A lecture in Second Life: Academic Reflections
Last night I attempted my first out of this world lecture on 'implementation' in Second Life. Its that time of the quarter where the facts of life – namely the importance of getting things done with our marketing/advertising plans – need to be addressed. Sue (my co-instructor) and I decided to try this as a one off to see how things went. So, from 7-8pm EST I presented a number of slides using an overhead projection system developed by guru and student Matthew Anthony. I (Neilio Negulesco) presented use of an exact replica of one of Saunders classrooms to a room of around 15 avatars (including Newsie Blessed, Sue's SL avatar). I was shocked by just how effective potentially this medium can be. Students arrived and naturally gravitated towards sitting in chairs to listen (thank you Colin for deciding to sit with your head half way through the podium desk). I took virtual questions as we progressed and used the sound system in SL to literally speak my mind through the slide transitions (jpeg versions of in class powerpoint slides). I thought it was an interesting variation in the virtual format that class was also meeting in the first life – without me – as we progressed. I consider myself a bit of a veteran in the delivery of online learning systems and for me this use of SL was different in a positive way. I could see students interacting with me and the environment – one would occasionally break into a dance for instance, and another would get up and sit in another place. What was interesting was that students in class were also interacting with each other. The result of that culminated in a feeling at the end of the lecture that something special and interesting had just ocured. I'm still mulling over the implications of this but I think they are potentially significant. I'm looking forward to getting students responses to this event and even more so – going 100% virtual in our forthcoming debrief in week 11. All of us will meet virtually in SL for conversations about our experiences online. For those of you who were part of this experience – thanks guys, I really enjoyed it.
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As one of the students in attendance, but without access to the Second Life classroom I have to say that I found the experience lacking. I found it hard to really absorb all of content material because of the disconnect.
I look forward to getting the chance to have the week 11 class completely within Second Life. Hopefully being completely immersed will lead to a better interaction.
thanks for the feedback Chris – I wondered how that would play out – I think those who were in SL itself found it more engaging. Will be good to get your feedback on the truly virtual experience in week 11.
I thought that it was certainly an interesting experience that I am proud to have been a part of.
Since my computer was being used to actually project onto the screen (and video record the class), I got to experience this both with and without a computer in front of me. For most of the time, I was sitting at the front of the classroom behind the podium so that I had easy access to the computer if a question was asked so that I could type responses for students who didn’t have computers in front of them. For part of the time, I sat back in my normal seat about halfway up the auditorium. Like Chris, I also felt that having the computer accessible to me made the session more engaging, and I got more out of the parts when I was actually behind the computer. This is, of course, something that would happen if it was a truly online course.
In all, I thought it was a very good session, followed by perhaps our best guest speaker of the quarter (how fitting, since she was also the last), making for a very effective class.
I found that the class through Second Life was great! Unlike the previous two comments I had my lap top available. Taking this class session and having my group meetings on SL has shown me how great this media can be for people who are not available to come to class. On more than one occasion my group has changed from an in person meeting to a SL meeting due to weather conditions.
Thanks for running it. I look forward to being on SL week 11.