Learning In a Second Life

Learners seem to be getting more restless by the day, and their educators and trainers are constantly being challenged to relate to them in ways that capture their attention and help them make meaning out of whatever the topic.  In the classroom, this can be extremely difficult with limits on available resources, and this issue can be exacerbated with an online course.  In this age of Web 2.0, technology inclusion in the learning process beyond the overdone PowerPoint presentation—or simple chat room and email—is also becoming more desirable as new ways to make learning interactive are sought.  Remarkably, educators may have an answer to a number of those challenges in Second Life (secondlife.com).

Second Life is a 3D online virtual world offered by Linden Lab where all types of environments can be created and visited, but it offers a unique opportunity for learning.  One obvious benefit is that the learning environment can be developed the way one wants without many of the limitations present in the physical world, such as real estate and multimedia equipment.  The primary benefit, however, may be that it offers a rich extension to existing, more traditional settings where learning takes place.  In Second Life, individuals create avatars that may or may not be representations of themselves, and then use the avatars to interact with myriad objects, creatures, and other avatars.  It can also be fascinating to “teleport” to other places in Second Life, whether from a tree trunk into the second floor of a building, or from one island to another.  This is certainly an interesting way to capture learners’ attention and get them interacting with each other, and with material in ways that go far beyond the usual.  As the Vice President of Platform and Technology Development at Linden Lab stated, “Second Life removes the distance from the distance learning equation” (Galagan, P., p. 36).  It puts learners together in creative ways that have not been possible before, and many organizations, colleges, and universities have embraced the technology.  Through Second Life, it is possible to hold virtual meetings and role-play with others, as well as discover and learn individually through simulations, interaction with specific objects, or through multimedia.

In visiting the Bowling Green State University (BGSU) location, I found information on assessment strategies, active learning, online learning tools, and developing rubrics—all in trees.  They also had podcasts linked to certain classrooms, as well as different areas of the campus, some of which started automatically, and some upon clicking a link.  DePaul University’s College of Computing and Digital Media had an elaborately detailed environment with many creative ways to interact with objects and animate the avatar—the Christmas themed areas and snow were particularly inviting.  Although I was unable to find a classroom on the campus, the learning was all around me—in all of the details and in my interaction.  Interestingly, this is the only environment I visited where someone actually initiated dialogue, and I found it incredibly refreshing to chat with the other visitor as we tried to help each other find our way. 

One particularly effective learning location is Virtlantis, which offers a variety of interesting ways to incorporate use of English while relating with the environment.  Angel Learning Isle was host to a number of community college and university classrooms, but one of the open areas had a taxonomy pyramid that one could ascend, and as I stepped up to new levels, and onto the blocks that made up the pyramid, I could choose to get more information on the specific item classifications on each block if I wanted. 

Overall, the Second Life provides an atmosphere with a great deal of potential for engaging learners; however, it is not without its flaws.  It can be extremely slow depending on the internet connection speed being used.  Also, it is not fully web-based; you have to download and install the Second Life viewer to be able to log in and use the site.  The platform may also not be as stable as one might prefer.  I was booted out of the site on two occasions with a situation similar to a dropped cell phone call; and twice, the locations I wanted to visit were unavailable.  Lastly, learning to use Second Life can be a little daunting.  I jumped into exploring without taking the time to go through a tutorial, and found myself fumbling with the simplest of things—like walking around.  Nevertheless, I like the opportunities Second Life holds for the future of education and organizational learning.

Galagan, P. (February, 2008). Second that. T + D. 34-37. Retrieved from http://www.astd.org/NR/rdonlyres/F3C38970-2C51-4437-9A4E-BDBA9703F2B0/15724/080234.pdf

Learning with YouTube

I had never really considered using YouTube to learn anything until my professor handed out this assignment.  Up to this point I had always considered the medium to be something strictly for entertainment—that is all I had ever used it for in the past.  What I found in searching for a learning video was a massive collection of how-to’s on everything from how to clean out your dryer vent to introducing a speaker.  I chose the latter topic and found 13 videos with the quoted search terms, “how to introduce a speaker.”  Without the quotes, there were 1,260 results—way too many to weed through.

After having watched a few minutes of a hyped-up version, which was more about making sales pitches and marketing, I decided that it did not exactly fit my intent.  Instead, I selected a series of ten videos from the eHow channel, mainly for their brevity and concision.  However, there were a few other reasons why I liked it.  The quality of the audio and video were great, which I could not say about some of the other videos, and it made a huge difference for me.  Although the eHow series was done completely in front of a white board without much else to look at besides the speaker, this is precisely why I thought it was effective.  Additionally, the sub-topics within the main topic were well organized and used a consistent formula throughout.  The speaker kept a tight focus on the subjects and in some of the videos included a few short points on the board to point out as she spoke—and, thankfully, she spoke clearly and confidently using a tone of authenticity, as well as a good measure of humor.  Overall, I thought the series did a good job of offering the material and helping a specific audience get prepared for the task of introducing a speaker.  One could argue that it was boring, but the focus was on speaking, so it made sense to just do that in the videos.  To see for yourself, follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grePRQ8zonA&p=542FB8B95D325398&feature=list_related&playnext=1

I have learned that it can take a fair amount of planning and execution to put together a great learning video, and I appreciate all of the learning opportunities that so many people have made available on YouTube. Now that I have discovered this resource, I will surely use it in the future, and perhaps add a few learning videos of my own.

Google Docs, You Make Me Crazy

What was I expecting to get for free?  The truth is, I had no idea what to expect, but the hype around Google Docs offering open source tools to everyone at no cost was great.  Among the benefits are the ability to upload and create word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation file types, access your files from anywhere, the capacity to store a fairly large amount of information, the capability of sharing those files with others while keeping everyone else locked out, and a facility to create folders for organizing those files.

I will be honest and say that I was not expecting the serious troubles I had with reformatting the uploaded document I had already meticulously set up in strict APA style.  I think the process would have been the same—that is, the same amount of editing effort would be required—if I had uploaded raw data.  Being familiar with formatting features in Microsoft Word was helpful, although I had to figure out some differences between Word and the word processor in Google Docs.  This was not a process I would like to do on a routine basis.

In addition, when working in the Google Docs word processing application, it is difficult to position your insertion point in the right place.  It looks like it is blinking in one place, but when making edits, I found that I was adding or deleting characters where I did not intend. 

Lastly, there were a number of server and other errors during upload, as well as with applying some of the formats (I almost forgot about them).  I am unsure of the causes, but with all of the problems I encountered, my time to deal with the document was extended by about 15 minutes—precious time I could have spent on working on another assignment.

Why is Wikipedia so Popular?

Wikipedia has become a phenomenon, but I have not definitively figured out why.  It could be that it is free, or that it has a catchy name.  Maybe the appeal comes from the massive amount of information that can be found there on just about any topic, or the point that anyone—mostly amateurs—can go add an article, or change the articles that exist on the site.  All of these are facts about using Wikipedia, but the problem is that not everything found on Wikipedia is a fact.

I have often gone to Wikipedia as a source of information, probably due to its high ranking in Google searches, but I have never considered using it as a source for a research paper.  As a starting point for gathering information, it has value.  Yet, when considering that I can create an article on any topic whether I know the details or not, I am reluctant to use it for much more than that.  The ability to make up details is reminiscent of the urban legends passed around in e-mailboxes of the world.  One simply cannot trust it completely for accuracy.  Nevertheless, it is growing in size and popularity every day.

So, could it be the fact that it is a “green” method of sharing information?  I know that I recently tried to drop off my full set of Funk & Wagnall’s (circa 1991) at the local Goodwill donation center and the attendant refused to take them, even though encyclopedias were not yet on the list of items they do not accept.  Or, is it the instant gratification that people have become so addicted to?  After all, information is updated on Wikipedia at a dizzying rate.

My sense is that the reason Wikipedia has become one of the most popular websites is for all of the reasons suggested here.  My hope is that the most gullible among us will not lose their life's savings in any wager based on the information found there.

Wiki of Web 2.0

I will admit that I was not excited about using a wiki at first with having to dive in to so many new things at once—blogging, Skype, Facebook, GoogleDocs—it was all a bit daunting, and being a Web 2.0 latecomer certainly did not help.  Initially, the wiki seemed to be a chaotic workspace with everyone adding and editing at the same time, but I gradually came to appreciate certain benefits of using a wiki as a learning tool, one of which is ease of use.

Wikis can be a great way to collaborate on group projects that require a number of individuals to contribute to the composition or completion of a document, or for simply collecting and sharing learning resources, as my cohort did.  In each one’s own time and space, documents and comments may be added to the wiki and modified as needed to enhance project outcomes.  In this way, everyone also has an opportunity to learn from one another. This approach to constructing a work product makes it easy for a group to take advantage of the strengths and talents of individual group members.

Phillipson’s wiki taxonomy (as cited in Caverly, & Ward, 2008) offers some insight on additional ways to use a wiki in a learning environment.  In addition to the resource and presentation wikis mentioned above, a gateway wiki is identified to enable discussion and/or debate about a set of data, which may include offering support in varying forms for individuals’ views and conclusions.  This differs from a forum in that various media can be incorporated, and is an important way that students can collectively construct their own understanding about a topic, rather than relying solely on a professor.

As educators increase the use of wikis for collaborative learning, it may become more challenging to determine how to evaluate individuals for their participation and input (Trentin, 2009).  Grading fairly should remain a priority, especially for group projects.

One additional observation is that wikis have the potential of staying in perpetual disarray.  Without some ground rules and a commitment among collaborators, it could become difficult to maintain order.  Thankfully, in the case with my cohort’s first wiki, order emerged.

Caverly, D. C., & Ward, A. (Winter, 2008). Techtalk: Wikis and collaborative knowledge construction. Journal of Developmental Education, 32(2), 36-37.

Trentin, G. (2009). Using a wiki to evaluate individual contribution to a collaborative learning project. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 25(1), 43-55. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2729.2008.00276.x

Blogs for Learning

Blogs as a learning tool are becoming more popular with time.  This is not a surprising fact with internet use becoming a near necessity for learners to be successful.  There is an abundance of resources and a variety of tools available on the internet, so it makes sense to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of using blogs for learning.  My purpose here is to share a few of my observations.

One obvious benefit is that using a blog allows learners to share information and ideas without being bound to a specific place and time.  When time permits, each individual may go to the blog for reading material from wherever they happen to be.  The downside of this is that some learners prefer to be in a classroom setting and are more comfortable learning in this type of environment.  Nevertheless, it is easier to focus the learning on very specific target areas and maintain learner attention, which is the first step in the process of learning (Wolfe, 2006).

While some learners may prefer going to class, blogging can remove some of the fear that may be present in the learning environment, perhaps leftover from childhood school days (Perry, 2006).  Perry (2006) reveals that nearly one-third of adult learners come with incidences of “abuse, neglect, developmental chaos, or violence that influence their capacity to learn” (p. 21).  In a place of comfort, a learner can participate.

Blogging provides an opportunity for learners to be more reflective.  That is, when people are given reading on a given topic, they are able to spend some time thinking about what is being shared, and what it means to them.  I view this as an advantage because meaning is being constructed through the reflection rather than passive listening to a lecture that may occur in a classroom (Taylor, 2006).  Additionally, blogging allows for collaborative learning by considering a variety of perspectives that may be shared on the blog.

This medium requires readers be engaged in the learning process, again avoiding the passive method of learning (Caine, & Caine, 2006).  It also allows individual learners to practice their writing skills and provides a means of “learning through articulation” by writing a narrative, journal, autobiography, or writing-to-learn (Taylor, 2006, p. 75).

Blogging is not ideal for veridical learning which involves getting to exact answers that are predefined.  However, when the goal is to encourage creative problem-solving and decision making, or interpreting meaning of ideas, the medium can be very effective (Taylor, 2006).

Caine, G., & Caine, R. N. (2006). Meaningful learning and the executive functions of the brain. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education. DOI: 10.1002/ace.219.

Perry, B. D. (2006). Fear and learning: Trauma-related factors in the adult education process. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education. DOI: 10.1002/ace.215.

Taylor, K. (2006). Brain function and adult learning: Implications for practice. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education. DOI: 10.1002/ace.221.

Wolfe, P. (2006). The role of meaning and emotion in learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education. DOI: 10.1002/ace.217.