Phd

Perceived properties of SL in relation to ADHD-patients

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On Thursday, January 20th Milo Spot and Viola Stonesoul from the “MILOVIOLA” group did their presentation and analysis of SL as teaching and learning environment for pupils diagnosed with ADHD. Both Milo and Viola have previously investigated more general use of ICT as tool for people with ADHD in coping with daily activities, and so were interested in exploring if and how this multi-modal medium could be applied with regards to such a target group. We started off in a sandbox up in the sky, where we were asked to switch to sunset setting, and Milo and Viola made it clear that they wanted to focus on different affordances of the teaching and learning space.


The  sandbox above the Danish Visions island

In the NE corner of the sandbox, Milo and Viola had set up several display screens with information about ADHD, and Milo gave us a short introduction, so that we could better understand the background for their design thoughts.


Milo explaining ADHD …

One of the major challenges for people diagnosed with ADHD is their problem with staying in focus if too many impressions are perceived simultaneously, and in the space depicted below Milo and Viola wanted to show us how multiple impressions could become overwhelming because of lacking ability to filter information – the many pictures sort of “coming toward us” in this space illustrated this point very well.


After this short introduction to some of the challenges involved in designing for ADHD-patients, we were asked to fly up above the sandbox to sit down and listen to Viola’s more theoretical presentation of using SL. Viola and Milo explained that it was on purpose they had chosen to place this part up in the air to illustrate the common perception of Theory, and as one of the other students subsequently noted it was hard not to think of Aristophanes’ “The Clouds” ;-)

Scaffolding (as depicted in the slide above) was one of the key words in Viola and Milo’s analysis, and in a related manner, they referred to a model illustrating the stages of learners’ participation in virtual worlds created by Dr. Mark Childs as part of his PhD dissertation. Childs visited the class in-world as Gann McGann on January 3rd, and his thoughts on avatar identity, presence, and embodiment really seem to have influenced the students (and me!).


Gann McGann and one of his alts visiting the MIL Class.


Childs’ model in the horizon …

Back on the ground in the sandbox, Milo and Viola walked us through some of the designs/objects they had considered as part of their teaching and learning design for this particular target group. ADHD-patients tend to become frustrated if their daily routines are disrupted, it is not a target group that handles change well, and as an example one of Viola’s pupils demanded there be a clock in a classroom – otherwise she wouldn’t enter the room.


Chess with its meticulous rules appeal to some ADHD-patients, and strengthen their ability to stay focused. Many ADHD-patients also need private space, even when in a social space, and the tipi in the background could accommodate this need.


In the next part of their session, Milo and Viola divided us into three teams, Red, Blue, and Yellow, and we were asked to enter the similar colored boxes/spaces set up in the south end of the sandbox. We all got note cards with case-scenarios each describing someone with ADHD. Our task in the boxes was to identify learner needs and write them in a shared document.


Petter and I writing in the typewith.me-doc that was shared among the 3 groups enabling us to see real time what the other groups were writing.

One of the concerns Milo and Viola expressed with regard to using SL in relation to their specific target group was the amount of information that the SL-user constantly is expected to cope with. To exemplify this they asked us to go to a freebie store and see if we could find and buy some doors ….


A typical example of a Freebies Store

and another example, which also includes sounds and animations  Tropical Paradise Designs


Lots of screen info – tuff .. not only for ADHD-patients …

Next stop on the tour was the holodeck on the Danish Vision island. In the setting below ADHD-patients could practice social and communication skills in a safe environment.

We ended the tour visiting the Al Andalus Mezquita, which could be used in teaching more general life skill and as a setting for discussing different perspectives on culture, religion, life, and death.


Al Andalus Mezquita

Finally we all went back to the sandbox for the feedback session. Through this highly packed program Milo and Viola splendidly showed how the space in SL can be transformed into meaningful teaching and learning places, and we all appreciated their effort to use different features in the environment such as audio-visuals and shared media. The connection between pedagogic underpinnings and practical use of the medium was very strong and well reflected. Furthermore, Milo and Viola clearly demonstrated how an educational setting could be designed with free objects found in various freebie shops in-world.

This was the fourth and final student presentation in the course – and I do think that Milo and Viola managed to leave us all with a very good impression of the teaching and learning potentials of SL – not only in relation to ADHD-patients, but in general.

/Mariis

Connecting theory and practice through SL designed case-based simulations

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On Wednesday, January 19th Milano Bluewood, Savage Seaside, and Vibs Bluebird from the MIL-Health group did their presentation and analysis of SL as teaching and learning environment based on a Danish in-world project called CaseConnexion (Danish description). This is a project aimed at Nurse Education, and Milano is actively involved in the project. A pilot study was run in the fall of 2009, and it was the experiences from this study, the group had decided to present and discuss, and so naturally we started off on the island CaseConnexion.


Milano, Vibs, and Savage presenting in CaseConnexion’s sandbox

The main purpose of starting the in-world CaseConnexion project was to investigate its potentials in bridging/connecting some of the theoretical and clinical elements of Nurse Education. A survey, with answers from 85 students and 7 teachers, pointed to a variety of issues that should be addressed in future use of CaseConnexion (thoroughly described in this Danish evaluation report); steep learning curve, lack of identification with the avatar, fear of looking stupid in front of class-mates, technical difficulties and “waste” of valuable time spent on learning the system rather than the subject matter as a consequence of the former issues.

These were all issues that we also had encountered and discussed during this MIL-course, and so the group wanted our feedback on ways to solve these problems. As the group explained, the survey fortunately also pointed to issues on the plus side such as variation in teaching and learning methods, and the ability to practice skills without actually hurting/harming real humans through case-based role-play. As part of the set-up for their presentation, the group provided us with wheel chairs, which contributed to set the scene. It was interesting to experience and observe how we all felt the limitations of this type of handicap, and this led to discussions on how design can enhance/limit the sense of embodiment. We were also asked to watch this brief Danish video abut the project.

Next part of the presentation was to drive over to the hospital …


Racing towards the hospital … except that racing while taking pictures is a no-go in SL!


First quiz at the entrance; pick the right uniform or you’ll not be allowed enter!


Reception area with free uniforms and bots to add to the RL-feel of this respectful remediation of a hospital environment.


Wash your hands upon entrance into patients’ rooms – otherwise simulations don’t work.


Staff’s conference room.


Exploring patient cases.

After exploring the hospital we went back to the sandbox, where Milano, Savage, and Vibs presented other, international examples of in-world Nurse Education – one of them being a project led by University of Auckland in collaboration with several other universities. After watching a few minutes of the video below, we were asked to go to the island Land of the Long White Cloud.

In the hospital on the Land of the Long White Cloud, we had the opportunity to investigate a different patient room also designed to be used in case-based teaching and learning.


An avatar  (as opposed to a bot as we saw on CaseConnexion) can climb into the bed and actively participate in the case.


The patient room from one side of the curtain …


… and the same patient room from the other side. A nice feature enabling the instructors and other audience to overlook the simulation. Just as in real life  – except for the ability to change POV.


Debriefing/feedback session

Having tried out different features of the patient room, the MIL-Health group invited us to the debriefing table, where we continued discussions on especially design for embodiment, sense of presence and collaboration. Milano, Savage, and Vibs had prepared a presentation, which in itself illustrated the connection between theory and practice, and it was refreshing to discuss some of the more difficult parts of designing for teaching and learning in 3D-avatar based worlds like SL.

The CaseConnexion project showed that designing for teaching and learning in SL is challenging and complex, and this is also my personal experience from having run 5 in-world courses. Milano, Savage, and Vibs’ session reminded me of László Moholy-Nagy by whom I’ve previously been inspired, and one of his famous quotes on design from Vision in Motion:

“Design has many connotations. It is the organization of materials and processes in the most productive, economic way, in a harmonious balance of all elements necessary for a certain function. It is not a matter of façade, of mere external appearance; rather it is the essence of products and institutions, penetrating and comprehensive. Designing is a complex and intricate task. It is integration of technological, social and economic requirements, biological necessities, and the psychophysical effects of materials, shape, color, volume, and space: thinking in relationships.”

/Mariis

A CoP approach to facilitate university teacher PD in ICT and POPP

Mariis2 Comments

On December 17th, 2010 I had the great pleasure of attending my (now former as she’s back in Costa Rica) e-Learning Lab colleague, Mayela Coto’s PhD-defense. Mayela’s thesis is entitled “The case of UNAgora: A community of practice approach to facilitate university teacher professional development in ICT and project-oriented problem pedagogy”, and is now available for download here.


Mayela presenting her findings on Dec. 17th, 2010 at Aalborg University.

Here is an excerpt from the abstract:

  • The overall aim of this research is to enhance the understanding of to what extent a distributed community of practice approach affects the professional development of university teachers and whether this leads the teachers to promote a transformation in teaching practices mainly regarding the introduction of ICT and project-oriented problem pedagogy (POPP).
  • More specific research questions are concerned with what is the impact of belonging to the community of practice on teachers?; what kind of changes takes place in the teachers’ practice?; which factors support or hinder the professional development of teachers who are part of a distributed community of practice?; how does technology contribute (or not) to the formation of the community, and to the professional development process?; and what principles may be used to guide the design of a professional development model- based on communities of practice for fostering change of practice?
  • The main findings of the study were that the distributed community of practice approach appears to be a productive form of professional development under certain conditions. It provides an environment for learning and dialogue that can enrich and deepen teachers’ knowledge, as well as an understanding of important educational issues and change of values, beliefs and practices. Issues of access to technology, culture of online communication and collaboration, teachers’ workload and time have been identified as conditions that need to be carefully studied in order for the approach to be potentially effective.
  • The overall result of the approach to professional development proposed by this study, offers teachers a scope for learning, negotiation and identity formation within the community. The study also suggests that teachers who are closer to the center of the community are able to identify with, and develop a feeling of belonging to the community to a greater extent than the teachers with a peripheral role. However, it seems that both kinds of teachers are able to transform, to some extent, their teaching practices.

Mayela’s supervisor (who’s also my PhD-supervisor) was Professor, PhD Lone Dirckinck-Holmfeld (Aalborg University), whereas the examining committee consisted of Maite Capra (Univercidad Nacional Costa Rica), Marianne Lykke (Aalborg University), and Etienne Wenger.


Similing faces after the very successful defense: Lykke, Wenger – Mayela Coto – Capra and Dirckinck-Holmfeld

It’s a pretty long thesis, but well worth the read :-)

/Mariis


Cooperative Learning in SL

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Since December 5th 2010 I’ve been running a course in SL with 11 adult students from the Danish Master Program on ICT and Learning (MIL). The purpose of the course has been to introduce SL as teaching and learning medium based on a combination of literature studies and in-world activities. As part of the assessment criteria the students are expected to present a pedagogic analysis of SL. One student is working on her own, whereas the remaining 10 students have formed four groups; 1) Tree Crown, 2) milis, 3) MIL-Health, and 4) MILOVIOLA. The students have two hours in-world to do their presentations in designated sandboxes, and the analysis should meet the following criteria:

  • Address pedagogic design questions related to a target group of their own choice – all students are somehow working with teaching/training
  • Include a problem formulation – PBL is the pedagogic foundation of the course
  • Consist of a combination of theoretical issues transformed into practical activities in-world
  • Demonstrate knowledge of SL by using a min. of two locations during the presentations, and by using in-world objects
  • Demonstrate mastery of in-world features and objects by including an interactive element, where the presenting group teaches their fellow students something relevant to the analysis
  • Include time for peer-feedback and reflection on the experience (of presenting and teaching their peers in-world)

On Tuesday January 11th students Yaz Aldrin, Petter Gearbox, and Yann Soz from the “Tree Crown” group did their presentation.


Tree Crown Group: Petter Gearbox, Yann Soz & Yaz Aldrin

Teaching and learning in SL can be challenging due to technical issues, and throughout the course the students have been confronted with some of these issues – mainly related to voice- and lag problems. On this particular evening new technical issues arose. Approximately one hour before the group was supposed to start their presentation, I logged in-world to see if they were all set. The group had been allocated our regular sandbox on the Wonderful Denmark island, but as we were standing there talking about their presentation Linden Lab sent out a message stating that the region would be closed down within 5 min. due to maintenance. Luckily, we have access to several sandboxes in the course, and I decided we should go to one on the Innovative Learning island that VIA College kindly has lend us. Having never experienced this kind of technical problem before, the three students managed to stay calm, and set up their presentation screen in this new sandbox, and send out notice to the rest of the students that the start location had been changed. Despite the general confusion and due to the change of start location all students managed to find their way to this new location, but as the group started their presentation the sandbox got griefed which meant that our computer screens turned grey, froze, and eventually we were all logged out.


My screen turning grey and freezing …

Fortunately, one of the students in this class, Inge Qunhua, is an experienced land-owner, and Inge managed to get rid of the griefer and his objects so that we could all return, and the group could finally start their presentation entitled “Didactic Analysis of Cooperative Learning in Second Life”.


Finally ready to present in VIA College’s Sandbox …

One of the students in the group, Petter works as a secondary school teacher, and has been experimenting with the concept of Cooperative Learning and Kagan Structures, which has been developed by Dr. Spence Kagan. Characteristic of this teaching and learning concept is its ability to promote pupil/student engagement through structured activities. Below is a short video-introduction:

Given Petter’s positive experience with this concept in real life classrooms, the Tree Crown group decided to investigate how this concept could be applied in a medium like SL.


The group’s problem formulated as a question of what will happen when Cooperative Learning is remediated into SL.

At the core of Cooperative Learning are so-called Kagan Structures that can be described as patterns of interaction between pupils/students, and after a short theoretical presentation of the foundation and principles behind these structures, the group had decided that we should try out one of the structures called Partners. To engage in this structure the group divided their fellow students into pairs, which then were divided in two groups, A and B. Both groups were given landmarks to separate locations and were asked to teleport off to explore these locations.

Group A was asked to visit the Chateau de Chenonceau, and engage in the different dances available there.

Group B, which I followed, was asked to go experience the effects of a tsunami on NOAA/ESRL, Virtual Island, Meteora.

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After exploring these locations, we all returned to the sandbox. Here the students were asked to find their partners and go back to the locations to discuss their findings, and they were instructed how to use voice-calls in pairs. Back in the sandbox once again, the Tree Crown group elaborated on the applied Partner structure, their pedagogical considerations regarding the planning and organization of this activity, and finally asked their fellow students to reflect upon the experience.

Throughout their presentation Petter, Yann and Yaz skillfully transformed central theoretical points into SL activities and dialogue, and we all got the sense that Cooperative Learning could be applied in many ways in SL. Given the relatively short amount of time the students have spent in-world, I was quite impressed by the way they kept their calm despite the technical difficulties, the way they had organized their presentation, and how they managed to guide and instruct their fellow students.

/Mariis

In-world presentation @ “Internet – New Media – Culture 2.0” conference

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Friday November 5th, I was invited to speak at a Polish organized in-world conference about “Internet – New Media – Culture 2.0“.


Conference site at the Second UMCS island

The conference was organized by colleagues from different departments of Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskie – some of whom I’ve previously worked with in the EU funded research project COMBLE. I was very pleased to get the opportunity to talk about some of my findings, and there were some great questions and comments on especially immersion and media convergence.


Talk about the new assessment method I implemented in my 3rd research cycle.

As promised to the participants, I’m hereby uploading my presentation.

Special thanks to Raf Moczadlo for inviting me :-)

/Mariis