Iggy's Note: Thanks to AJ Brooks for recording and editing this transcript!

The following is the transcript of the local chat from the EDUCAUSE Virtual Worlds Constituent Group meeting that took place both in SL and at NERCOMP on March 10, 2010. This was a meeting that used voice chat so some of the conversation below may seen disjointed.

[10:19] WYNN Criss: Wonderful educational technology resources.

[10:20] AJ Brooks: http://connect.educause.edu

[10:21] Logos Sohl: The title again please AJ?

[10:22] Logos Sohl: ty

[10:22] AJ Brooks: Back to {Virtual} school

[10:23] AJ Brooks: http://www.educause.edu/groups/vw

[10:23] WYNN Criss: The 7 things you should know series is great-7 Things You Should Know About Second Life

[10:24] Arielion Clawtooth: However, he will accept money under the table

[10:24] WYNN Criss whispers: That is my home town...

[10:27] Fletcher Pinion: exactly!

[10:28] AJ Brooks: trouble hearing

[10:28] Logos Sohl: please speak up

[10:29] Arielion Clawtooth: Try to get closer to Elani and you canhear better zoon in on her avatar)

[10:30] AJ Brooks: better

[10:31] AJ Brooks: can we do one question at a time

[10:31] Logos Sohl: Wonders if there are better multimedia apps out there than SL but doesn't know the answer herslef. The impression I get is that it's not as sophisticated as existing tools?

[10:31] Fletcher Pinion: The 1st two questions are related - what can you do in SL that's unique?

[10:34] Fletcher Pinion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hype_cycle

[10:36] Arielion Clawtooth: You mean augmented reality AJ?

[10:36] Logos Sohl: Asking about the appropriate use of virtual worlds is a bit like asking how long is a piece of string. It all depends. There are various uses of virtual wolrds that are appropriate for them but there's more than just one. Educators can talk about appropriate educational uses etc - social constructivist pedagogy and role play and simulation. In that sense, I think of the saying that when you have a hammer the world looks like a nail. For me, formalized project management and proper requirements solicitation are vital for ensuring that vws are used effectively and appropriately in various contexts.

[10:36] Fletcher Pinion: I agree, logos, but as an instructional designer I'm interested in the affordances of the tool

[10:39] AJ Brooks: folks in teh amphitheater, come on down and sit around our table - open chair closest to the ramp

[10:39] Logos Sohl: lol

[10:39] Neuron Shepherd: sorry no voice

[10:40] AJ Brooks: Neuron - thats ok - you can type in text chat - poof - he's gone

[10:41] glau Bluebird: HI

[10:41] Fletcher Pinion: bimodal communication is a new mode of communication. Has anyone seen any studies on it?

[10:42] AJ Brooks: Fletcher - there are studies done on that - search dual-code theory

[10:42] Fletcher Pinion: In 1995 i predicted that the Web would be the CB radio of the 90's

[10:42] AJ Brooks: and its not really that new

[10:43] glau Bluebird: I'm brazilian. I'M DOING A RESEARCH ON WORK IN SECOND LIFE

[10:44] glau Bluebird: Could anyone tell me what is taking here?

[10:45] WYNN Criss whispers: Sorry to hear about Pathfinder Linden

[10:45] Logos Sohl: In terms of "good uses" of vws, we, as a community, lack a proper mechanism to share best practice. I know everyone will talk about vwbpe, websites, journals, blogs, twitters, wikis etc. But that's the problem. It's very hard to filter out the irrelevant items to find out what's relevant to us. In a way, we are still waiting for the web itself to finish evolving because we need semantic web tools now!! VW interoperability is also a big barrier in terms of effective knowledge management.

[10:46] Logos Sohl: @ Profdan, is a mentoring system like that sustainable in the long term? The time that SL takes up is criminal in my mind...

[10:47] Fletcher Pinion: right, just like the early films. But it's like faculty who think they're being innovative because they're using Powerpoint.

[10:47] WYNN Criss: That is so true-unfortunately...

[10:47] Fletcher Pinion: the good old ZPD

[10:48] Profdan Netizen: same here, AJ

[10:49] WYNN Criss: In higher ed professors are not engaging their students with lecture alone-from what I see her at Meredith College.

[10:49] WYNN Criss: here

[10:50] Profdan Netizen: @Logos, I think the time will drop as VWs become more widespread, computer equipment is able to use more seamlessly.

[10:50] AJ Brooks: closer to mic please

[10:50] Fletcher Pinion: I'm gonna push back a little bit, because some folks see that sort of thing and say, "That's an awful lot of effort for a simple webconference - MS Meeting is a lot simpler!" and they never get to the "What else is there?"

[10:51] Profdan Netizen: Presence and place is much stronger here than in a 2D web conference.

[10:51] AJ Brooks: fletcher - thats exactly the point - they NEVER get to the "wahts next" which is where we want them to go - they need a foundation on which to build

[10:51] Fletcher Pinion: But how important is presence and place? Sometimes, very. but not always.

[10:52] Profdan Netizen: I think it is when you want students to feel a part of a learning community.

[10:52] Logos Sohl: I had a chat with an interviewee of mine about presence. We both agreed that we were looking out our windows as we chatted. Hands up who doesn't do that?

[10:52] Arielion Clawtooth: If the sense of presence you give them is of sitting in a class looking at PPT, they're going to be turned off if that's what they want to get away from. But if it's a compelling environment WITH PPT, that's different

[10:53] Fletcher Pinion: Students form learning communities on text-only discussion boards (says the Devil's Advocate)

[10:53] Logos Sohl: Another interviewe said the words "no shared space" until I pointed out that we were in fact in one

[10:53] Logos Sohl: These people are educators - not students

[10:53] Profdan Netizen: I agree, Fletcher, but I would suggest it's stronger with an immersive element that we get here.

[10:54] Fletcher Pinion: Perhaps, but don't forget the issue of cognitive load - that could overwhelm the feeling of "placeness"

[10:54] Arielion Clawtooth: Right

[10:55] CathyWyo1 Haystack: due to reorganization

[10:55] Profdan Netizen: true, but that can happen with 2d apps, Fletcher.

[10:55] CathyWyo1 Haystack: who knows he stated that in his email

[10:55] CathyWyo1 Haystack: not specifics

[10:55] Fletcher Pinion: No question about that, Dan. I see it often with my Blackboard users :-)

[10:55] Logos Sohl: Agrees with Fletcher about cognitive load

[10:55] Profdan Netizen: Same here, Fletcher.

[10:56] Logos Sohl: Also the only way to do anything fun in here is to do it yourself. When I ask educators aobut what they themselves do, they do "trial and error" "learning by doing" - their words. They often don't seem to use the community themsleves...

[10:56] WYNN Criss: The UNC TLT conference has been offered in SL for the past 2 years due to budget cuts in travel.

[10:57] Fletcher Pinion: none of this is to knock VWs. My point is that we need to show folks the really cool stuff early on.

[10:57] WYNN Criss: So many more can attend...

[10:57] Franchella Milena: Pathfinder's wording: Due to recent reorganizations at Linden Lab, my current position (Evangelist, Market Development) has ceased to exist. There are no alternative positions available to me, so as of March 12th I will be leaving the company.

I am not sure what the future holds for me, but it will probably involve something at the intersection of online communities, virtual worlds and neuroscience. I will be remaining open to new opportunities.

I'll continue to follow this mailing list, since innovation in education and healthcare remains near and dear to my heart.

You all are doing amazing work, and I'll be sticking around to see what you come up with next!

[10:57] WYNN Criss: Yes

[10:57] WYNN Criss: Great

[10:57] Profdan Netizen: VWBPE this weekend?

[10:57] Logos Sohl: Yes

[10:57] Logos Sohl: March 12th and 13th

[10:57] WYNN Criss: Our team is presenting on experiential learning.

[10:58] Fletcher Pinion: (I think it took me two weeks to learn how to control the camera...)

[10:59] AJ Brooks: forget about us - what about the students. It doesn't take them nearly that long ot learn stuff

[11:00] Profdan Netizen: Undergrad? Graduate level?

[11:00] WYNN Criss: I used SL in my First Year Experience class this past fall. It was a great experience for the students-since they knew nothing about SL-lots about Worls of Warcraft.

[11:00] WYNN Criss: Worlds

[11:00] Logos Sohl: I think my students did better this year because I had them using SL but I suspect it's because of the extra attention that I was paying to them by having them do it. Pygmalion effect et al...

[11:01] CathyWyo1 Haystack: I agree...

[11:01] CathyWyo1 Haystack: like setting them up for failure

[11:01] Arielion Clawtooth: Yes. Self-fulfilling prophecy

[11:01] Profdan Netizen: But one hour on VA island, most are ready to go.

[11:01] CathyWyo1 Haystack: by telling them they will be lucky if they make it ..lol

[11:02] Logos Sohl: It's educators who are having the issues about learning because we have to design the actual content often. Students can get to a moderate level of usage ability in a coupla hours

[11:02] WYNN Criss whispers: Thank you for this opportunity...I have another SL event to attend.

[11:02] Logos Sohl: - max

[11:02] Profdan Netizen: Since they were three.

[11:02] Arielion Clawtooth: And the viewers will get more intuitive

[11:02] CathyWyo1 Haystack: it's as simple as an LMS though

[11:02] Profdan Netizen: Agreed.

[11:02] Fletcher Pinion: Good point.

[11:02] Logos Sohl: I'm having a look at WoW (for the first time now) to see how WoW teaches the interface.

[11:03] Logos Sohl: They make it quite easy

[11:03] Logos Sohl: aww

[11:03] Logos Sohl: Thanks Aj, thanks Elani et al

[11:03] Fletcher Pinion: Thanks, AJ

[11:04] Franchella Milena: I teach a lot of types of technology, including high-end ideo editing. I find that when students are truly engaged in what they are doin, they will enthusiastically spend huge amounts of time in learning the skills and developing their projects.