might sound great but look sloppy or you might get the feeling you can't trust them from their facial expressions or mannerisms. There is no substiute for face-to-face interaction in some instances. While I maintain contact with my family and friends, there is still a great feeling I always have when we spend time together at family get togethers that I can never get online.

I see many possibilities that virtual worlds such as Second Life have in improving education, but there are also many barriers that we need to work through. I think it would be a great way for learning communities to collaborate and learn from each other, but for now I will stick with simpler Web 2.0 applications such as Skype, YouTube, Blogger, Wikis, Ning, etc.

In any case, I will definitely spend more time learning how to use SL and other virtual worlds and learning different methods of how to incorporate it into education. Hopefully in the future SL and other virtual worlds will become more user-friendly and more ubiquitous.

Technology, Second Life, and the Foreign Language Classroom

Technology impacts learners of a foreign language because they can travel to a foreign country and become immersed in a foreign language without ever having to leave home. For example, in Second Life they can go to Mexico and explore the land. Or you could set up your own community and have students communicate in real life settings. When I was teaching I enjoyed setting up simulations in my own classroom, such as being at a restaurant, on an airplane, at a market, etc. Now I can do it online through a virtual world and students can experience it first hand as if they were there in a Spanish-speaking country or even in my classroom doing a live simulation. Oddly enough, it may seem even more real because students will feel like they are really there with all the surroundings, probably moreso than in a classroom full of desks. I'm pretty good at decorating and making the room look alive but I'm not not that good! LOL!!! A virtual world definitely makes it look more real. It is also useful because generally speaking students love computers and technology because that is what they have always known and so it captures their attention. Of course, when setting up a virtual world, it is important to have everything laid out, have all expectations in place, ensure students understand how everything works, and what they are supposed to do. Also it is vital that students know the objectives and understand that it isn't "play" time, that the activity is meaningful and that there are clear learning goals in place. You must have a plan and procedures in place on how it will all work. Since I am new at this, I would begin with smaller tasks and find out what works and what doesn't and continue to tweak it until I am more familiar with it. Once I have a better idea, I would start incorporating bigger projects and branch out and share virtual space with other classes and let our students interact which could be very fun for them. I think overall it can be very beneficial to foreign language learners but the key is proper planning and objectives.

Come explore Second Life.

Learning about Web 2.0 Tools

I am learning about different Web 2.0 applications. Some I have used before such as Facebook, MySpace, Second Life (just dabbled with it), Twitter (again, just dabbled), Photobucket, Flickr, Slide, YouTube (never uploaded a video before), Skype and other instant messengers, Moodle, wikis, blogs, and a few others.  Now I am on a mission to learn more about Web 2.0 tools.
Even though I know HTML and CSS and love to design Dreamweaver websites I also would like to explore other tools for building websites.  I just created a simple CMSimple Website. It is very easy to use and fairly intuitive. One can very easily build a simple, yet nice looking website without having to learn HTML or CSS. I will confess I kind of scoffed at the idea of using a CMSimple website at the beginning but I have since changed my mind. It’s a great tool and a great way to have others who aren’t experts in web design to create a great-looking website easily and without having to spend a lot of money on expensive software.

I recently joined the Classroom 2.0 Community in Ning. I had heard of Ning before but never joined it. It is a great social networking site similar to Facebook or MySpace but more controlled and you can join groups specific to your interests. Ning is a great tool for teachers to use with a class since it is more controlled and they won’t have to worry about outsiders “crashing the party” so to speak. If you are an educator and would love to learn more about Web 2.0, social networking, and builing learning communities then I highly recommend Ning.

Another Web 2.0 tool that I love is Wordle. You copy and paste text such as a blog entry, paragraph, story, web content or anything and it will put it in a word cloud. I created one with this blog entry and here is what it came up with:

Stay tuned because I will be sharing more and more applications and their practical uses as I progress through my studies in the New Media and Global Education Program at Appalachian State University.