Welcome to our wiki!

 

This wiki was created for brainstorming for those involved in the pre-conference workshop on Second Life at the CALICO 2008 conference in San Francisco. 

 

Please post your ideas below about what you'd like to do in the workshop.  Keep in mind that we have 10 people involved and that the workshop is Wednesday, March 19, from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. 

The acceptance does not say anything about a lunch break, but I assume we need to leave at least an hour (or two???).  So, that means our total workshop time would be a maximum of perhaps 6 hours.

 

In the space below please include your name and contact information, and then list your ideas for the workshop.  Right now this is just a one-page wiki, but as we develop the idea feel free to add pages as needed. 

 

 

---

 

Randall Sadler: rsadler@uiuc.edu   http://www.eslweb.org

 

Idea 1:  General Orientation:  I assume that we will have at least some participants in the workshop who are true newbies in SL.  In this case we may have to assign some of to a basic workshop on things like how to:

• use inventory
• move around in SL
• "buy" things
• teleport
• take pictures
• set landmarks

Idea 2:  Building workshop:  In this section we would provide the participants with a folder containing some basic shapes and textures.  We would also show them how to create their own shapes, how to modify and move objects, link objects, and apply textures.  We could, for example, give them a shape to work from, like a simple house, and have them create their own version.  Alternatively, we could have them create something like a book with pages--there are explanations about how to make your own book already available in SL.  I'll be doing a modification of this workshop as part of a research project in the potential for Task-based language teaching in Second Life. 

 

Idea 3:  Scripts:  Personally, I am at the level of "I can make minor changes to pre-existing scripts," so if there are any "Script Masters" in the groups--go for it!  This idea is certainly another one that would allow for a dividing of the workshop.  Newbies could see what some basic scripts can do, while more advanced users might investigate how to do some more serious modifications.

 

Idea 4:  Task-based language learning and SL:  I'll be doing another presentation during CALICO on this topic, but having it in the workshop itself would give a different perspective.  In the workshop the participants could engage in several of the tasks I'll use for the study. 

 

____________________________________

Comments?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

Randall, I really like your ideas. I think we can structure the workshop around those four main ideas. For the 'general orientation' part, I think it would be nice to present the attendees first how Second Life works in action. For example, half of us can be in another room with their laptops and log on to SL while the other half are in the workshop room. We can come up with a little scenario where we all discuss something related to language learning and teaching. This can be a good motivation for the attendees. And afterwards we can talk the specific features of SL and show how-to's.

 

Also, in the "general orientation" part, we can discuss other virtual worlds such as Active Worlds and There and compare their features and capabilities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

Contact Info:

 

Jacob Larsen: jlarsen@iastate.edu

Karina Silva: ksilva@iastate.edu

 

 

 

General Comments

 

We like the four areas you have outlined for the presentation. We think they all have a part to play. While we don't know whether we will get newbies or experienced users it is, of course, difficult to determine exactly what type and level of presentation will benefit most people.

 

 

However, we can assume that users will choose whether to attend the workshop based on the description, which we have quoted below:

 

 

Virtual Worlds provide a multiuser 3-D environment for language learning. The workshop will include an overview of available virtual worlds (Second Life [SL], There, Active Worlds) and discuss the pluses and minuses for each. It will then focus on some concrete ways to use SL for language learning and teaching. The workshop will be hands on and will include activities on: creating an avatar, getting around SL, buying things (we’ll give you some SL money) an exploration of language learning resources, how to “build” (ranging from simple items to a classroom), and teaching activities. More advanced users are also welcome!

 

 

Thus, as the other commenter also suggested, we should give at least a brief overview of the different virtual worlds available. Then, we will need to show people not just how to change their avatar or build things, but also how to use these things for learning. After all the title mentions “real ideas for a virtual classroom”.

 

 

We could try to make connections between what we are trying to teach them to do in SL and what they could do in language classrooms. For example, it would be easy to argue that a beginner-level or low intermediate level English class could learn the names of parts of the body by changing the appearance of their character.

 

 

Then, if we give people a taste of how to build, we probably also have to let them experiment with some already-built structures to either see ways to use them that we are going to demo, or better yet, work together to come up with tasks that can be done using these structures and share with the other participants. For example, the scavenger hunt you mentioned might have them explore some objects and interact with them. It could also be something as simple as being able to follow directions through a house or maze. Depending on the learners’ language proficiency, they will end up in different places…

 

 

To accommodate participants of different SL levels, we could maybe have two scavenger hunts: One for newbies and another for more experienced participants. We could also pair up newbies and more advanced participants to do the tasks which might help us cover more ground for the newbies. Though some might not like this idea, it would illustrate to the more advanced participants what kinds of problems their newbie students might encounter, and thus provide a lesson in itself.

 

 

We might also want to demo or at least discuss how you can best teach in SL, as you also mentioned in your description of the workshop. For example, the traditional teacher-at-the-pulpit in a lecture room in SL, which mimics real-world teaching. Then, we could contrast this with more creative use of SL and the teacher's (or teachers') avatars and unique SL abilities, such as flying or teleporting.

 

 

 

Another thing that might be worth demonstrating is role-playing:

 

 

At a language conference here at ISU Karina and I talked to an independent contractor working for the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA. She told me the army was having trouble keeping up the language skills of translators and others stationed abroad, and that they also lacked appropriate simulation environments for situations that these soldiers might encounter.

 

 

This is one area where SL could be used and provide a good level of realism. This use goes beyond military use, of course, and addresses English for Specific Purposes. As we all know it is common to do role-plays with students in class and this role-play option is now available regardless of physical distance, and the 'props' can be quite elaborate.

 

 

Thus, to sum up, we think we need to both do practical tasks with the participants, such as changing their avatar and giving them some rudimentary building skills, but also letting them experience the types of interaction possible in SL, so they can better visualize using it for teaching.

 

 

Jacob and Karina

_______________________________

Comments?

 

 Jacob and Karina--Wow, great points!  I definitely agree with the need to have those practical ideas for using SL for learning--this is essential.  Regarding the scavenger hunt, I just did one this week with students taking my course on CMC for language teaching.  We had used SL a couple times already in class, for about 2 hours total.  This included getting them set up, we practiced moving around, flying, etc.  Honestly, I was a bit shocked that the scavenger hunt took them much longer than I thought  it would .  Clearly, I had forgotten my own newbie days--struggling to walk and especially to fly, etc.  Depending on how many newbies we have in the workshop, it is clear to me now that some of the participants will definitely benefit from some very one-to-one or small group help.  this, however, also brings up the issue of the number of computers in the lab.  Given the number of us, I would expect that there will not be enough computers for the participants AND all of us at the same time, which would mean our own presence in SL would be a tricky issue.  Any thoughts on that?