Summary
As I never got to actually organizing the workshop I had been pondering on, I’ll limit myself to writing down considerations on the workshops I attended. I was very keen on learning how my fellow MUVEnationers would solve the problem of transferring knowledge in SL, this being an unfamiliar (uncommon) environment.
Situation
I have not been too particular about the subject for workshops; anything would do to learn about teaching in SL. Prerequisite knowledge has been slightly above my level in several workshops, but I always managed to follow the story.
Task
Attending the workshops, I set myself the task of establishing to what degree SL skills influence the competence of bringing over a message and of inviting a student to learn things.
As I have not always been in a situation to meet with the prerequisite knowledge for the workshops, my findings also tell about my shortcomings in capturing the lesson. In a few situations I had to concentrate so much to be able to follow, that no time was left for looking at secondary issues in the setup of lesson and class. Extra SL skills would have helped here, I suppose.
In other workshops, I was over skilled. This made it easier for me to spend time on judging the coherence of the story brought by the instructor. Gaps in the story can make it difficult for a student to shape a line of thoughts that bring understanding. That would discourage him, I should imagine. No teacher wants discouragement to bring the students to shift their attention to the overly present (and lurking, as Anna Begonia put it) temptations of both SL and RL.
Actions
The main thread in the lesson often was a beforehand prepared notecard, read/spoken by a Speak Easy HUD in the openchat channel. This is very good for both instructor and student. The instructor can hold to the structure he prepared for this the lesson. De student can scroll back in his communication panel whenever he needs to have another look at what has been said before. On top, keeping a log of chat in SL, he does not have to think about taking notes. Working over the conversation text, later on, is enough.
Stressing some points, going deeper into some things (as need arises) can be easily done in the same chat channel. The colour difference in the text tells you the comments from the original explanation.
Preparing the notecard has proved important. First of all, the text needs to be applicable in most circumstances. If by chat, during the lesson, you need to disagree with too many text lines, no more structure is left in the lesson. Secondly, text lines need to be short and easily chewable. If deciphering the message takes too much trouble, a student has no more attention left for any other stimulus presenting itself.
Often used as well, was a screen for presenting textures/slides. This is, of course, a very welcome tool to visualise the message, brought only textually otherwise. A pity though that often, you need to be particularly handy with your camera tools to look up from your work piece (or anything else), to the screen, and back. In a bigger classroom or with two whiteboards being used, this is not easy. Needing their time to keep up with the pace imposed, some students may end up sticking to just the chat, the notes, whatever. On I-don’t-remember-what island I saw a tool with HUD for switching most easily from one defined view to another. It may be worth while to try this out with a view-on-the-whiteboard, a view-on-the-teacher, any other view.
Results
Giving class in SL, can turn from rigidly ordered intentions to a very unstructured, tea-party like chaos. A bunch of students not being well-groomed and/or not apt to learn from you, need no more to decide to (go and) do other things. As in RL, the teacher’s enthusiasm is a key factor in setting up a good lesson in SL. I have seen much of that quality too, in the workshops I attended.
Lessons learned
Student’s interest in the event and in the subject of the course is important for teaching, in SL as well as it is in RL. All this does not come by itself: SL does not help in this. Advantages of teaching in SL, must be sought elsewhere.
Also, teaching for an audience with a different level of skills, is no other in SL than in RL. As in RL, for solving that, you must allow one student to help an other. A quicker student has time to spare and can (pride himself in) helping out the slower student. Also, after class, students must be provided with enough material so as to be able to organise the knowledge in their own head, at their own pace.
vrijdag 6 maart 2009
dinsdag 10 februari 2009
Exploring hands-on workshops 2
The second workshop I attended, was a normal Hands-on workshop. The scene comprised a number of seats around a platform for the teacher and two whiteboards. Subject was NCI's Textures 3 - Water Effects.
In the first part of the class, the teacher gave an explanation on water textures, problems that arise when creating (more like suggesting, really) a body of water, a stream etc. In the second part students were guided through the creation of a basin-with-fountain.
Prerequisite textures, scripts, animations were given after clicking a cube announcing it's purpose.
Required knowledge was mentioned, leaving it up to you to decide whether it was worth staying or not. I did notice empty seats that had been occupied in the beginning of the class: building in SL is a complex matter, I suppose. Still, a word is enough, both to the wise and to the willing to achieve something, the teacher must have thought. He kept an attentive eye on workpieces, so as to notice who was still following and who was at blank. Not having too many students in class, certainly did prove to be an asset. I did feel supported in my attempts to create the basin-with-fountain.
The second workshop I attended, was a normal Hands-on workshop. The scene comprised a number of seats around a platform for the teacher and two whiteboards. Subject was NCI's Textures 3 - Water Effects.
In the first part of the class, the teacher gave an explanation on water textures, problems that arise when creating (more like suggesting, really) a body of water, a stream etc. In the second part students were guided through the creation of a basin-with-fountain.
Prerequisite textures, scripts, animations were given after clicking a cube announcing it's purpose.
Required knowledge was mentioned, leaving it up to you to decide whether it was worth staying or not. I did notice empty seats that had been occupied in the beginning of the class: building in SL is a complex matter, I suppose. Still, a word is enough, both to the wise and to the willing to achieve something, the teacher must have thought. He kept an attentive eye on workpieces, so as to notice who was still following and who was at blank. Not having too many students in class, certainly did prove to be an asset. I did feel supported in my attempts to create the basin-with-fountain.
woensdag 4 februari 2009
Exploring hands-on workshops 1
The first workshop I attended, was somewhat different than the workshops commented on by my fellows in this program. I am not sure whether it qualifies as a hands-on workshop; it was interesting anyway.
The scripting class took place in a shop, selling all kinds of things. A panel on the wall invites you to take the class: you simply click on the panel, the device loads the chapters concerned, previous/next buttons appear on the side and on you go: the lesson on scripting for beginners. No classic setting of a class with teacher and students. Text and graphics on the screen accompany the teachings in form of a conversation sent to you. You can press the next-button alongside the screen, whenever you feel ready for new instructions and a new slide on the screen.
One fellow-student was standing next to me. Obviously (?), she saw something different than I on the screen: a few slides/chapters ahead, I suppose. Looking around a bit, afterwards, I noticed the ad’s on the wall: you can buy next and previous classes on the subject of scripting and building.
Starting the class, the tutor told about previous classes and what will come next. Then inviting you to rez your first prim, followed the explanations on scripting and building. I did not see any way to ask/send questions to the teacher (though the instructions mentioned “you can send questions to ..., after I did all the explanations”). The instruction-text did not contain an explanation on how to navigate through pages or on further considerations you might have, following a web course.
Motivation to learn is something you bring along with you in the course: no difference with RL web courses. The course is built “result oriented” so you can judge easily if your result is the result you should have. Also, focus is on rules and procedures: no place for an argument on procedural matters. Yours is the decision on how fast you learn. You can go back a few lines; no worries about missing something because the class goes on. Revision of key concepts and procedures is as easy as reading the (log of the) conversation again.
This class seems to me a more or less gallant way to organise asynchronous learning.
The first workshop I attended, was somewhat different than the workshops commented on by my fellows in this program. I am not sure whether it qualifies as a hands-on workshop; it was interesting anyway.
The scripting class took place in a shop, selling all kinds of things. A panel on the wall invites you to take the class: you simply click on the panel, the device loads the chapters concerned, previous/next buttons appear on the side and on you go: the lesson on scripting for beginners. No classic setting of a class with teacher and students. Text and graphics on the screen accompany the teachings in form of a conversation sent to you. You can press the next-button alongside the screen, whenever you feel ready for new instructions and a new slide on the screen.
One fellow-student was standing next to me. Obviously (?), she saw something different than I on the screen: a few slides/chapters ahead, I suppose. Looking around a bit, afterwards, I noticed the ad’s on the wall: you can buy next and previous classes on the subject of scripting and building.
Starting the class, the tutor told about previous classes and what will come next. Then inviting you to rez your first prim, followed the explanations on scripting and building. I did not see any way to ask/send questions to the teacher (though the instructions mentioned “you can send questions to ..., after I did all the explanations”). The instruction-text did not contain an explanation on how to navigate through pages or on further considerations you might have, following a web course.
Motivation to learn is something you bring along with you in the course: no difference with RL web courses. The course is built “result oriented” so you can judge easily if your result is the result you should have. Also, focus is on rules and procedures: no place for an argument on procedural matters. Yours is the decision on how fast you learn. You can go back a few lines; no worries about missing something because the class goes on. Revision of key concepts and procedures is as easy as reading the (log of the) conversation again.
This class seems to me a more or less gallant way to organise asynchronous learning.
zaterdag 20 december 2008
Learning Kiosks
Thursday, I visited the Ohio University Second Life Campus Learning Kiosks the http://sleducation.wikispaces.com/educationaluses#visualisations presented me. Those kiosks are tools to bring video, text etc. to anyone who consults them. They also allow a user to send text to a central person/administrator.
Setting up learning kiosks are a way to bring content (be it learning content or other) to a passer by. What is being presented is more like the essence of the message you are bringing as a teacher, than any speech in a classroom-like SL surrounding. Reason for that is, of course, that text/video in SL is no different to other means of presenting text/video. SL, it would seem, brings no better way to bring the message, than classroom teaching or books or video at school.
On the other hand, SL does present a stronger feeling of concern to the user: social interaction motivating him to bring a good show. That is a good thing for exercises or for learning content the student already knows about. The student can shift his focus to something else then: practice, for instance.
The Ohio University Second Life Campus Learning Kiosks, for me, stresses the fact that a learning experience in SL, to be any good (no waste of time and energy of teacher and student), should be a mix of bringing content and using social interaction, in a way to ask a student to actually do something with the message being taught.
maandag 15 december 2008
teaching tools
Yesterday evening I went about a bit, looking for teaching environments in SL. How to bring asynchronous teaching, has been on my mind for the last few weeks now. Training, not bringing theory, is a posibility, I suppose. Also, letting students interact between them, synchronous, can do the thing. That of course may be a solution for adults, not perhaps for children.
Looking for places that provide training in Second Life, I came across the Starboards Yacht Club. I overheard some 20 minutes training of 5 to 7 people. Setting was a teacher in front of a class, slides illustrating the story of his teaching. Subject was SL sailing: you can buy yourself a boat, go sailing: from leisure sailing up to regular regatta’s. You make use of an object called sailing boat. The boat comes with a HUD (HeadUpDisplay) supplying you with data of wind angle, speed to the water, wind speed, ... I could not make out if you really set parameters for operating (sailing) your boat (helm, sails, .. ) with the HUD as well. Finding that out would be subject for further investigation.
Teaching practical skills needs little theory and a lot of practical exercises: the student learning to master the equipment, the tool ... Even mastering lines available for a proper reply, can be a matter for training. In any of these cases a HUD can be part of the training. If you can bring mastering the equipment down to combining a proper set of parameters, these can be displayed on the HUD. Every new setting by the student can trigger an algorithm recalculating the remaining values. If not an algorithm reacts to the students' behaviour, more like another person or another object, the HUD can serve as cheat sheet helping in the task. In this way an exercise can be set up as a dialogue between the student and ( part of) the tool and natural surroundings that the teacher wants to confront this student with.
Also, I was at MUVEnation island, trying out Anna Begonia’s (RL:Antonella Berriolo) and Carolrb Roux’s letter cubes. Knee high cubes with an alphabetical letter on it; you can drag and turn to make words. It made me think that a student doing easy things (like manipulating letter cubes) while thinking about more serious matters (like grammar) is an neat way to spoon in rules that need to come to mind ‘just like that’. Being busy on the matter long enough, in an uncomplicated way, does the thing. That is what needs to be introduced in our SL teaching tool exercises.
Looking for places that provide training in Second Life, I came across the Starboards Yacht Club. I overheard some 20 minutes training of 5 to 7 people. Setting was a teacher in front of a class, slides illustrating the story of his teaching. Subject was SL sailing: you can buy yourself a boat, go sailing: from leisure sailing up to regular regatta’s. You make use of an object called sailing boat. The boat comes with a HUD (HeadUpDisplay) supplying you with data of wind angle, speed to the water, wind speed, ... I could not make out if you really set parameters for operating (sailing) your boat (helm, sails, .. ) with the HUD as well. Finding that out would be subject for further investigation.
Teaching practical skills needs little theory and a lot of practical exercises: the student learning to master the equipment, the tool ... Even mastering lines available for a proper reply, can be a matter for training. In any of these cases a HUD can be part of the training. If you can bring mastering the equipment down to combining a proper set of parameters, these can be displayed on the HUD. Every new setting by the student can trigger an algorithm recalculating the remaining values. If not an algorithm reacts to the students' behaviour, more like another person or another object, the HUD can serve as cheat sheet helping in the task. In this way an exercise can be set up as a dialogue between the student and ( part of) the tool and natural surroundings that the teacher wants to confront this student with.
Also, I was at MUVEnation island, trying out Anna Begonia’s (RL:Antonella Berriolo) and Carolrb Roux’s letter cubes. Knee high cubes with an alphabetical letter on it; you can drag and turn to make words. It made me think that a student doing easy things (like manipulating letter cubes) while thinking about more serious matters (like grammar) is an neat way to spoon in rules that need to come to mind ‘just like that’. Being busy on the matter long enough, in an uncomplicated way, does the thing. That is what needs to be introduced in our SL teaching tool exercises.
vrijdag 28 november 2008
Changing (Keeping up ?) appearances
True enough: one does not want to make a poor impression. This assignment was a good excuse for setting myself to the task of changing my avatar's appearances. At first I felt happy to go fidgeting over sliders and all, to change my weight, noselength, hairstyle .. In the end I felt annoyance in having to find the right combination of parameter values, so as to make myself look somewhat presentable. It is like painting yourself/someone else/anything: you can go changing shape and color endlessly, but the best thing that can happen is that you stumble upon a neat set of parameters that does very well (not to make a dazzling appearance, perhaps, but know when to stop trying again: don't push your luck). Best trust the feeling in my guts.
Learning the skill to change yourself is good preparation to further building in SL (I hope there will be some parallel). Feeling happy (amused even), in your skin, also makes for a large part your involvement in your second life. Why not experience this involvement to its maximum since involvement is the feeling we want to provoke in our pupils/students by making neat learing objects.
On we go, shopping for gadgets and things... I do not have a big taste for shopping.
Learning the skill to change yourself is good preparation to further building in SL (I hope there will be some parallel). Feeling happy (amused even), in your skin, also makes for a large part your involvement in your second life. Why not experience this involvement to its maximum since involvement is the feeling we want to provoke in our pupils/students by making neat learing objects.On we go, shopping for gadgets and things... I do not have a big taste for shopping.
vrijdag 14 november 2008
My first hours in second life
Creating a Second Life account, I did a few weeks ago: I had not yet applied to the MUVEnation project. I attended a lecture by Marga on second life. That is how I decided to have a try.
Giving birth to Achilles Lefevre did not take long and difficult labor. I named him after a hero of my childhood years. The surname is still being used in France, so I decided on a fitting family name.
I was not aware of Orientation Island being an artificial meeting place for newbies, so I took care not to show too clearly that I was one, myself. I exchanged a few lines of speech with other avatars, bumped in to a few people, walked around a bit. I then posted myself in the shade of a tree, out of the way and quitted second life.
I had another go at it half a week later. Armed with advice from colleagues, a little booklet-manual on how to live in second life and a determination not to give up, I logged on. I looked around and saw ... nobody. Orientation Island was as before, but apart from being less tropical, I could have landed on Robinson Crusoe's island. I practised the "moving about" controls a bit: empty pathways with empty park benches alongside. It took me some browsing of the manual pages before I could teleport myself away, to far and distant lands.
The owner of an aquarelle picture-gallery island explained me about groups. I went to find a money tree (did find one but did not get rich). I was glad to come home to MUVEnation Island, where I could meet people dying with enthusiasm to find new worlds, seek out new lands, boldly go for new experiences in teaching with MUVE's.
What will be next now? What course can we steer in setting up asynchronous virtual environments for learning. Other people's enthusiasm rubs off on more moderate minds. This second life is a fascinating experience !!
Giving birth to Achilles Lefevre did not take long and difficult labor. I named him after a hero of my childhood years. The surname is still being used in France, so I decided on a fitting family name.
I was not aware of Orientation Island being an artificial meeting place for newbies, so I took care not to show too clearly that I was one, myself. I exchanged a few lines of speech with other avatars, bumped in to a few people, walked around a bit. I then posted myself in the shade of a tree, out of the way and quitted second life.
I had another go at it half a week later. Armed with advice from colleagues, a little booklet-manual on how to live in second life and a determination not to give up, I logged on. I looked around and saw ... nobody. Orientation Island was as before, but apart from being less tropical, I could have landed on Robinson Crusoe's island. I practised the "moving about" controls a bit: empty pathways with empty park benches alongside. It took me some browsing of the manual pages before I could teleport myself away, to far and distant lands.
The owner of an aquarelle picture-gallery island explained me about groups. I went to find a money tree (did find one but did not get rich). I was glad to come home to MUVEnation Island, where I could meet people dying with enthusiasm to find new worlds, seek out new lands, boldly go for new experiences in teaching with MUVE's.
What will be next now? What course can we steer in setting up asynchronous virtual environments for learning. Other people's enthusiasm rubs off on more moderate minds. This second life is a fascinating experience !!
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