Migrating from Second Life to Open Source

. . . and the areas it has opened

Eileen O’Connor, Ph.D. (January 2015)

Virtual – artistic & musical creation

We began many creative projects in Second Life –when we had more space available

Virtual – dorm management - meetings & classroom

Virtual – learning by doing / trampoline

Virtual classroom created by student – used as an ag-tech meeting space

But then things changed as the next class came:

The islands in SL were too small – not enough space for students to develop their own work

So, we moved to new venues . . . which changed us from limited use to virtual development and design

What changes has open source allowed? • A larger, more cohesive framework for complex designs

• A location where students could have ownership and control over an entire process / learning by reading, watching, doing, testing, sharing

• A framework that allowed students to develop projects for others beyond themselves and their direct work /school experience

• Greater sophistication in the work that emerged – from limited applications/all move towards things they would like to see that were not feasible in their current environment/students came with expertise and content areas

• A more comprehensive and applied understanding of a complete learning environment • Freed from the constraints of “reality” – but held to a standard of sense-

making, application, quality

• Something that could be saved and used later – entire island downloads

Why virtual? And, what can you REALLY do? • Students could now develop an entire “concept” for an education

/ communication / interaction environment

• The bi-weekly meeting were about real events and designs – not just simple widgets and whirly-gigs

• Students visited and share each others design ideas

• Students could envision an entire process or project – and create a starting point that they could continue to develop

Design, immersion & conceptual framing became a reality

ESC – MALET had a booth at the 2014 conference

What was the process of learning & community building? – working together in comfortable settings

• Meeting and sharing• Ideas / technologies eventually, articulating a large and visionary

instructional purpose within the space

• Framing theoretical papers were produced by each student

• Work in progress and “homework” via video (Screencast-o-matic)

Working within the individual students ideas and conceptualization / visiting their works-in-progress – not just the once-removed, abstraction of writing

• Moving toward pilots and learner testing in the second course

Visiting each others “visualizations” and the approaches & skills they were developing

Fascinating projects emerged – the experience, talents, desires of the students emerged

And, all of these could be saved onto their computer at the end of the semester for later implementation

Examples -- students sharing their work

• Advanced Tutors - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhmnGi-8VxI&feature=youtu.be

• ESOL / ELL Learning Site – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bk7kUlfOkI

• Mustang Island (Healthcare training) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDRDMMUZ2sw

• Sculpture Island (Art teaching & design) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36RrsY9aiuM

• Video Production World -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfpWLVImKUc&feature=youtu.be

• TheatreTEK - theater set design - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JBp4rMIoXo

• Bio Bunny - biology for middle school - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEML-r94xwo

• Conference Planning - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yBI0bIGBto

• A science lesson built within a complex island design framework -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiNzhaM7siI

You can visit the most of these through Kitely – just search for the name in bold (go into the World Map and type in the bold face term in the search & you will be brought to these islands

Learn video in studio settings or in natural setting– the “live” instruction & meetings will be centered hereMy

appsVP 1st

time Open

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Other apps

A hospital training department is investigating the use of virtual reality as a training site for the ongoing and 24/7 instructional needs . . . without adding more physical space

VP2 student tutors VP1 student –and shares his work via a taped sessions – a “digital native” at work

English language learners start with safe and then expansive experiences

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JBp4rMIoXo

High school students can make and test theater sets thus learning set design and collaboration skills in a low cost yet highly flexible virtual environment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36RrsY9aiuM

Artist and art students can come to learn, experience and develop virtual creations that they can bring to fabricators later; they can begin to understand art exhibitions too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yBI0bIGBto

This spearheaded the creation of an exhibit booth at a virtual conference on virtual reality – she brought us to the conference, and got us great publicity too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEML-r94xwo

Middle school students (in an after school program) can come to a fun & informative cell biology simulations – with simulations, tutorials, and prizes

A VP2 student brings a class to her Creative Center