Transcript of April 14, 2009 Second Life Roundtable Discussion.
Topic: Bringing Faculty and Students into Second Life and our special guests are Alan Levine (SL: CDB Barkley), Alice Krueger (SL: Gentle Heron), Jennifer Ragan-Fore (SL: Kittygloom Cassady), and Suzanne Medders (SL: Mirt Tenk)
Photos Courtesy of Olivia Hotshot (visit her blog and Flickr photostream).
Iggy's Notes: Send corrections to iggyo -at- mac -dot- com
Links Mentioned:
AJ Brooks: Hi everyone, and welcome to this weeks SL Education Roundtable.
Kimbeau Surveryor arrived with a minute to spare. Can't get much more on-time than that!
AJ Brooks: These meetings are made possible by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Montclair State University. We meet here each week at 2:30pm SLT for an hour. Sometimes we have a topic, sometimes its an open forum.
AJ Brooks: Our topic today is Bringing Faculty and Students into Second Life and our special guests are Alan Levine (SL: CDB Barkley), Alice Krueger (SL: Gentle Heron), Jennifer Ragan-Fore (SL: Kittygloom Cassady), and Suzanne Medders (SL: Mirt Tenk)
AJ Brooks: This is a public meeting, so we do keep a transcript of what is said in local chat.
AJ Brooks: For a copy of older transcripts, please visit http://sler-transcripts.wikispaces.com and for more recent transcripts, please visit http://homepage.mac.com/jessid/slroundtable/
AJ Brooks: Special Thanks to Iggy Onomatopoeia for making this happen, and to Margaret Michalski for filling is an Scribe when Iggy is AFK.
AJ Brooks: For information on FUTURE MEETINGS, there is a notecard giver on the West wall of the Amphitheater.
AJ Brooks: The SL Education Roundtable meeting happens each week, but we are looking to develop a community of educators from around the world with a variety of thoughts, needs, and ideas.
AJ Brooks: Please join the SL EDUCATION ROUNDTABLE group. If you have problems finding it in search, just outside this amphitheater you will see several displays. By clicking the appropriate one you can join the group.
AJ Brooks: As the group grows, there will be announcements and such that will be exclusive to the group. I'm also open for ideas of what can bring value to the group.
AJ Brooks: Join us on FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=44078263753&ref=share
AJ Brooks: Thanks to Olivia Hotshot for putting together a Flickr group for the SLER. I encourage everyone to join the group and to take pictures from our meeting and add them to the group. Its a great way to show, and grow, our community.
AJ Brooks: As a side note, and a small plug, I started using Dudeney Ge's SpeakEasy HUD for these opening announcements. I can tell you its MUCH better than what I was doing before...
AJ Brooks: ...cutting and pasting from a notecard. I recommend this product.
AJ Brooks: Finally, if you have Mystitool on, or other similiar tool, please put it to sleep or detach it for now. :-) It tends to lag things.
AJ Brooks: Lets start today as we always do, by introducing ourselves. Please type into local chat your name, where you work, and what you do.
AJ Brooks: I'll start off today by introducing myself. I am AJ Kelton, I'm the Director of Emerging Instructional Technology for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Montclair State University
AJ Brooks: and the Coordinator of the Second Life Project for the College of Education and Human Services, also at MSU.. We're located in northern New Jersey, just fourteen miles from midtown Manhattan.
Jarrad Voom: Jarrad voom
Mirt Tenk: Mirt Tenk, Multimedia Coordinator, Teaching & Learning Services, Clemson University
Birdie Newcomb: Birdie Newborn, Beach College now in transition.
Lima Habilis: Lima Habilis, Professor of Anthropology & World Languages Central Texas College
Adra Letov: Diane Nahl, University of Hawaii, Library & Information Science Program, teaching in SL
Ignatius Onomatopoeia is Joe Essid, U of Richmond Writing Center Director
Gentle Heron: Alice Krueger, president of Virtual Ability, Inc. (a US 501(c)3)
CDB Barkley: Alan Levine, NMC
Aster Brun: Katy Park, history of science Department, Harvard University
Dependent Binder: Gary Young, Gallery Director, Art and Art History, Univ of Saskatchewan
Aquiel Aero: Judy Kelly, Henry Ford Community College, Biology Faculty
Grinn Pidgeon: Barbara Pittman, cuyahoga community college, instructional technology/faculty development (Cleveland, OH)
Prospero Linden: Prospero Linden, aka Rob Knop. Server Release Manager for SEcond Life, but also something of a erstwhile astronomer associated with MICA (www.mica.org)
Geoff Lumley: HI all. I'm Geoff Barker-Read, head of academic quality and standards at Leeds University, UK
JeanClaude Vollmar: I'm JC (Jeff Le Blanc in RL) and work at the University of Northwestern Ohio as their VP for IT>
MLani Montgomery: Rinda Montgomery Conwell, assisant superintendent, Oregon
Margaret Michalski: Margaret Czart (SL Margaret Michalski), Research Information Specialist, University of Illinois at Chicago.
Zotarah Shepherd: I am a MA in Education (technology and psychology) student at Sonoma State University in northern California working an a curriculum project: Teaching and Learning Life-Skills in Second Life
Elani Matova: EllenMurphy, Director of Instructional Technologies and Distance Learning at The Sage Colleges
Kittygloom Cassady: Jennifer Ragan-Fore, director of new media and member communities for ISTE (the International Society for Technology in Education) and the project lead for ISTE's SL program
Katie Fenstalker: Katie Fenstalker, U of Maryland, Women's Studies, new media researcher and teacher.
George Linden: I'm George Scobie/Linden, have worked with Linden Lab for 3 years this September, focusing lately on education initiatives - I want to learn about and advocate for your needs - find my office hours in my profile picks!
Emilia Cornwall: Emilia Cornwall (Kathy Norris in RL) Technology Mgr for the national Sr. Project Center. We are located on EduIsland II
Robin Mochi: Robin Ashford, Reference & Distance Services Librarian, Portland OR USA - adjunct SL instructor
Raine Whitman: Educational Technologist, Teaching & Learning Technologies, University of Kansas Medical Center
hobbs Constantine: Heather Dodds, Science Programs Community Facilitator, Western Governors University
Deb Quintessa: Debbie Newman - Corporate Training & Dev Consultant - Los Angeles
KJ Hax: KJ Hax, K-4 Technology Facilitator & ISTE's Second Life Speaker Series host
Eme Capalini: Ann Ludwig, Vice President of Development for Virtual Ability, Inc.
Firery Broome: University of Delaware-IT User Services - Faculty Support- Island Shepherdess
Jasin Vectoscope: Jason stewart MATESOL monterey Institute of International Studies and CALL
Leerling Greybeard: Joe Henderson, Interactive Media Lab, Dartmouth Medical School.
Kimbeau Surveryor: Kim SJ. Work in the UK on residential advanced broadband uses, including learning
Featherwit Bright: software developer, Cornell U, but here for personal interest, SL is not my job
AJ Brooks: anyone else?
AJ Brooks: was that 45 people? :-) good crowd
Bushido Contepomi: Stephan Lifelong Student
Eve Avedon: Lynne Ivey, Duke Univ. Health System Continuting Ed
Dusty Artaud: Randi Kopp, consultant to Kidsbridge Tolerance Museum in NJ
Viv Trafalgar: Viv Trafalgar - Itinerant teacher and builder
Arelle Finesmith: Rise Smith, Dakota State University
AJ Brooks: excellent
AJ Brooks: anyone else?
Ignatius Onomatopoeia waves at Viv and notes I paid the rent :)
Viv Trafalgar: chuckles
Bushido Contepomi: *Who Built A School Here:)
AJ Brooks: going once
Profesora Farigoule: LCWeaverling - Delaware Tech,
Profdan Netizen: Dan Holt--Lansing Community College, Michigan.
Saxon Streeter: Fire service instructor, State of Connecticut
AJ Brooks: going twice
AJ Brooks: sold - to the lady in the tacky paid suit
AJ Brooks: Thanks everyone. One last thing, its really hard for me to respond to IMs while running the meeting. If you IM me, I promise to get back to you before I sign off.
AJ Brooks: Today's meeting is about Bringing Faculty and Students into Second LIfe. Our guests represent a range of individuals and organizations that have worked at making this easier.
AJ Brooks: I'll start off by introducing each guest, one at a time, and they will have a minute or so to simply introduce themselves.
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: Olivia is our wonderful photographer with great taste in hats
AJ Brooks: I will then go back around and give each of them up three minutes to tell us all a little about what they do, their organization, etc.. and hopefully they will also use this time to give us something to think and start talking about.
Olivia Hotshot: -smiling- Hello everybody!
AJ Brooks: Once all four guests have gone we will open up the floor for conversation.
Shawnta Clarence: Hello Everyone
AJ Brooks: All I ask is that you start off anything you address to one of the guests by using their name. When we have more than one or two guests, if you just pop out a questions or comment, sometimes is it not clear who it is addressed to.
AJ Brooks: So, lets begin.
AJ Brooks: Alan, why don't you get us started by introducing yourself
CDB Barkley: In RL I my avatar is called Alan Levine.
CDB Barkley: a human
CDB Barkley: He is Vice President of Community and CTO (actually the only TO) for the New Media Consortium (NMC http://www.nmc.org/)
Dusty Artaud: lol
CDB Barkley: we've been in SL for 3 years
CDB Barkley: And we built an Orientation experience and island for new educators
AJ Brooks: great
CDB Barkley: using SL registration API
AJ Brooks: Mirt
CDB Barkley is done
AJ Brooks: opps - sorry
AJ Brooks: Mirt
Mirt Tenk: I began working in SL as technical support for a research project, so I first focused on learning scripting & building before I began experiencing the social aspects of SL.
Mirt Tenk: I've been developing the Second Life support model for Teaching & Learning Services at Clemson University for over a year now.
Mirt Tenk: I developed our support model at Clemson University based on limited training & support resources.
Mirt Tenk: We provide training classes for faculty new to SL and we provide support for faculty using SL in teaching. We ask the faculty to provide training & support for their students.
AJ Brooks: excellent
AJ Brooks: Gentle...
Gentle Heron: Thanks for inviting me to be here this afternoon, AJ. In real life I'm Alice Krueger, and I work for an education research firm. I'm a former teacher and education consultant.
Gentle Heron: My real life has nothing to do with bringing people into SL; but that's the mission of my SL group, Virtual Ability.
Olivia Hotshot: hi marty =)
Gentle Heron: We are also a real world charitable organization, a US 501(c)3. Virtual Ability assists people with disabilities to enter SL and become successful here.
Gentle Heron: I invite SLER members to click on the giver poster in the corner there and receive further information about how we can help your programs. I hope it is set to buy for zero Lindens.
Gentle Heron: (and now I am done!)
AJ Brooks: thanks
AJ Brooks: last, but not least - Kitty....
Marty Snowpaw: Hi Olivia
Kittygloom Cassady: Thanks, AJ.
KJ Hax: Yay Kitty!
AJ Brooks: lol
AJ Brooks: a plant in the audience
Kittygloom Cassady: I'm Kittygloom Cassady/Jennifer Ragan-Fore in rl. I'm the director for new media and member communities for ISTE and the project lead for ISTE's Second Life program.
Kittygloom Cassady: ISTE is the International Society for Technology in Education—we host NECC (the National Educational Computer Conference) and create the NETS (National Educational Technology Standards).
Kittygloom Cassady: We've been in Second Life for almost two years now, and a big part of our focus has been supporting educators new to Second Life, so I'm really happy to be here to discuss this topic. Thanks for inviting me, AJ.
Kittygloom Cassady: Second Life obviously has a huge learning curve, both technically and culturally. Early on, we recognized that in order for a teacher or professor to get the most out of their experiences here,
AJ Brooks: you are all welcome, it is a real honor to have you each as a guest today
Kittygloom Cassady: they'd need some support in placeâ to help them with the basics like getting dressed, navigating, etc., and to help them with the more advanced topicsâ designing learning experiences, presenting, navigating SL cultural norms, etc.
AJ Brooks: so - what I'm going to do is go back around the guest list
AJ Brooks: and I'm going to ask each guest
AJ Brooks: to take 2-3 minutes
AJ Brooks: to tell us about what they do, what they offer, and to plant seeds for our conversation
AJ Brooks: So, Mirt, I'm gong to start with you this time.
Mirt Tenk: On our island, we provide a range of resources for faculty who want to use SL in teaching in addition to providing training & support
Mirt Tenk: We provide office space for faculty to hold virtual office hours & meetings in SL.
Mirt Tenk: (faculty can decorate these & claim them as "home")
Mirt Tenk: For faculty who want to meet with their students in SL for distance eudcation courses but do not want to include building & development in SL as part of the coursework, we provide classroom space.
Mirt Tenk: For faculty who want to incorporate development in SL as a part of their coursework, we will allocate a parcel for the semester. They can specify who has access, and how they want to use it.
Mirt Tenk: We require faculty to complete our training class or demonstrate they have the equivalent skills before we will allocate a parcel to them, since we cannot provide individual training with our limited resources.
Montclair State CHSSSouth Free Land Initiative - Faire:
Mirt Tenk: We're also allocating a couple parcels for some graduate students who are conducting research in SL. We can allocate parcels for research as long as the projects do not exceed a semester in duration and as long as we do not need all parcels for teaching.
Mirt Tenk: I'm now starting to schedule inworld faculty meetings among those who've been through our basic training classes, so they can request lessons on specific skills or just have a Q & A session.
Mirt Tenk is done
AJ Brooks: And Mirt, I'm guessing folks can contact you after ward with individual requests
Mirt Tenk: yes
AJ Brooks: excellent - thanks
AJ Brooks: Alan......
CDB Barkley: Yesss
AJ Brooks: Your up
CDB Barkley: Okay.
CDB Barkley: its been a while since I entered SL, but if you started a year or more back, the first experience was... terrible
CDB Barkley: I wanted to get off of Orientation Island ASAP
CDB Barkley: Many people have negative first experiences
CDB Barkley: and I bet we lose a lot of new people in those confusing first steps
CDB Barkley: When Linden Lab provided code for us to create accounts on our own site, we set one uo at http://sl.nmc.org/join/
CDB Barkley: which is free for anyone to use
CDB Barkley: When you enter SL the first time you land at our own designed NCM Orientation
CDB Barkley: modeled after a SF building stile in honor of the home of Linden Lab
AJ Brooks thinks...he didn't know that
CDB Barkley: We have a basic SL orientation but also a number of more advanced areas
CDB Barkley: with the idea its a place you can go back to
CDB Barkley: Since July 2007 we have brought in more than 8000 avatars
CDB Barkley: and now we average about 600 a month
Kittygloom Cassady: wow!
AJ Brooks: WOW!
CDB Barkley: Its pretty much a self paced experience
Mirt Tenk refers her faculty to the NMC & ISTE orientations
CDB Barkley: our stats are at http://sl.nmc.org/reg-stats.php
Teachergirl Razor: Great
CDB Barkley: We'd love to model the docent program of ISTE
CDB Barkley: and are working on a mentor device
AJ Brooks: Alan, that amazing
CDB Barkley: to allow newbies to page a mentor
AJ Brooks: do you have any idea how many of that 8000 are students v faculty?
Adra Letov: great idea
CDB Barkley: Not really
AJ Brooks: k
CDB Barkley: we don't collect much data unless they ask to be part of our community
CDB Barkley: an opt in
CDB Barkley: But..
CDB Barkley: In Sept 2008, Professor Steve Hornik brought in 800 students in his one Accounting class at UCF
AJ Brooks: got it, excellent, thanks
CDB Barkley: ok
AJ Brooks: amazing
AJ Brooks: Kitty....tell us about ISTE
Kittygloom Cassady: Sure!
Kittygloom Cassady: For anyone not familiar with ISTE's programs, I'll give a quick run down of our major projects.
Kittygloom Cassady: We have a robust volunteer group--we call them ISTE Docents--who welcome visitors to our island.
Profdan Netizen: 800?!!!!
Kittygloom Cassady: We have a weekly speaker series, weekly socials, and monthly tours and workshops. We also just recently launched a broadcast series on SLCN.tv KJ Hax is our host!
Kittygloom Cassady: We also host the largest educational group in sl with over 4500 members.
Kittygloom Cassady: This summer, we partnered with LL to create a pilot program--the "educator pathway" to help make entry to SL easier for educators--this is a dedicated registration system and self-paced orientation space on ISTE Island, with the added benefit of location near ISTE docents.
Kittygloom Cassady: We've been working with ISTE volunteers and with George Linden on this project, so I'm sure he will chime in here during the discussion.
Kittygloom Cassady: Two years ago, when we started the Docent Program, which provides direct, 1-to-1 support, we were clear in our goals about providing basic skills.
Kittygloom Cassady: As our project has evolved, and we've developed other programming (like workshops, tours, and, more recently, the educator pathway pilot program), our goals have expanded to include a variety of levels of support and resources.
Kittygloom Cassady: In a way, even ISTE's speaker series and socials fit into this model, as we provide opportunities and best practices for presenting in SL or leading activities.
AJ Brooks nods
Kittygloom Cassady: One of the ideas that we're exploring right now is how to support more advanced users and activitiesâ presenter bootcamps, and resources aimed at helping educators leverage the tool in the most appropriate ways, rather than just trying to recreate a rl classroom or experience.
Kittygloom Cassady: he more we can demonstrate the value of virtual worlds in educational environments, the easier it will be for making the case that educators should be in here.
Kittygloom Cassady: I'd be really interested to hear thoughts from this group about how we should approach this process, or what would be essential elements.
Mirt Tenk: over what timeframe did the 800 go through?
AJ Brooks: lets hold questions for just a bit
George Linden: /( Mind the wording on this page, it needs a good clean up very soon, but the ISTE Island education pathway can be found through here: http://secondlifegrid.net/slfe/education-use-virtual-world )
Mirt Tenk is sorry
Kittygloom Cassady: Thanks, George.
AJ Brooks: lol - s/ok
Kittygloom Cassady: Do you have anything to ad to what I said?
Kittygloom Cassady: about the pathway?
George Linden: I thought you did very well ã‹¡ this has been an experiment in tailoring an orientation space to a particular segment (educators) for LL,
George Linden: We had never done anything like this before,
AJ Brooks: this is great
AJ Brooks: thanks - I'm sure there will be questions for both of you
George Linden: And haven't just learned a lot about orientation spaces, but also so much about the community segment as well-
AJ Brooks: Gentle - you're next
Gentle Heron: Thank you again AJ. I'd like to tell you all a little bit about our Virtual Ability group and what we do in SL.
Gentle Heron: Our New Resident Orientation Center on Virtual Ability Island is a Linden Lab Community Gateway.
Gentle Heron: Eme Capalini is the head of the Design/Build Team for Virtual Ability Island, and she's sitting somewhere to my left (I think).
Gentle Heron: We get hundreds of newcomers through the facilities each week. Some are professionals, some students, and some are members of our target audience- people with physical, mental, emotional, and sensory disabilities.
Gentle Heron: We designed the orientation course to specifically support folks using assistive technology. We have specially trained human mentors available to assist in other ways.
Gentle Heron: We've been able to help people who are para- and quadraplegics or amputees, who are deaf or visually impaired, who have learning disabilities, ADD, or narcolepsy.
Gentle Heron: Within our group we have members who type with a stylus, who type with their toes, who use an onscreen keyboard and trackerball mouse, or who use Voice Recognition software not only to type text, but also to move their avatar and control their environment.
Gentle Heron: Among our volunteers are counselors, nurses, social workers, occupational therapists, special education teachers, and assistive technology practitioners.
Gentle Heron: We often refer people to services that are available in their geographic areas. We advocate for the rights of students with disabilities to obtain an appropriate education, and we assist their institutions who are instructing in SL to provide that appropriate programming.
Gentle Heron: How can Virtual Ability help your programs here in Second Life?
Gentle Heron: We'd be happy to consult with projects to ensure they are maximally accessible. This can range from information on how to work with your students who use assistive technology to the design of your SL physical facilities to make it welcoming to people with disabilities.
Gentle Heron: We can assist in guiding entrance into SL for your students or faculty with disabilities or who use assistive technology.
Gentle Heron: Virtual Ability members have made presentations to a number of education organizations in SL about legal requirements for assisting students with disabilities at K-12 and postsecondary levels.
Gentle Heron: We have an affiliated Virtual Ability Research Group that helps students and researchers design projects and find research subjects in SL's thriving disability community.
AJ Brooks: This is truly amazing stuff
Gentle Heron: We've held focus groups, hosted meetings, and conducted surveys for undergrad and graduate student groups and individuals.
CDB Barkley is humbled and has little to complain about, wow amazing
Gentle Heron: We have lots of information for people with disabilities about using virtual worlds and about the benefits of being part of a community here on our website http://www.VirtualAbility.org
AJ Brooks: Thanks, Gentle - more on this I'm sure in a few minutes
Gentle Heron: Please feel free to contact me or Eme Capalini after today's session if you would like further information on any of these topics, or if I can arrange a tour for you of our orientation course or our accessible teaching/training facilities on Virtual Ability Island.
Gentle Heron: (done)
AJ Brooks: I hope the audience sees why I think these folks are so critical to SL
AJ Brooks: Its so important that these people are making the first hour experience so valuable.
AJ Brooks: As we move forward, please remember to start your comment or questions with the name of the person you are directing it to.
AJ Brooks: and with that, I'll start us off
AJ Brooks: Gentle, can you explain what a Linden Lab Community Gateway is
Gentle Heron: You can enter SL through our orientation directly from the secondlife.com website
AJ Brooks: how is that different from what NMC does, Alana?
Gentle Heron: There are a number of these Community Gateways in different languages and cultures
AJ Brooks: opps
AJ Brooks: can't even spell my own name LOL
CDB Barkley: Ahh
CDB Barkley: I think the technology is similar
CDB Barkley: There is code LL makes available for people to run account creation services from any web site
CDB Barkley: Ours existed before the GateWay program
AJ Brooks: So - ISTE and Virtual Ability both go through the LL site and NMC has their own web page
CDB Barkley: and we have created a few custom ones for clients
Gentle Heron: We have our own web page also
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: Gentle, I just wrote a post about Max the Virtual Guide dog. I know that Zotarah and Oronoque here both have their own Maxes, too. Do you work with Louise Later and Charles Mountain on any projects for the visually impaired?
Kittygloom Cassady: we use our iste.org/secondlife page
MLani Montgomery: Kitty, as I prepare to take my first pilot project of high schoolers into the teen grid, can ISTE, or, as a paying rl ISTE member, give me guidance, and in what areas?
Gentle Heron: you can enter there, and we wrote up the "personal capabilities" that you must have to be able to do SL
Kittygloom Cassady: but it's also linked from the Second Life Grid web site
Zotarah Shepherd nods and smiles.
Gentle Heron: Yes we work with the Max group and several others who help people with visual impairments.
Kittygloom Cassady: Mlani, we're happy to help in any way we can
Kittygloom Cassady: We try to make those connections
Gentle Heron: All are in various stages of development, none are completed though
Kittygloom Cassady: esp for paying rl members. wink
AJ Brooks suggests people open their local chat window to follow the conversation better
Mirt Tenk wonders if you have had any contact with Vocational Rehabilitation agencies.
Gentle Heron: Mirt, I am a *client* of Voc Rehab. We're trying to bring them into SL.
Sophy Cascarino is Offline
Imenja black Redband: Unable to give inventory: 'No item named ''.'.
Robin Mochi: Virtual Ability Orientation is one of four I linked to on my SL course wiki including NMC and ISTE-students enjoyed them all but perhaps because my graduate students & faculty are older, they appreciated the extra interaction provided by Virtual Ability Orientation-they have all been very helpful
AJ Brooks: what is Vocational Rehab?
Eme Capalini: Thanks Robin :)
Sophy Cascarino is Online
Mirt Tenk: it's a public agency to help people w/disabilities get jobs
Gentle Heron: Voc Rehab is a federal program in all states that helps people with disability get training and employment
AJ Brooks: I love the fact that you can send your students to ALL of them
Kittygloom Cassady: They all offer different pieces
Mirt Tenk has a husband who worked as a VR counselor & psychometrist for 16 years
AJ Brooks nods
Kittygloom Cassady: When we were setting up our space
Kittygloom Cassady: we tried hard not to duplicate
Kittygloom Cassady: but to enhance what the other areas were doing
Kittygloom Cassady: or complement is probably a better way to put it
Gentle Heron: Exactly, Kitty, we all have our niche.
Elani Matova: Gentle: If a faculty member found out they were going to have a visually impaired student in an upcoming course, how would they begin? How much time would they need in preparation? Would the instructor also need training?
CDB Barkley: We make some of our Orientation signage available for free on our Learning sim
Gentle Heron: Elani, that depends on the degree of disability. We help both instructor and student.
Kimbeau Surveryor: @Gentle, a question I'm often asked is something like "isn't sl so visually-oriented that it's hostile to visually impaired people?" Do you have a good answer I can give to that?
Gentle Heron: we are not able yet to have totally blind users in SL without RL help right there with them.
Kittygloom Cassady: Gentle, how many people do you have supporting those efforts?
Kittygloom Cassady: on a 1 to 1 basis?
Gentle Heron: Yes Kimbeau. "So is RL!"
Gentle Heron: Kitty, we have a group of 200 members now
George Linden: nice!
Gentle Heron: and not all help needs to be one on one
Gentle Heron: We do some group work
Gentle Heron: but for those using assistive tech, since that is so specialized, yes, that generally needs to be one on one
Kittygloom Cassady: That's great
Gentle Heron: until they get it maximized functionally
Gentle Heron: and then some of our folks you'd never know they use tech
Kittygloom Cassady: We should invite you in for a presentation at ISTE
AJ Brooks: @George, I know that M said he wanted to improve the first hour experience. Any data on that yet?
Kittygloom Cassady: :)
Gentle Heron: We'd be happy to do so Kitty
CDB Barkley: @AJ yes, it would be interesting to track how many accounts login once and never return
George Linden: AJ, I don't have my hands deep in that enough to know what plans are laid out and which are still in discussion, but I can say a couple of ways that we'll be helping the education specific community with support in the coming months..
AJ Brooks: yes - or how many login for a semester and then never come back
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: and how many students continue to use SL after a class ends
AJ Brooks: lol - iggy
AJ Brooks: again - deranged minds think alike
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: same brain
Mirt Tenk: lol the ones we hire
AJ Brooks: sorry for you
AJ Brooks: :-)
Kittygloom Cassady: George, can you we share the stats about how many return?
Ignatius Onomatopoeia shrugs :)
AJ Brooks: @mirt - LOL
Kittygloom Cassady: Those were interesting, but I don't know if they're proprietary
Profesora Farigoule is Offline
AJ Brooks: @george, can you give us any hints?
Kittygloom Cassady: vs through the regular registration
AJ Brooks: of whats to come I meant
Featherwit Bright: An important thing to emphasize to new users is the difference between SL experience and a video game. Because some look at the graphics and expect to shoot things and are disappointed that it doesn't happen, and others fear to get shot at and don't stay long enough to find out ... that it doesn't happen!
George Linden: Kitty, the SL.com registrations and the New Educator Pilot Program registrations were pretty much always the same or similar for statistics, however,
Teachergirl Razor: in a tiny way I can tell you that out of a class of 18 , 13 are regularly on using their course av I do not know about those who use alts
AJ Brooks: @featherwit, a good point - I think the key to that is faculty led expectations before signing in
Olivia Hotshot: good to point out user created content and experiences versus pre-packaged multi-player games
George Linden: It's important to note that, unlike the Pilot Program, SL.com's registrations have had its share of automated registrations and bot-avatars that have 'inflated' the retention statistic generally, so the Pilot Program is doing very well with retention for being on par with SL.com's
Gentle Heron: Featherwit, we've found it important to tell that: SL is consensual, SL is built by residents, and, most important, we each get to set our own goals and purposes here
AJ Brooks: I can say that of over 50 students in 3 semester, not one is still active
Emilia Cornwall: wow
George Linden: AJ :D One aspect that isn't orientation specific but for all educators in general is a modification to the support offering at secondlife.com/support,
Kittygloom Cassady: AJ, why do you think that is?
Kittygloom Cassady: Have you gotten an feedback about it?
Olivia Hotshot: AJ, alive as the "student"? Or perhaps reinvented?
AJ Brooks: yes - because they are doing this for class
CDB Barkley: Hah, I burned through about 80 avatars setting up out first registration (getting placement right then was tricky)
AJ Brooks: how many students would sign back into blackboard if it were not for class?
George Linden: We'll be adding a way to self-identify as an educator to bring up a list of commonly asked educator questions, from how to create a secure space to "I've heard about an upcoming edu event and have a question,"
CDB Barkley: If you run into someone named "Zoraster" that's likely one of mine
Mirt Tenk: It's my impression that grad students stay, undergrads don't for the most pat
AJ Brooks: lol @ CDB
Kittygloom Cassady: @AJ, but blackboard is all about utility, and much of SL is not
George Linden: Once implemented we will be very eager to hear how we can refine that support offering.
AJ Brooks: K@itty - students don't see it that way, thought, I think. They are here for a class assignment
Kittygloom Cassady: Sometimes I think building in the delight is the only thing that makes something sticky
Robin Mochi: I work with grad students and faculty and some are staying afterwards
Gentle Heron: agreed Kitty
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: of 60+ from three classes, I see about 6 on and off in SL
Profdan Netizen: Difference between undergrad and grad--intriguing possibility.
Prospero Linden: In my experience, it's the rare student who wants to think about *anythying* from any class after the class is over
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: one loves SL soccer...so he found a niche here
George Linden: as a side note we are aiming to do more to help learn more about the edu community's demographics and ways educators can self identify, because we know this demographical information is helpful to educators who are writing proposals and grants and need to speak about SL's 'scope'
Oronoque Westland: maybe a better comparison ---- if a first time wiki experience in a course wiki, how many students go on to use wikis on their own
AJ Brooks: @Pros....agreed
Kittygloom Cassady: @Prospero. That's depressing. ;)
Elani Matova: I have had a few students who remained, but honestly facebook is tough competition for everything including homework?-)
Prospero Linden: Some students seem to "get it" that going to college is about learning new things in life that you might want to think about for the rest of your life; most people seem to think it's something you go through like basic training
Marty Snowpaw: I think they have to be taken beyond the class experience
Emilia Cornwall: I think K-12 teachers will come back even if only doing grad work...because of pd offerings available in so many places
AJ Brooks: but I think this broadens their horizons
Teachergirl Razor: the students who are staying are doing research in sl or librarians who have become volunteers but as I said others could be here using alts
Kittygloom Cassady: For those of you who are teaching classes in here, what format have your classes taken?
AJ Brooks: lset remember, most of our students have never seen a VW before
Eme Capalini: George, the same thing is true for the disability community
AJ Brooks: in 5 years - that won't be the case
Kittygloom Cassady: How did you use SL in your classes?
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: @Prospero--I'm lucky at Richmond. our kids will remain involved...but you have to appeal to their interests
AJ Brooks: my class was hybrid
AJ Brooks: we met once a week on campus and once in SL
Zotarah Shepherd: Yes Marty
Gentle Heron: George, we'd love to have those kinds of stats, for the same reasons, within the disability community here in SL
Elani Matova: Gentle and Eme: Do you know if any students in the health professions do internships with Virtual Ability? Is that a possibility?
AJ Brooks: so SL was sometimes classroom replacement, but I tried to make sure the assignments were SL oriented
CDB Barkley: NMC has run surveys in 2007 and 2008 on Educators in SL available at http://www.nmc.org/news/nmc/sl-educator-survey
Marty Snowpaw: good point ignatius
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: mine was hybrid too--most SL work done out of class
George Linden: Thanks Eme, Gentle - it's important to us, we're thinking hard on it!
Gentle Heron: Yes Elani. This semester we have a dozen grad student interns working on projects
Oronoque Westland: I have met some former Mnemonics (Bryan Carter's students) who came back using other accounts (no stats on how many do that, only anecdotal evidence)
Elani Matova: That's wonderful
Eme Capalini: Thanks George :)
Gentle Heron: Thanks George, let's talk!
Mirt Tenk: in working w/various faculty who bring students into SL, it appears that how the faculty bring them in & what the faculty DO with them has a big impact on returns
George Linden: Yes, please
Gentle Heron: absolutely Mirt
AJ Brooks: YES!!! @MIrt
Elani Matova: I agree Mirt.
Kittygloom Cassady: @Mirt. Agreed
Kimbeau Surveryor: Is it possible that sl as a place to come regularly is more relevent to older people? Certainly, the average age of SL users is over 30. Maybe the "distance social life" is more relevant to those without access to a student bar. This may explain lack of student retention.
AJ Brooks: faculty attitude is 100% important
George Linden: Are there any best practices for how faculty 'should' bring in a class to SL?
Mirt Tenk: I've supported faculty who were not willing to learn more than their students were asked to learn (by them) and those students were very disinterested
AJ Brooks: we do see this as social, that is true - and college students look elsewhere for social
Kittygloom Cassady: @Kimbeau, that's what we've discovered at ISTE.
Gentle Heron: Kimbeau, for our group, yes, the social aspects of being part of a community is really important. A class is NOT a community.
Kittygloom Cassady: We initially thought it would be a way to reach our under-35 members
Kittygloom Cassady: and that definitely is not the case.
Mirt Tenk: whereas faculty who really work at learning & pushing the limits of hte env seem to inspire their students here far more
AJ Brooks: but a class IS a community
Constantine Paulino: I will but I don't want to distract you from this spellbinging and riveting conversation
Kittygloom Cassady: We're thrilled with the response we got, but it's so different from what we expected.
Elani Matova: I think it is more about how far outside the SL classroom they explore. I took my class on field trips and they were required to interview other avatars. I think that made a difference
Aquiel Aero: a class is a community of learners
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: @ George--my meeting their new avies one on one really made the first hour effective
AJ Brooks: the point when my students "got it" was when we visited Lori Bell at Info Island
Gentle Heron: I would be interested in hearing those definitions of "community"
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: then I met writing groups later as small groups
Prospero Linden: I think Kimbeau has an important point... when you're in college, you're *very* caught up with the small world of your college campus, your community. It's almost cultish, at the extreme. Needing to find a community where you can connect with people spread around the world seems less important than it might later in life.
Mirt Tenk: one great success was a Business Writing distance ed class where a major assignment for the course was to write a SL business plan
AJ Brooks: well - that might be more true of a live on campus
George Linden: Ignatius-thanks!
Prospero Linden: AJ : yeah, I guess I'm thinking about a residential college here
Gentle Heron: We polled people with disabilities before we established our presence in SL, asking what they needed from a community. We work from that definition.
AJ Brooks: maybe not so much on a commuter campus like MSU - where 75% of our students commute (maybe more)
Mirt Tenk: good planning Gentle!
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: I knew the work was a success when I saw the RL meetings of the SL groups...at our library to plan their work
CDB Barkley: Most campuses are commuter campuses ;-)
Profdan Netizen: Or a CC like Lansing community college, AJ.
Profesora Farigoule: @prospero- that is why I am specifically using world-cultural connection in my current SL class - and students have been surprised at themselves in then finding more interest in SL
AJ Brooks: is that a fact, CDB?
Profdan Netizen: @Iggy--what do you mean that you met student avis one on one first hour?
Kittygloom Cassady: @Profesora--that's a great usage of this tool, and it pulls students out of the closed circuit campus mindset.
Oronoque Westland: my students claim not to be gamers, but I wonder if they still find SL too slow paced
Kimbeau Surveryor: @Iggy: I think there is a huge difference between virtual-only and hybred experiences. Different objectives, different outcomes.
Birdie Newcomb: They should sit in on meetings like this --
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: @Dan--I was there as an avatar and IRL with the writer when s/he made the account and logged on--at that time, I was a LL mentor and could go to Orientation Island. This fall we'll all create their accounts through NMC
Profesora Farigoule: @kittygloom - among other places, we've gone to Roma Central, where most users are Italian
Mirt Tenk: the delay in transfer from gaming to SL is in teaching students to set their own goals vs having them game-defined
Gentle Heron: right Mirt
Mirt Tenk: thinking outside the (x)box
AJ Brooks: lol
Profesora Farigoule: good point Mirt
Featherwit Bright: :-)
George Linden: Good teaching objectives btw, Mirt X)
Birdie Newcomb: 8=)
Eme Capalini: lol Mirt
Robin Mochi: I teach graduate education students about Second Life as an introduction to the technology that students they teach will eventually all be growing up using...some kind of virtual world technology most likely. I also have several School of Educ faculty who tool my "Intro to 2nd Life for Educators" course along with the graduate students for professional development purposes. This seems to be working well on many levels.
Kittygloom Cassady: @Mirt which strikes me as a core skill to be learned in college
Olivia Hotshot: i think a more interesting perspective is to look at what faculty & students find valuable & capitalize on it. If we keep trying to lead them, we will find we have no followers.
Kimbeau Surveryor: @Mirt: Now, _that_ sounds like a good educational objective -- setting your own goals... whatever next! ;-)
Prospero Linden: MIrt : yeah... before I started working at Linden Lab, people asked me, "but what do you *do* with Second Life"? I didn't have a good answer :) Nowadays, I reply, "what do you *do* with a box of random legos?" or something like that
Kittygloom Cassady: @ Robin --Have the faculty stayed engaged after the class?
Mirt Tenk: @Kitty we would hope!
Mirt Tenk has a brother who said, "I don't want to offend you or anything, but do you get PAID to do this?!"
Featherwit Bright: lol
Robin Mochi: this is my first course taught in this way but from the feedback I've received some want to become more involved ...one asked last night how she could get space for a project for her class
Gentle Heron: HA HA HA
CDB Barkley: Someone asked earlier about the faculty who brought in 800 students; it was over a period of less than a month. We have an interview with him http://sl.nmc.org/2008/08/12/teaching-accounting-in-sl/
Kittygloom Cassady: @ Mirt lol --he's jealous!
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: Prospero is right--"play" is a dirty word for too many in higher ed...and even Millennial-gen students who have little experience w/ open-ended play
Olivia Hotshot: Sl is a lot of work to incorporate mindfully
Bushido Contepomi: @Oronoque: Just as in the physical world ; your enjoyment in life and studies depends on your attitude, but mostly environment, so if it is fun and fast paced, people will stay and look forward to next class
Prospero Linden: **very** sad that "play" is a dirty word for people in higher ed, of course :)
Oronoque Westland: would be helpful to have stats on the disciplines of educators who teach in SL - education vs tech vs languages vs whatever - and see if there are differences in student after-course persistence in-world
Featherwit Bright: where are the constructivists...
Mirt Tenk: @Kitty no he was astonished after seeing SL for the first time, although he's a hospital COO so I'm showing him all the health ed & medical ed stuff now
Kittygloom Cassady: @Prospero - Totally agree
AJ Brooks raises hand!
Prospero Linden: play = having fun. learning = not playing.
Prospero Linden: or something....
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: We need more Vygotsky
Mirt Tenk: @Olivia EXACTLY!
Kimbeau Surveryor: @Prospero: I often suggest that SL is really the 3-D versionof HTML. It's like asking "what do you *do* with the Internet?"
AJ Brooks: WEll - Vygotsky is old school, though
Emilia Cornwall: @AJ you did say a transcript of this will be available? Lots of great infor and links to go back to!
Oronoque Westland: I have been "accused" of being a fun teacher
Robin Mochi: sorry this was for @kitty this is my first course taught in this way but from the feedback I've received some want to become more involved ...one asked last night how she could get space for a project for her class
Profesora Farigoule: @prospero - that is why I never use the term "gaming' when talkign to administrators lol
AJ Brooks: Iggy, want to take the transcript question
Olivia Hotshot: sounding like a faculty room here =)
George Linden: Oronoque, gasp!
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: @AJ, but Albert Rouize's book updates the idea
Mirt Tenk: Good job Robin!
Bushido Contepomi: it took a while before realizing this was not a game
Kittygloom Cassady: @ Robin -- We're happy to let classes meet on ISTE Island
Profesora Farigoule: oh no oronoque - a "fun" teacher .... how will you ever survive ;)
Kittygloom Cassady: for free (as long as it doesn't conflict with our events)
AJ Brooks pokes Iggy to answer the question about transcripts being available
Gentle Heron: Yes, Virtual Ability island has facilities that are totally accessible and could be used for classes or presentations as well.
Oronoque Westland: my colleague thought that I was not serious enough (based on hearsay), then sat in to evaluate me and I got a glowing report (not in SL then though)
Mirt Tenk: Olivia had a great point though, about mindful work in SL being actual work
Gentle Heron knows Oronoque glows
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: ouch my ribs--pokes AJ back
AJ Brooks: lol
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: transcripts are at: http://homepage.mac.com/jessid/slroundtable/
Mirt Tenk: Like any new teaching technology there's that learning curve along w/learning to incorporate your course material mindfully and appropriately
Robin Mochi: @Kitty thanks, my faculty member actually wants to build a small institute to collaborate with others around the globe on her research and have her graduate students involved
Profesora Farigoule: is counting on transcript 'cos has crashed 2x already this afternoon
Oronoque Westland: Oro thinks fun is wasted on the kids
Kittygloom Cassady: For those of you who taught classes in here--what would have made designing those courses easier?
Kittygloom Cassady: Before you taught your first one?
AJ Brooks: faculty must take it on themselves to be more involved before the students if they want this to work
Olivia Hotshot: as a side note - be sure to submit photos to the SLER Group on Flickr - if you need help joining send me an IM. Here s the group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/sler/
AJ Brooks: Easier? Nothing - it was not easier - it was much harder
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: @Kittygloom--would have been easier had I not rushed in w/o a good plan that first semester.
Mirt Tenk wants to hear answers to Kitty's question too, since this is the preparation she tries to deliver to her faculty
Rachelle Munro: Faculty need mentors to understand the nuances of SL before designing classes
Kimbeau Surveryor: @Mirt,Olivia. I think one of the problems with SL is that at the moment it's a lot harder work than other teaching, for the same outcome (although of course there are many additional outcomes on offer once you do the work). But it's like the web before wikis and blogs and so on -- these tools need their equivalent in SL before real progress can be made easily.
Aster Brun: I haven't done it yet--mulling over how to start.
Profesora Farigoule: i was in SL 4 months before teaching - but i don't think any group of things will substitute for actual committment to experience - by teacher first
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: Rachelle's got it..enthusiasts need a semester alone in SL before trying to teach, and they need to come to meetings like this
Kittygloom Cassady: We're looking for volunteers who might partner with us on creating courses and resources to help faculty design courses
Gentle Heron: We work with peer support groups coming into SL and I think it's similar. You often can't duplicate RL here. You need to experience SL first yourself.
Kittygloom Cassady: IM me if you're interested
George Linden: Rachelle - great thought. When we get requests through the support portal about "How do I make a class in SL?" and related 'curious' questions, we always always point them to the SLED list - you all provide the best mentoring to one another there
Kittygloom Cassady: Won't start until this summer
Aster Brun: Is it better to go slowly, add a single piece to a conventional course, or jump in all the way
Olivia Hotshot: @Kimbeau - agree!!! Not so much it is less management and planning - just different, and difficult for some people to wrap their heads around.
Zotarah Shepherd: @kitty Knowing SL presentation tools, interactive builds and how to use them
Bushido Contepomi: This is just an extension of the physical world, and once you learn to ride the wheels; anything is possible:)
Oronoque Westland: I taught a workshop after being an "observer" in SL for nearly a year...it was "easier" having seen what worked and what didn't work for others...can't read a text book and then teach in SL (not in the physical world either ofr that matter)
Profesora Farigoule: @Aster - if the teacher hasn't got a lot of personal SL experience, jumping right in all the way will be a fulltime commitment :)
Mirt Tenk has faculty in her training classes who would like to observe someone teaching a class in SL (an academic class).
Emilia Cornwall: we are putting in one SL module into a grad course that starts this summer. this conversation has been most helpful!
AJ Brooks: Folks - we only have a couple minutes left. Before most of you start disappearing (we hit 60, btw), I want to thank CDB, Mirt,
Gentle and Kitty - you guys were great. I also want to remind everyone that we will be back here next Tuesday at 2:30pm SLT and out topic will be Second Life Administrative Best Practices
George Linden: And from experience with the New Educator Pilot Program/ISTE, factors that help keep educators interested are recurring topical events, 1:1 volunteer help, and quick understanding of navigational basics. In other words though, it's 2/3 socially impacted
Aster Brun: I realize that, but even with a lot of SL experience, is it better to add a single unit first
Bushido Contepomi: @Prospero: Can SL Handle 200,000 concurrent users at this point?
AJ Brooks: you don't have to leave if you don't want to
Rachelle Munro: I've found that even with a mentor it still takes regular work on the part of the faculty member...but at least they have support
AJ Brooks: the place will stay open and folks can hang out and chat as long as you want
Elani Matova: If an instructor has never experienced SL. why would they want to teach here? Also, sometimes getting faculty past Powerpoint is a chore, so I'm guessing it is early adopters that jump in, is that correct?
Mirt Tenk: I am going to have to leave due to a prior commitment, but please IM me w/any questions
Olivia Hotshot: Great meeting everyone! I have learned a lot! Thank you.
Kittygloom Cassady: Thanks for inviting me, AJ. Thanks for the conversation, everyone.
CDB Barkley: Thanks a lot, AJ et al
AJ Brooks: thanks Mirt our wonderful guest and exceptional transcriber! :-)
Mirt Tenk: I'll be leading a half-day seminar at the Educause national conference in Denver in November on how to develop & implement a campus support model for Second Life, with my colleague, Kathy Hoellen (SL Sedona Luminos).
Viv Trafalgar: Thank you very much - this was fascinating.
CDB Barkley: RL is calling.....
George Linden: Wow, thanks everyone, learned so much, I'll have to make sure to come to these more often!
Robin Mochi: Agree that faculty need to have some experience in SL first-that's the purpose of the course I'm currently teaching-one credit hour course for grad/doctoral students and faculty who are interested in SL can take this for prof develop purposes if they are thinking of using SL to teach or for research...that and a wiki full of resources is what I'm using at my university
Kittygloom Cassady: I do need to run to another meeting now, but please IM me if you're interested in working on our project.
Gentle Heron: Thank you for your interest. It was enjoyable listening in on the conversations today.
AJ Brooks: REALLY????? ME too (although not on SL)
Kittygloom Cassady: We also just put up a new part of the orientation space, so we'd also love feedback on that
AJ Brooks: Sarah Robbins and I are doing a Web 2.0 thing
George Linden: Small plug ;) office hours in my profile picks; Thursdays 3pmSLT at the region Grasmere
Mirt Tenk: If anyone is willing to have an observer in an inworld class, please let me know.
Olivia Hotshot: Kitty - have to run, but would like to
Mirt Tenk: tc all, ty!
Kittygloom Cassady: Thanks, Olivia!
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: wonderful! Thanks Mirt for that offer
Olivia Hotshot: welcome!!
Kittygloom Cassady: Night everyone!
George Linden: Have a good one, all!
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: goodnight Kitty
Marty Snowpaw: bye all
Olivia Hotshot is thinking about student teachers observing SL classes as a part of practicum
Zotarah Shepherd: Always glad to create and assist with classes on ISTE Kitty.
Olivia Hotshot: =)
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: thanks George--transcript will be a good one
Teachergirl Razor: thanks all
Teachergirl Razor: thanks again AJ
Oronoque Westland: there was just a big one day SL conference on e-Government, would like to do a module on that in my Fall class
Rachelle Munro is Online
Bushido Contepomi: @ Any Linden Here: Can SL Handle the numbers if you had a surge of 100,000 more new users running concurrently?
Kimbeau Surveryor: virtual food just doesn't cut it!
Olivia Hotshot: bye Everyone!!
Robin Mochi: thanks all!
Prospero Linden: Bushido : no
Oronoque Westland: I could lose weight on virtual food...easier than a real diet!
Prospero Linden: If we suddenly had 100,000 more new users in the next month, SL would be sad
Bushido Contepomi: Thanks
Prospero Linden: We're not ready to scale THAT fast
Prospero Linden: Note
Prospero Linden: That is on at once
Prospero Linden: 100,000 new registrations, no problem
Prospero Linden: But if the concurrency at peak jumped from 80,000 to 180,000, our central database and some other systems would have isues....