"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create." -Albert Einstein
Years ago I served as a librarian and then as an adjunct instructor for graduate education courses taught in a virtual world, Second Life (SL). After teaching for a while, I took a National Library of Medicine grant funded position as a Consumer Health Librarian in SL. Both were remarkable experiences. the learning that took place for me in that virtual world was truly transformative.
However, with all SL had to offer, there were problems and challenges that, in the end, proved too difficult and costly for many colleges, universities and schools to continue to use SL for teaching. Many educators moved on to other virtual worlds but, in my opinion, nothing came close to what SL offered...until Minecraft. (Yes, Minecraft is very different from a real life like virtual world but it's the same type of open system that allows you to create whatever you can imagine.)
If you know nothing about Minecraft for education, this entertaining video can get you up to speed in five minutes. And, of course, there's the Minecraft wikipedia page, which includes excellent references. For those wondering about Minecraft research, here are Google Scholar results.
I've been working on an upcoming digital literacy presentation and have been researching ways we can develop digital literacy skills through inquiry, play and exploration. I agree with @EricStoller in this Inside Higher Ed article regarding our digital literacy development in higher education "...it seems that technology competency, digital literacy, social media fluency, online engagement, etc. are still areas that need some structured/intentional work."
In this post I want to showcase an excellent example (albeit quite advanced) of learning, and developing digital and traditional information literacy skills around a project using Minecraft. A short article, found through twitter, titled Students build Gallipoli in Minecraft, includes comments from the teacher and a few of the dozens of Auckland teenagers who spent thousands of hours recreating an awesome virtual version of 1915 Gallipoli. It also features a quality silent video of the student work.
I went hunting for a bit more about the project and found two of the short videos below, which include student narration, on this page.
The learning and engagement with history, technology, problem solving, and the research process itself that took place during this project is clearly evident.
Watch: The making of Gallipoli in Minecraft:
Description: Watch how students used the sketches from Percival Fenwick’s diary as a reference for the 'Recreating Gallipoli in Minecraft' build.
Decription: Students from Alfriston College re-enacting the tragic events that Anzac troops had to experience on the Gallipoli peninsula from May 5th to May 7th 1915.
A couple of years ago I downloaded Minecraft and began playing. I mostly made a huge mess, it was fun and very reminiscent of my early days in SL. Like SL, I could create whatever I wanted, I simply had to learn how. There was a familiar feeling of empowerment that I often experience when exploring a powerful new digital tool that allows me to create and learn. I could take my time solving problems, make a huge mess and it wouldn't matter. I could make connections, collaborate with others, solve larger problems, etc., all while fully engaged and continually #learning.
Being overly committed I decided that, until time allowed, I would follow the development of Minecraft in education on Youtube. A Youtube search of Minecraft returns almost 60 million results, it's really quite a phenomenon.
Teaching and learning with online games and virtual worlds has been taking place for many years. It seems to be more popular than ever in K-12 (partly due to Minecraft and people like Jane McGonigal and others who understand the engagement and learning potential), I've been surprised that there hasn't been greater adoption in higher education. I wonder how students who learn about history, for instance, in such an active constructivist learning way, will fare in the more traditional "sage on the stage" type of lecture classroom.
I didn't fare well in traditional classrooms, I was painfully bored and could not remain focused no matter how hard I tried. I was also intensely curious and remember desperately wanting to learn. I would have loved to have had opportunities to learn in similar ways as the Alfriston College students. I'm thankful I can continue lifelong informal learning, and developing my digital literacy skills using many readily available technologies.
The NLM grant funding this project ends on May 1, 2010 and I felt it was important to document my experience. It's been a truly remarkable journey. My hope is that this presentation (and speaker notes) will provide viewers a sense of what working as a Consumer Health Librarian in Second Life entails, will enlighten those who are not familiar with virtual worlds and Second Life, and will be found interesting and informative to those of you who are already conversant with the technology and culture.
Below is the link to view the full presentation or click the "Menu" button above (on the bottom left of the full presentation is an "Actions" drop down menu which will allow you to choose "Show Speaker Notes" to view further info for each slide) http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dd9g7wzv_783gtqsdrf7
I'm looking forward to presenting on May 5, at the 13th Annual ICSI/IHI Colloquium On Health Care Transformation in St. Paul, MN. My presentation is titled "How Doctors, Nurses, Allied Health Professionals and Patients Use Second Life"- Join us!
Below is the trailer to an important film. "The film is the product of a unique collaboration with visitors to the Digital Nation Web site, who for the past year have been able to react to the work in progress and post their own stories online." The film is available online and will also be aired Feb 2nd. From the press release:
In Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier, airing Tuesday, Feb. 2, from 9 to 10:30 P.M. ET on PBS (check local listings), FRONTLINE presents an in-depth exploration of what it means to be human in a 21st-century digital world. Continuing a line of investigation she began with the 2008 FRONTLINE report Growing Up Online, award-winning producer Rachel Dretzin embarks on a journey to understand the implications of living in a world consumed by technology and the impact that this constant connectivity may have on future generations.
The full press release is worth reading. I know there are challenges; technology can consume us and we must find balance. The film addresses the topic of schools and institutions of higher education using technology for learning. Parents and educators are challenged to keep children safe and to find ways to utilize technologies that are truly beneficial. Many believe those challenges must be addressed because there is so much potential for learning about ourselves and our world.
It's obvious to educators that technology is transforming us and the way we learn. There is little doubt that technology can and should be used to further learning in schools and in institutions of higher education (how, is less known). This post by a UK educator is an example of how easily children adopt and benefit from new technologies "What happens when you give a class of 8 year old children an iPod touch each?" And this post by Abby, a 4th grader, who recently posted on pandas, which her father, an educator himself, tweeted about to share. They were pleasantly surprised as comments from around the world were submitted on her blog.
Can you imagine children like Abby and the 8-year-olds in the UK post video and others like them in high-school or college? Will sitting and listening to lectures, writing papers and taking tests meet their expectation for learning? They are already creators of content, they are participators in a globally connected world. Can our education system build on that? Would society benefit if it did?
As an academic librarian I believe it's important that institutions of higher education understand that most college/university students of the near future will have grown up immersed in technology. And though there are challenges, the expectation for learning with these tools should be understood and technologies utilized when and where appropriate. I'm hopeful this program will help us understand the pros and cons of this digital revolution so we can better prepare. Again, one can view the program online here.
Update 3/2010: I'm including a link to a blog post that many feel is a fair criticism of the Digital Nation program speaking primarily to the segment on Second Life.
Lastly, a twitter buddy, @raymondpirouz, wrote a short blog post and alerted me to a response video by educators who felt that "Digital Nation" left out much of the incredible work related to education in Second Life. I agree (fairly typical of SL media reports) and am embedding the short response video below.
Very interesting morning learning World of Warcraft. Had to leave WoW to work my reference desk shift in the Karuna Resource Center in Second Life (SL) in my position as Consumer Health Librarian. I spent a few minutes in both simultaneously and that's what this screenshot shows (shocked it didn't crash my computer to run both).
Also posted a screenshot of my first hour in WoW on flickr
The following explains a little about what I'm doing & why: A bit of an experiment - was asked by a faculty member teaching at UCSD to assist with a research component for his course being taught primarily in WoW with some parts in SL. As an academic librarian working in SL, how could I say no?
ICAM 120 Virtual Environments Winter 2010, Visual Arts Dept., University of California San Diego Lecturer: James Morgan / Rubaiyat Shatner (Second Life)
So as in SL, I am a blue female in WoW (albeit a troll). Should be interesting comparing these two environments. I have a fair amount of experience teaching and learning in SL for my university and have been involved and following educational developments in SL, including the work and roles of librarians, for some time. I'm interested in learning how the WoW environment is being used for educational purposes. And of course, where does the librarian fit when courses are being taught in these environments. What is our role? More to come as I explore and learn in WOW.
Update: Jan. 9, 2009 - I'm only at the beginning of my research on WoW but for anyone wondering about educational applications, I recently found a blog by an Open University faculty member, titled, E1n1verse – WoW, Learning, and Teaching by Michelle A. Hoyle. I especially enjoyed reading this post on why she plays World of Warcraft and the excellent references and links she included.
Final Update-Jan 22, 2010: Great group of students in the ICAM 120 Course, I enjoyed presenting on grant writing tips and researching a few articles for them. I observed one of their three hour-long classes and found it pretty fascinating. We all started in SL with introductions and then my presentation then took a short break and afterwards the instructor facilitated an interesting discussion on their reading for that week, Jean Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulations. After the discussion everyone headed over to WoW. A lot accomplished in one class really especially since some had never been in SL before and a few were also new to WoW. Here are a couple of snapshots I put up on flickr.
World of Warcraft is something I would be interested in investigating further if I had more time. I just don't at the moment so unfortunately I can not continue on with the group. Even though I was only in WoW four times, I think I understand why some in higher education are using this platform with their students. I also think you would need creative faculty advanced in using the program to be successful. UCSD has a talented faculty member teaching this course in James Morgan. I was impressed with the level of engagement and discourse he managed with a class of 18 students participating in this adventure. I expect they will learn a great deal.
Another little nugget I learned about was something we all used for voice called Ventrilo(kind of like Skype but more stable with larger groups), it worked very well and really helped make the process between SL and WoW more seamless.
Professor Diane Nahl (aka Adra Letov in SL) and seven of her graduate Library and Information Science (LIS) students visited the Karuna Resource Center this past week to see the types of resources and displays being featured and to speak with me about my role as the Karuna Consumer Health Librarian. We also discussed the evolving work of librarians in virtual worlds. I welcomed the group at the front entrance and enjoyed chatting with Diane while watching her students clicking on the displays and touring the building. After exploring, the students began asking questions. I had them get comfortable on the couches and chairs and did my best to answer. They were an astute group and it was good to see and hear from future librarians who seek to understand the changing roles of information professionals.
We discussed the resources and presentations I included in the resource center and how they meet the outcomes of the National Library of Medicine grant that funds Karuna Island. We also discussed the benefits and challenges for librarians working in virtual worlds, how statistics are gathered, and more.
After Diane and her graduate students left, I reflected on my own experience in graduate school. I attended the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) at the Unviersity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC GSLIS) not all that long ago, graduating in December 2003. It was a very positive experience and I am thankful to have attended an institution where I was pushed towards newer technologies. From learning basic html during my orientation to courses on web usability, online information literacy and more, I felt fortunate to be learning in a place that valued what was relevant and important for future librarians.
Professor Nahl's students, and many other LIS students from several universities who are offering courses in SL, are fortunate to have the opportunity to learn about librarianship in Second Life. Virtual Worlds (VW) are here to stay, and as VWs develop and more of our constituents use VWs, the information needs in these places will grow. These LIS students will be better prepared than those without this exposure. It really is an exciting time to be a librarian.
The Karuna Island in Second Life is funded via a National Library of Medicine grant to provide support and information resources for HIV/AIDS individuals, family, friends, allied health professionals, librarians and the public. Jena Ball, (aka SL Jenaia Morane) is the Project Coordinator for Karuna and I am the Karuna Consumer Health Librarian. In first life I am an academic librarian at a small private university in Portland, Oregon USA.
"'Libraries of the Future' is all about debate and involvement, and JISC invites you to take part - both online and in person – in events and debates, to read and respond to publications, podcasts, sponsored supplements, and much more."
The Libraries of the Future site is a wonderful resource, one that librarians and administrators in the USA can harvest to learn and help spur discussions as we, too, work to understand the changing needs of our students, faculty and staff.
It's an exciting time to be an academic librarian. I'm not sure what the academic library will look like 10 years from now but I'm optimistic. The technologies that challenge us will also continue to help us to connect and grow in new ways.
In April I had the privilege to attend the Library of the Future Debate as it was streamed live into Second Life (SL), (which enabled me to participate and view with others from around the globe) from Martin Wood Lecture Theatre, Oxford University, Oxford.
The Libraries of the Future short documentary was recently released and "showcases interviews with leaders from JISC, Oxford University and LSE as well as students and academics who discuss what the library of the future will look like."
The Libraries of the Future publication below "explores the issues surrounding Libraries of the Future, showcases the events and activities of the campaign and looks forward to some possible solutions."
Somehow I missed this great video when posted in November 2008. I've been a longtime subscriber to the Gary Hayes YouTube channel, which I hesitate to add here because if your interests are similar to mine you will lose huge chunks of time and have to be torn away from these videos. Gary's website is a must read as well.
Gary is ahead of his time on this video (heh, about 20 years actually, not unusual for him).
This video is a compilation of work used to create a video ala the famous Epic 2014 Googlezon video. For those not at all familiar with Epic 2014, please understand that this video is "A video archive from 2008 compiled & written by GARY HAYES in 2028 :)" (I have to admit I often wonder how we will look back at this time in 20 years, in 10 years even. The technological developments we're witnessing really are mind boggling these days.)
(You may want to watch this on youtube where you can click on HQ for better quality or download the MP4 file Gary has made available for download on the right sidebar.) Enjoy!
Spring semester 2009 I taught my first course as an adjunct instructor for my university's School of Education. EDFL 625 - "Intro to Second Life for Educators" was offered to graduate/doctoral students and faculty. The class, made up of four students and seven faculty members, would journey together in this strange new land.
The purpose of the course, as stated in the syllabus, is "to acquaint participants with Second Life (SL), a 3D virtual environment. Our intent is to discover the functions, processes and relationships that exist, as well as the potential of virtual worlds (VWs) for educators and education."
In a prior blog post I discuss being asked to assist a prof at my univ with his first SL course as a type of embedded/blended librarian, and I sought feedback on what people thought of librarians in virtual worlds. After that experience I was asked to teach as an adjunct. I've learned a great deal from these experiences. My learning has been broad and includes: becoming more adept using various technologies, gaining a deeper understanding of online teaching & learning, what the immediate needs are to prepare those new to SL so they are ready to learn, learning how best to utilize the 3D environment for teaching & learning purposes, how to play and have fun in these environments and how that can lead to deeper learning and more.
I've also been privileged to be able to work with two other faculty members on publications and presentations related to these efforts. Scot Headley, Professor of education, George Fox University and Anita Zijdemans-Boudreau, Assistant Professor of Education, Pacific University.
Being a part of this team has been a huge learning experience for me and one for which I'm most appreciative. It has greatly expanded my understanding of the publication process. We continue to build on our work. From 2008 to present I've had a number of opportunities to co-present at juried/peer reviewed/invitation events and publcations directly related to our work with teaching and learning in SL. Some of those include, a poster session at EDUCAUSE Learning Institute 2009, a presentation/publication for (SITE) Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference 2009, Presentation at TCC Worldwide Online Conference 2009 and our newly accepted poster session and paper presentation for the upcoming E-Learn 2009 World Conference. (12/09 Updated presentations listed here.)
What I will share below here is a set of questions presented to me by my two team members for reflection. They felt answers to the following questions would be useful for the final draft of our upcoming E-Learn 2009 paper presentation. This will also help me as I reflect on what worked, what didn't and how I can make this course better for the next semester. What were some satisfying elements about the Spring 09 course?
The most satisfying elements were related to seeing growth in everyone, including myself. Watching the lights go on regarding the possibilities of virtual worlds and education. Experiencing the excitement that comes from being so fully engaged in learning. Learning from each other, what was working, what wasn't and why. Since all in the class were educators, the reflections on our course wiki were in the context of education, which was most helpful. We were able to have rich discussions both synchronous (inworld) and asynchronously (on wiki and email) in which we could all participate and learn from each other. What were some unsatisfying elements or detractors?
The technology itself was, at times, a cause for frustration. This was especially the case for a couple of people with computers which did not meet the Linden Labs recommended system requirements to run Second Life and/or strong broadband connections. This is an ongoing problem with SL and one which must be addressed before SL will be able to become a mainstream teaching and learning environment. What are some adjustments that you want to make in the upcoming fall course and why?
There will be three main adjustments -
1) Continue to require a mandatory orientation before the first live SL class but I'll add an assessment to that so I am sure all students are closer to the same minimum level of adeptness in using SL before our group classes begin. Second Life is complex with a fairly steep learning curve. It's not difficult to learn, however, time must be invested in learning the basics before one can fully benefit from the learning environment.
2) Second Life is a playful environment, which concerns some educators. I plan to make better use of this fact. I experienced an aha moment during one live class where everyone met on the skydeck to create a t-shirt together. I had a power point display there and also walked students through the steps, watching as I saw the new t-shirts appear on each avatar and the delight expressed at accomplishing this task. Some lost their shirts completely and others made jokes about no nudity, etc. I saw that they were having fun while almost unknowingly learning some valuable skills.
The second half of that class was dedicated to a trip to a sandbox (practice area) where an advanced student led the class in a demonstration of his building/scripting skills. It was a wonderful time with others chiming in on what they had learned and sharing objects with each other. Many students stayed well after the class was over. I saw the benefit of having students lead and of allowing students to share more of their own learning. The wiki had been used as a place for sharing the learning that was taking place by each participant. I realized during that class that I was missing an opportunity to more fully utilize the SL environment for student learning as well. I'm looking forward to this change during our next course.
3) For the next course there will be more required participation in live SL events during the one hour weekly assignment students complete on their own time. Students were somewhat reluctant to really become involved in this way and I'm still assessing why. I want educators to understand the value of connecting with others and with the many professional organizations in SL. Informal adult learning of this nature is one of the greatest values afforded by virtual world environments. This is something that may have to be experienced to be appreciated.
And one last important comment- This past semester, I realized the importance of the avatar (and continue to reflect and attempt to understand this phenomena). There will be more to come on this topic. How specifically might you implement these adjustments?
1) For the orientation assessment piece I plan to do the following - All those who register for the course will be sent a resource link with instructions on getting started in SL, which will include the mandatory orientation. I will ask each student and faculty member to notify me once they have completed that to arrange a one hour time slot to meet me one-on-one inworld. In that hour I will work with each individual on a couple of areas that are usually problematic or take practice. An example is camera controls. Without a good understanding and some practice using camera controls in SL one can't really experience all the environment has to offer. I have additional information on our skydeck to address challenges of this sort along with opportunities to practice some of those basic skills.
2) I plan to schedule only half the number of full tours next course. At least half of every other class will involve an activity of some kind with students working together to complete a task. This should allow for more interaction and more opportunities for students to take the lead. I also think this will motivate students in further developing SL skills beyond the basic level.
3) I'll spend more time explaining and showing the importance of joining and participating in groups and attending live SL events. I'll also tie more of the weekly assignments to this so it's not optional. Participants will share what they have learned from others while attending events and in doing so, I'm hopeful the value will become apparent. Now that you have done this a couple of times: What would you state as important factors in helping educators become proficient in SL?
Second Life is constantly evolving and it's important for educators to continue to spend time interacting and learning in the environment. I believe the most interesting and effective way to do that is to become involved. I recommend that educators join groups inworld like ISTE and others that provide a way to meet, learn and participate with other educators. As relationships build and evolve there will be opportunities for collaboration and/or research. This is a win/win way to continue to grow in proficiency and to grow in understanding the value of using various technologies for teaching & learning. What are you hoping for as a desired outcome in this work?
My desired outcome for this specific work is that educators will complete the course with a better understanding of how virtual worlds can be used for educational purposes. I also want educators to feel inspired.
As a student growing up in a traditional education system, I didn't have many positive learning experiences. I believe our education system must change and that learning can and should be immersive and engaging. There are global problems to be solved and in virtual worlds we can connect and collaborate with others from around the globe. There are so many possibilities with these platforms that I think it's easier for a person to find their passion. Once that happens, we are much more motivated to learn. And those who might fail under traditional learning models can thrive when engaged and motivated to learn, at least that's been my experience.
Below is a slideshow of snapshots taken during the course. This may also be viewed on flickr (click "Show Info" for additional information).
About a year ago I was asked by Professor Scot Headley, from our School of Edcation, to assist with a course he was preparing to teach that summer in Second Life (SL), an online 3D virtual world (VW) environment. I was honored to be asked and looked forward to the faculty/librarian collaboration. I also felt it fit my job description as Reference & Distance Services Librarian, and perfectly fit our library mission:
The mission of the George Fox University library is to support the instructional programs and research activities of the institution by providing access to recorded information in a variety of formats, and to provide instruction in the use of traditional and new information resources and technologies.
Having already been in SL for some time (mainly learning, networking for professional development purposes with other librarians/educators), I felt ready for the challenge of serving as a "SLibrarian." My prior interest/preparation stemmed from my belief that teaching & learning would continue to grow in VWs and I felt some librarians should be involved. I knew my university had already used SL for one class and thought there would eventually be more.
After meeting with the professor of the course to discuss my role and course needs, I went to work creating resources to address the information needs. I placed those resources along with a librarian office building on the skydeck George Fox University (GFU) leases from New Media Consortium.
The GFU skydeck space was ready before class started and was used for many purposes. Examples of how I assisted in my role as librarian include, helping to orient our graduate/doctoral students who were using SL for the first time by creating "how to" informational posters, attending the one hour per week inworld (inside SL) class to assist as needed, providing one-on-one help with students during inworld office hours or by appt., adding content to the course wiki, creating inworld subject guides, and meeting occasionally with the prof to discuss/assess learning outcomes related to the course assignments.
The professor and I continued to collaborate throughout the course and I learned a great deal working in the role I saw as a type of embedded librarian in Second Life. Or maybe I should say a blended librarian or a combination of both? Here is a flickr slideshow link of the class from last summer (click "show info").
This semester I was asked to teach my own SL course as an adjunct instructor for our School of Education (SOE) EDFL program. The one credit hour graduate level edtech course, "Intro to Second Life for Educators," has progressed nicely and has been quite the learning experience for all involved. This time I've really taken on two roles, one as the instructor and the other as the librarian. I created a course wiki where I link to many different types of information resources. Everything from blog posts to online news articles to shared links of searches I ran for scholarly peer reviewed articles in our Ebsco databases, and I've continued developing inworld subject guides.
As part of last week's inworld asynchronous assignment, I asked the class to watch the short YouTube video I created below on using Sloog for inworld subject guides (meaning subject guides of places in SL). (The assignment this past week was to use the Sloog website beginning with my Sloog user page in the way I describe in the video to visit Genome Island, explore and then write a reflection on our course wiki about their experience.)
(Click this link to view in larger format on YouTube site.)
Subject guide (sometimes known as resource guide, etc.) creation is seen as a fairly standard task amongst academic librarians. We create guides which include links to books in our catalogs, article databases, websites we've evaluated and feel may be useful, etc. Some librarians have also begun pointing out valuable Web 2.0 resources in their subject areas.
Virtual worlds (VW) are another platform containing new formats of information. There are over 150 VWs and their numbers are increasing rapidly. Those interested in VW growth projections can take a look at this post on Gartner's report and this site which shows large growth in the elementary school age demographic (our not too distant higher ed students).
Some virtual worlds, such as Second Life, are not only a platform in which educators can meet with students at a distance but they also contain what is often referred to as immersive builds. Below is a snapshot showing a number of these places. They are oftentimes interactive, immersive places, which have been designed and/or created by educators to assist students with their learning. As a SL librarian, who has been evaluating inworld immersive learning spaces, I am able to provide students with ways to find and access these places as an additional information resource beyond books, videos, articles and websites.
For those not familiar with VWs and/or SL, this site shows some of the institutions teaching and learning in SL (this is a partial list and many who are still in the exploration stage (such as my univ) are not listed).
Now back to the title of this post and questions for any readers who happen upon it--Should academic librarians provide assistance in virtual worlds?
Does my work as a SL librarian fit the role of an academic librarian? Obviously, I believe it does. I have presented and blogged on the role of the academic librarian in virtual worlds in the past, and belong to the ACRL in SL group where I network with incredibly innovative librarians in SL. I also closely follow the work of the ALA in Second Life and have attended their events when time allows. But I'm interested in what the rest of the academic community thinks. If I'm wrong about this, please comment and tell me why.
I'm not saying every librarian should be conversant in virtual worlds. Academic libraries typically have librarians who specialize in specific areas. Does it make sense to have a librarian who is conversant and able to assist when needed by faculty teaching classes in those worlds? Might some institutions consider this an asset?
Is creating inworld subject guides a role others see as fitting for an academic librarian? Should librarians be leading in this way or should we wait until virtual worlds are more mainstream? If we wait, is there a chance our role will be filled by others such as educational technologists? (I would argue that edtechs have the skills needed to lead as administrators/creators of our institution's spaces in virtual worlds and that librarians should be the main information need providers.)
Many of the library and information science graduate schools now offer classes on virtual worlds. Do academic library directors see the value in that when making hiring decisions?
I am an early adopter of technology (though not a techie) and have learned over the years that sometimes I can be too early, and sometimes I am wrong about a trend. But, I like to think of academic librarians as trailblazers and believe we should be leaders and not afraid to take risks. There is a digital revolution taking place and it's an exciting time to be a librarian. As we contemplate how the next five years will develop, how we prepare ourselves to remain relevant as academic librarians seems more important than ever. If our constituents are (or will be in the near future) teaching and/or learning in virtual worlds, I feel some librarians should be there.
Second Life (SL) has been a part of my life for some time now and I've been reflecting on my experiences. I evaluate the use of this technology more critically than most people who know me may realize. Regularly questioning the benefits and challenges of virtual world technologies to find where the value lies is an ongoing project. Is the cost/benefit worthwhile?
Virtual worlds are growing at an exponential rate. As a librarian/educator I follow virtual world developments seeking to understand this phenomena and how these technologies are affecting education and educators worldwide.
For now I'll say this- If virtual worlds were used for nothing more than the purpose of enabling people to connect and communicate in ways not possible or extremely difficult in real life, then they would be worthwhile for that reason alone.
There are some amazing educational builds of truly immersive learning spaces in SL. I would have loved that type of engagement as a student. Many, but not all, may agree with me on their value. But no one can disagree with my experiences.
I've made some wonderful connections inworld and I'm building relationships on a global level. This is most valuable. I do not have the time nor the resources to travel the world. And I'm not sure I could create the type of bond with others made possible by virtual worlds. This may partly be due to their anonymity aspect.
The culture of Second Life is one in which there is a sense of being there for each other, at least amongst educators and those in SL desiring to grow, learn and give. The kindness and helpfulness I've seen demonstrated inworld has been heartwarming. There is much I've learned and will continue to learn from others in SL.
Second Life has enabled me to lead discussions on Infolit iSchool Island founded by a faculty member from the University of Sheffield, Sheila Webber. In three weeks the class I'm teaching as an adjunct instructor will tour that island and interview Sheila. A week later we will tour International Schools Island in SL and interview another educator in Thailand. Next week we'll interview a medical professor from Ohio State University and examine an amazing build he created. Library Science graduate students have interviewed me and in two weeks a class from the Univ of Hawaii will visit my university's skydeck to explore what's been created there and ask questions. I'm collaborating on a project with their professor, whom I met while presenting on virtual world librarianship. These are just a few examples.
My experiences are not nearly as profound as those depicted in the video below. Hopefully the examples and the videos will help in understanding the potential of virtual worlds for education, community building and more.
"Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds: Collaboration, Culture and Community"
This video from TED Talks is worthwhile for those wanting to better understand Second Life and virtual worlds. I'm linking to it rather than embedding it here because the comments on the TED Talks page are worth reading.
Rosedale makes some strong statements at the end of the video on how he believes that virtual worlds are the future of the Internet. That's still difficult for most of us to imagine. Research reports projecting significant growth in virtual worlds over the next few years have been published by Strategy Analytics and Gartner . This blog post "The Future of Internet Is Virtual Worlds. Or Is It?" takes an opposing viewpoint.
I personally don't know whether virtual worlds will be the future of the Internet. Seems it would be awfully difficult to predict with how quickly technology is developing/changing. But I do believe virtual worlds will have an important part in the future of education. Those in higher education can take a look at my post on the Sept/Oct 2008 issue of Educause on virtual worlds.
A UIUC graduate student, Sue Bergren (Sue Karillion in SL), wrote yesterday asking if she could interview me for a paper she was writing as part of a practicum in SL this semester. She explained that she had attended my online presentation at the Virtual Librarian Conference , was reading my blog and had some questions. I was glad to answer as it caused me to reflect on what I've been doing and where I'm headed. Thanks, Sue!
How can librarians provide value in a virtual world? - As a librarian, what do you do in SL? - Would you give me some examples of what you do? I think we need to keep our eyes on the mission of our libraries and work to that end while in Second Life (SL), and by doing so we will provide value.
I am an academic librarian and according to my library's mission statement we are "to support the instructional programs and research activities of our institutions by providing access to information in a variety of formats, and to provide instruction in the use of traditional and new information resources and technologies." I see SL as many things, including another format of information. Most everything I do as a librarian in SL lines up with my library's mission statement.
As a librarian I do a variety of things in SL. This past summer I assisted a professor from my institution in teaching his first class in SL. I researched the best resources for helping his students to get started in SL and then included those in a wiki we developed for his class. I was given a skydeck to develop above some land we leased and went about setting up an office building with resources I felt would be helpful for his students. I created tutorial posters and an informational display on education in SL. Most importantly, I assisted students with their information needs in much the same way I assist students needing help with library databases. I met with students and the professor inworld when requested and built strong relationships with all.
Finally, I collaborate with other librarians inworld and volunteer on the reference desk at Info Island International once per week. The professional development and networking potential (global networking at that!) was something I did not immediately value and which I now find to be incredibley valuable. A whole new world has opened up for me. I've always wanted to travel and meet others from around the country and the world. Not only do I do that in SL, but we share and collaborate in ways that simply are not possible in 1st life. I attend information literacy discussions 2-3 times a month on Infolit iSchool Island hosted by Univ of Sheffield faculty/lecturer, Sheila Webber. I attend professional association meetings without putting a dent in my university's travel budget. I meet, work and play with librarians and educators from around the world on a regular basis. Sometimes when I leave these meetings I walk away (well...fly or teleport usually) and think about events I've attended in 1st life. Events/conferences for which I spent money for travel and paid to attend, and I marvel that my experiences attending events inworld tend to be as good and many times better. I learn and grow in Second Life. (Click the small square w/arrows in right corner to enlarge & see descriptive info and again to go back.)
How long have you been using SL? - Why did you choose SL over some of the other virtual worlds? I have been in SL since June 2006, but was not very active at all during my first year. SL was less developed at that time, there were fewer orientation options, and I struggled with learning the technology. I did, however, see the potential and as an early adopter I kept going back until I eventually became comfortable.
I chose SL over other virtual worlds because it is currently the most developed, especially in the area of education. This may change with the many VWs in development. I explore other VWs at times and work to keep abreast of VW developments. What are your plans for the future? Now that I'm known at my university as the "SLibrarian," I am the go-to person for anyone who has questions on SL from profs to students to administrators. I will continue to do my best to assist with any questions/needs they may have regarding this newer technology.
I am also working in SL with other librarians on ways we can best work to serve others and each other in SL. I belong to the American Librarian Association (ALA) group in SL as well as the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) group in SL.
I am currently working on a project that involves creating inworld educational subject guides using an inworld/outworld tool called Sloog. In the same way that librarians create subject guides for web resources, there is a growing need for such guides inworld. I hope to share about this project at an ACRL in SL meeting in the near future and recently lead a discussion on Infolit iSchool Island on this topic.
Lastly, I am working on a couple of other non-profit ventures in SL. There are so many opportunities to be involved inworld, I find it can be difficult to say no to some of them. SL is an excellent way for early adopter librarians to keep abreast of emerging technologies and to take a lead role in the brave new vitual worlds of our future.
Today is my day off and I have a long to-do list (and this blog post was not on it). Included on my list was to attend a Metanomics Series interview at NMC campus in Second Life from noon-1pm. I did that and for the first part a woman named Alanagh Recreant shared about UTHANGO Social Investments and Virtual Africa in Second Life.
Of course links were shared to further information on Virtual Africa, which I decided to check out. One thing led to another and before long I found this video which I feel compelled to share. There is a 2 plus minute segment in this video on Virtual Africa. But that's not why I'm sharing this, though worthwhile. I'm sharing because this video is very well done and an example of yet another educational use of virtual worlds. From the website:
"Life on Life" is a 13-minute docu-narrative produced inside the virtual reality platform SecondLife, composed of vignettes narrating one avatar's path through her first year in the metaverse. From magical safaris and artificial lifeforms to hackers and virtual suicide bombers, the real world plays itself out around her in virtual space, and Life passes through with hope and wonder intact! The film explores an intersection of the first and virtual worlds--the drawbacks and the potential. "Life on Life" has been accepted to the Cambridge Int'l Film Festival, UK, had a scene screened on CNN.com, and has been promoted by the virtual worlds projects and presses: Orange (France Telecom), Dancing Ink Productions, Babel News, Koinup, Rockcliff University, New World Notes and massively.com. Thank you to each of these!
I've been interested in digital storytelling since attending the SLEDCC 2008 Conference in Second Life (SL) this past September. The session where I was introduced to digital storytelling in SL was related to work being done by Peggy Sheehy (SL: Maggie Marat) and others with teens in Teen SL. Their work incorporates a broader array of media than the narrative video above. I never did blog about this experience, partly because I couldn't quite figure out how to articulate the impact it had on me. It turns out she and others presented at other conferences during the past summer and a blogger (and SL friend of mine) Chris (SL Topher Zwiers) wrote an excellent post on this on his MUVE Forward blog titled "Ramapo Islands: Quality Learning in Second Life."
The American Library Association Virtual Communities and Libraries Membership Initiative Group (ALA VCL MIG) is pleased to announce its first ALA SLymposium to be held in the virtual world of Second Life(SL) on ALA island on Saturday November 8. There is no charge for the event. I'm posting here to encourage library workers to register and attend.
The recent growth and development by the global public and education community in SL means that our roles as library workers may be evolving. There are information needs in virtual worlds (VWs) that parallel those needs in real life. As an academic librarian, who is active in SL by both supporting faculty from my university who teach in SL as well as volunteering weekly on the Info Island International reference desk, I feel I benefit greatly from my involvement (as do those I serve). Here is a link to the ALA in Virtual Worlds wiki which includes additional links to information.
In future blog posts I'll also be writing on the activities of the ACRL (Association of College & Research Libraries) in SL Group, of which I am a member.
The ALA island was developed in 2007 and there are events and discussions held regularly. The photo included here is from a recent discussion on ALA Island. Oberon Octagon, ALA Island Manager (the tiger avatar in the closeup photo), talked about ALA Island and what it can do for us. One new project the ALA is working on involves assisting those library workers who are new to SL with orientation needs. Proper SL orientation is important for all newcomers and I was glad to hear this.
For those who may be wondering how committed ALA is to SL, here is info I copied from the ALA Staff in SL Group Charter
The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 65,000 members. Its mission is to promote the highest quality library and information services and public access to information.
Our presence in Second Life marks a commitment to virtual membership by the members of ALA Staff.
This island was made possible through a donation by San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science.
I'm glad to see the ALA is following the virtual worlds movement and willing to support library workers on the cutting edge. Time will tell just how successful SL will be. For now it is by far the most developed VW with the largest presence of library workers. As more library workers become involved in SL, more ALA staff involvement/support will be supplied. Attend the ALA Slymposium if you possibly can and see for yourself what is happening with libraries/library staff and Second Life.
Augmented reality has been around for some time, but Bruno Uzzan, from Total Immersion makes statements in the video below that cause me to think we could begin to see this technology in the main sooner rather than later. Be sure to watch the entire video, it gets even more interesting towards the end.
I'm still processing ways in which virtual world technologies can and are being used in higher education, and the timing of that phenomena. As the video above shows, augmented reality & virtual wolds work well together. The combined technologies could be used in a number of creative ways in higher education and in our every day lives. What do you think?
October 1-2, 2008, I attended and presented at The Virtual Librarian Conference. The conference was held online and delivered via Adobe Connect.
My presentation was on the role of the academic librarian in virtual worlds. The focus was on my experiences as my university's main academic librarian in SL. I will embed my updated slideshare presentation here for those who are interested. My original presentation was 14 slides. Since it involved application sharing of a flickr slideshow I had to turn some of those snapshots into ppt slides so the presentation would work without the app sharing. Hopefully this will make sense to viewers of my Slideshare presentation. (If you see formatting problems in the embedded ppt below, please click the title link to watch on the Slideshare site.)
My Session took place on Day 2 of the conference and though I have attended many webinars using Adobe Connect, Elluminate, etc., I had never presented using one of these programs. That alone was a good learning experience for me. Since I decided I wanted to use application sharing in the middle of my presentation, I was stretched a little further by learning how to use some advanced features.
The conference attendees were made up of a little over 80% librarians along with a few educational technologists, etc. Many attendees freely participated in the discussion via comments and questions using chat which always adds value to the presentations.
There were four separate sessions each day including a panel discussion during day 1 made up of four people including Barbara A. Galik, Executive Director, Cullom-Davis Library, Bradley University (aka Puglet Dancer in SL). I was glad to see this and I enjoyed hearing the different viewpoints on the panel.
I recently interviewed Barbara Galik (Puglet Dancer, as the interview took place in SL) regarding her role as an academic librarian in Second Life. At the time I did not know she was the Bradley Univ library director or that she was the main person responsible for the Bradley University presence in SL (things I discovered during the interview). I find that I learn much by following trailblazers like Barbara, Lori Bell and others who presented and contributed during the conference.
It was helpful to learn more about the history of the Alliance Virtual Library during day 1 of the conference from those who founded the project and were involved from the beginning. Lori Bell and Abbey/Rhonda Trueman did a nice job explaining how this amazing project came about and how it is progressing. Joe Sanchez gave an interesting talk about librarianship in virtual worlds and the work he is doing in SL with students from the University of Texas at Austin. Here is a blog link for Joe on the Educators Coop in SL, which I have visited in SL and will continue to follow.
Day 2 of the conference was equally valuable. Jeremy Kemp of SJSU has considerable experience teaching and learning in SL and has accomplished excellent work inworld. From Sonja Plummer-Morgan, a public library director from Northern Maine, I learned about some of the administrative issues around building a library presence in SL and the great work she is doing with her library and as a volunteer for other organizations. And finally the conference ended with Matt Krull's presentation on "Creating Educational Tools in Second Life for Libraries.” Matt is a creative and talented individual. Educators in SL would be in trouble without people like Matt- people who understand the potential of virtual worlds and have the know-how to develop tools to help us fully utilize all VWs have to offer.
I've barely finished reading half of this Educause Review volume, but felt I had to post something here to get this out there.
If you work in higher education, whether you're staff, faculty or administrator - it's important that you read the articles in this volume. It's important for the present and the future of higher education.
I regularly run into people in higher ed who have not heard of the phrase "virtual worlds." I just don't think we can afford to not know any longer. In the past I've considered what others in higher ed have said to me about how Second Life is not for everyone. And it may not be. But the fact is, virtual worlds will be an important part of the future of higher education.
My university and many others regularly talk about how we need to engage students in the teaching and learning process. Virtual worlds are an excellent tool for this purpose.
I attended an informative 3.5 hr conference yesterday in Second Life (SL) titled "Virtual Worlds and the Future of Business Education." I was curious because I've been seeing more signs on campuses in SL lately for MBA programs. Here's the link - it was a very good conference, well worth my time (day off). The speakers were excellent and the backchat and tweets were valuable too. There were 80 inworld avatars attending and the conference was also streamed live on the 2D web.
Pathfinder Linden (of Linden Labs, the company behind SL) even answered a question I asked on when SL will allow for shared applications (it's coming!). As a librarian this would increase the usefulness of using SL with students. Not all educators see why this request is important but for librarians it can matter as we demonstrate to students how to use specific databases. If you are a prof who is using SL to teach students it probably wouldn't be important as SL already allows for collaborative work using Google docs inworld.
A couple of points that stood out for me were by Anne Massey, Dean's Research Professor and Professor of IS at Kelley. One was on the hype cycle and where SL is now and if you click the snapshots here to enlarge you will see the chart. I recently read an article on this, which came to the same conclusion. The other point was on the seven sensibilities of SL. Things that all who spend time in SL understand, but which can be difficult to explain to those who have not experienced SL much themselves. Briefly the 7 sensibilities in which she referred - sense of self, death of distance, power of presence, sense of space, capability to co-create, pervasiveness of practice and enrichment of experience.
Another point made by Anne Massey and Sarah Robbins (aka Intellagirl) had to do with how the usefulness of SL is what's going to drive adoption and what will get people over the ease of use hump. That really resonated with me as in my early days of SL my realization of how powerful of a tool this virtual world could be, especially for higher education, was what kept me going at times. And of course the usefulness of SL is growing almost daily. This is partly due to the innovative work being done in SL by very creative and talented educators and technologists.
Of course there was specific focus on business education here, though I found most of what was shared would be applicable to many disciplines. One reason I heard that business education makes sense in SL is because of the need to connect globally and the ease in which people can do that in virtual worlds. Also businesses are finally figuring out how to use virtual worlds. Here's a link to a 2008 O'Reilly Radar Report titled "Virtual Wordls: A Business Guide" for those who are interested.
Bottom line, Second Life and other virtual worlds are here to stay. Forward thinking universities and colleges who understand this will reap the benefits of being early adopters of these platforms. Especially institutions that are struggling with tight budgets, this a way to benefit greatly for minimal cost.
I am continually amazed by the levels of creativity I see in Second Life. It doesn't matter whether you love or hate Pink Floyd or the message here. What matters to me is that Second Life is a platform where this form of expression can take place. And it will only get better. I am so glad that I can be a part. Incredible that some still do not see...
Thanks to all who contributed. And thanks for the machinimatography, editing, and sharing, Gary Hazlitt/Hayes. Wonderful work by all, I can't stop watching it...looking forward to the long version.
This video is a 2008 Atom Award finalist. It's about the journey of a property from book to stage to film to Second Life. And the value of each medium is clear.
This documentary devised and edited by Gary Hayes and co-produced with Physical TV.
Title of this 9 min. mini-documentary: SECOND LIFE -Best Multi-Modal Production Thursday's Fictions
From the YouTube More Info: "Thursday's Fictions is a fantastical parable about reincarnation by Australian writer Richard James Allen which has evolved over almost twenty years to become a cross media work for the stage, the page, the screen and most recently the new media creative platforms of Second Life (a 3D online immersive interactive story world) and machinima (cinema made inside a games engine)."
Living and working in beautiful Portland, Oregon, USA--Senior Librarian / Assistant Professor--Online adjunct for GFU College of Education and the University of Oregon AIM Program--Learn more: My Online Profile
