Christopher Keesey and Muriel Ballou--Ohio University without Boundaries
An innovative wing of OU that parters with industry to design and deliver engaging learnig experiences for professionals and adult learners. Involved in non-credit training programs using Second LIfe...
Let's take a look at some of the context for learning. Increased importance of context vs. content to a learning experience. OU is seven island on the adult grid, 3 islands in the teen grid--handle the day to day permissions and parcels for the use of SL. Specific interest in the context of creating better learning experiences and better leaning. Experimenting with learning kiosks...they are very focused on using the campus for LEARNING! Just what I have been looking to learn about!
FYI-Second LIfe was officially launched in 2003--3 dimensional, user-defined world of general use in which people can interact, play and LEARN. Chris showed a nice J curve of the growth of SL, also attributes to the performance and technical issues with SL.
SL in the proper context is one of 50+ Virtual World Platforms--Barbie Girls, Club Penquin, Forterra Systems, GAia Online, Habbo Hotel, Neopets, the Sims Online, Whyville, Zwinktopia. The 3-D Internet is inevitable--call for interoperability. We will be able to bring assets into other VWs.
Historical context 1991-Internet of Prodigy 2007 Second Life
Content in Context--What are people saying? Quotes from relevant people about SL. Content can be found in "external human hard drive" and other online sources. "Construction of context is the hallmark of a broadly education person." "If content is king then context is the kingdom."--Buzz phrase!
Which context are we talking about? Orienting, Instructional or Transfer "payoff" context---we are talking about the instructional context but are aware of the other contexts. SL adds social, cultural, physical, and psychological experiences. Idea of creating an alternative culture for business travelers to understand how to operate in the real culture before actually traveling there and interacting. " This is what it might be like when you travel to China." for example
People who are autistic can actually function in a VW better than in a real world. Beginning to use VW to help people experience cultural and social aspects of the real world to prepare them for real world experiences.
Internships are actually being done in SL.
Ultimately, the burden is still on the instructor to create that charge that will drive inquiry. This is the greater context of your learning. Burden still on the instructor to facilitate student reflection--SL is very much a synchronous experience and so will need to send students out to access message boards and other asynchronous tools.
SL is an early stage 3D Internet app. Difficult to deliver a TOTAL experience--important for instructors to properly frame the experiences.
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