Second Life Education:Exploring the potential for real learning in a virtual world

Clare AtkinsSunset in Bombyx

Challenges of IT Education in the 21st century:

skills of critical appraisal and creative problem solving

making the system fit the students not the reverse

Challenges of talking about Second Life:being taken seriouslyavoiding the clicheshow much do you know already

Challenges of this presentation:where to start, where to stop, too much!what to focus onwhere’s the research

who is doing the presenting here

Clare Atkins OR……

Welcome

to my world

Arwenna Stardust

and we mustn’t forget

NZ Education in a Virtual World

eFest presentation 2007

NZ Education in a Virtual World

eFest presentation 2007

Dr Clare Atkins and Aaron Griffiths

Dr Clare Atkins and Aaron Griffiths

Nelson MarlboroughInstitute of Technology

Nelson MarlboroughInstitute of Technology

Software EducationalResources Limited

Software EducationalResources Limited

Arwenna StardustArwenna Stardust Isa GoodmanIsa Goodman

What is Second Life?A 3D real-time fully interactive online digital world,

imagined created and owned by its residents – a MUVE

• Not really a ‘game’– No rules (only principles of behaviour), no specific purpose– Can create games within in it, e.g. RPGs, Chess, Slingo

• An extremely rich virtual environment, – highly engaging roleplay opportunities– integrated eco-systems, – encourages/facilitates a high degree of collaborative action – Being taken seriously by businesses, education institutes

and entertainment sources 2mins 33secs

Currently almost 8m people have visited, almost 1.8m visited in last 60 days and around 35,000 are online at any one time.

The good, the bad and the ugly, …The good, the bad and the ugly, …

Real-time weather visualisation, tsunami and hurricane simulations

Real-time weather visualisation, tsunami and hurricane simulations

Events, lectures and interactive life-size models

Historical role playingHistorical role playing

Powerful experiential learningPowerful experiential learning

Ready for a visit?Arwenna would like to show us

around a few interesting places!She is waiting for us in the NMIT

Garden of Learning on EduIsland

Arwenna and Aidan at NMIT

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eduisland/94/211/23 here

Dipping NMIT toes into virtual water

End 2006 – Rented space on EduIsland for NMIT for 1 year

2007 Sem 1 – Informal trial with final year IT students

2007 Sem 2 – e-capability project using Moodle, Sloodle and Second Life

2007 June – Decision to buy Koru Island – ready Sem 1 2008

Why?What it offers students

Opportunities to learn through discovery,through real-

time role playcollaborate with others emotional engagement with learningexperience a sense of communityhave fun and learn without recognising

the learningexperience the impossible……………..?

SYD300 students in the NMIT gazebo

Why?What it offers staff as Educators

Ability to provide ‘engaging’ activitiesA natural extension to existing eLearning

activitiesAids to explain and explore difficult

abstract conceptsAbility to bring distance learners into a

class communityEasy route to step down from the “sage

on a stage” roleSYD300 students in the NMIT garden

Why?What it offers Staff as Academics/Researchers

Membership of a global community (in a very real sense!)

Participation in international debates and conferences

Opportunities to talk to/ask advice from significant others

Collaboration for practice and researchOpportunities to publish internationallyAn international social network

Kiwi Educators meeting June 2007

What’s next?

NMIT Koru IslandOtago - sustainabilityTOPNZ

Creation of a NZ community – an archipelago of NZ Islands – cooperating, collaborating, sharing resources

and expertise

That is my vision, and Arwenna’s

What is dawning?

We have no idea! But we think it might re-shape our world in ways we

can’t yet imagine!

Please visit

Second Life Interest Groupwww.nmit.ac.nz/research/2ndLife

NZ Education in a Virtual World (blog)http://eduforge.org/projects/slcampusnz/

And you are always welcome to email Clare

or IM Arwenna!