Jokaydia Unconference in SecondLife
I must admit I’ve been a very slow adopter of the realm of SecondLife. Perhaps because I’m more of an auditory learner than visual or kinesthetic, it was quite some time before I had the slightest interest in creating an account and logging in, and even longer before I was willing to open my mind to the possibilities of it being used to somehow support learning. To be brutally honest, a certain degree of scepticism still remains as to the logistics of using SecondLife in education - not the least of which arise from the massive learning curve required to acclimate to life “in-world” - but I’m quite happy to have reached the stage where I’m at least open to the possibilities.
In no small part due to the edublogging activities of many people around the web, a great deal of discussion, some very helpful and insightful SecondLife advocates, and my own curiosity I have begun to spend time in earnest exploring the activities and educational uses of this emersive environment. As luck would have it I’ll also be meeting in SecondLife for the upcoming Facilitating Online Communities course I’m taking beginning the 28th of this month.
In yet another amazing coincidence it would seem that there is an unconference on the horizon as well. From the Island of Jokaydia Community Wikispace:
“The Islands of jokaydia Community of Practice is planning an In-World Unconference which will will occur on the Islands of jokaydia from 27-28th September 2008.”
The unconference is expected to cover a variety of topics relevant to education and eLearning, with the three main themes being: Virtual Worlds for Education, Innovation in eLearning and Arts and Culture in Second Life.
Continuing the apparent theme of openness and community-driven learning that I seem to be in the midst of lately, the conference content will be largely directed by the participants:
“According to wikipedia, an unconference is a: conference where the content of the sessions is driven and created by the participants. Generally, unconference style events are community organised, informal and social events where participants provide the content and facilitation for the event.”
There’s a great deal of additional information on the unconference page of the Island of Jokaydia Community Wikispace, so if you’re interested I would encourage you to check it out. From what’s been discussed in the wiki the event is being exceptionally well planned and organised, so it should be something you don’t want to miss.
Personally speaking the portion of the unconference that has piqued my interest the most concerns a case study on titled “Ramapo Islands: A New Dimension in Learning”:
Focusing on the process of developing constructivist learning in the virtual world, Sheehy will present the steps her teachers have taken this second year of teaching in Ramapo Islands on Teen Second life to translate their content into the virtual landscape. She will outline the best practices that have evolved as a result and the student responses to this 21st century pedagogical shift.
The hour long presentation will include anecdotal evidence from teachers, administrators and students, video clips of the work being done and both the anticipated and actual outcomes.”
If you’re planning on attending any or all of this unconference please let me know. Perhaps we can go together.
July 22nd, 2008 at 4:12 am
Hi Mike, like you, I have been a little skeptical about SL. But I am very impressed with all the work that Jokay puts into it, as well as her incredible enthusiasm and willingness to help and share her knowledge. I am planning to go to the unconference so will look forward to seeing you there.
[Reply]
Mike reply on July 22nd, 2008 11:46 pm:
Absolutely. I’ve been to Jokaydia a number of times and have been really impressed by it. As a matter of fact I’ve also been revisiting a podcast she did with education.au that I discovered a while ago.
All this has really gotten me to thinking about immersive environments and how they relate to - or can benefit - self-directed learners. It seems almost paradoxical that SecondLife’s steep learning curve has actually made me want to devote more time to understanding the realm - not less.
I’m not sure how that works exactly, but it almost seems as if the complexity of the platform is actually fueling my engagement with it.
The usage and examples you see in the virtual environment itself have definitely contributed to my interest - no doubt about that. There seems to be no end to people’s creativity, and I find that really inspiring.
I wonder if that relates to social constructivism somehow? This is an area I’m not an expert in; hopefully Leigh’s course will help enlighten me. I listened to a podcast of his last night that really struck a chord.
In the context of my own learning processes, half the time I don’t know what learning objectives I’m setting for myself - or perhaps more accurately I don’t set learning objectives for myself most times. It’s a very organic process, and before I know it I’ve learned how to do things that I couldn’t do before, just through experimentation. I wonder if that’s a key value for SecondLife?
This of course leads me back to the question of how to tie things back to - or incorporate them into - formalised educational systems and structures like those we see in higher education. I certainly benefit from self-directed exploratory learning, but I don’t know how much you could get away with a whole course founded on the notion - despite it’s benefits.
As Leigh said in the podcast I listened to last night, it’s like trying to fit a large circle into a square hole. I wonder if we’re destined to reach the point where the two are in perpetual conflict with one another, and the only way to fully embrace self-directed learning is to forgo the formalised system entirely?
I have more questions than answers it would seem…
[Reply]
July 22nd, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Hi Mike and Sarah– Glad you have found the unconference and please feel free to contact me if you have any specific questions concerning education on the Teen Grid before or after my presentation! Bes, Peggy / Maggie Marat in SL
[Reply]
Mike reply on July 22nd, 2008 11:50 pm:
Hi Peggy,
Thanks for stopping by! I’m looking forward to your presentation with interest. By the way, do you have an information site, blog or wiki somewhere that I can take a look at in the meantime? It would be great to get a background on the project before the presentation if possible.
Cheers,
Mike
[Reply]
September 26th, 2008 at 1:49 am
[...] links >> unconference montréal… here i come Saved by HigurashiKagomesama on Thu 25-9-2008 Jokaydia Unconference in SecondLife Saved by geidsvig on Wed 24-9-2008 The Geek Goddess Show Episode 8: E27 Unconference Saved by [...]