TechTicker
educational technology, eLearning & emerging technology

Call this post a mental brain dump.

My colleagues and I have been spending more and more time in SecondLife lately, and all the while I’ve been experiencing a growing sense of conflict between the potential of the environment and the traditional curriculum-based structures and expectation of higher education.

On the side of untapped, raw potential there are the immersive aspects of SecondLife.  There is an incredible amount of creativity and diversity interwoven into the fabric of SecondLife, and it is truly inspiring to behold.  Those who can enter the realm with an exploratory willingness experience a world of limitless potential.  This translates quite strongly to incredible depth in learning opportunities; however at least based on my experiences so far, they seem to be of a different variety to the targeted, preplanned outcomes that are emphasised in higher education.

I would characterise the learning processed I’ve experienced in SecondLife so far as very holistic and multi-faceted.  Yes there are specific tasks that I’ve learned to do and skills that I’ve acquired - most notably in terms of the construction of structures and landscapes on the island - but on a wider more fundamental level I can’t help but get the feeling my SL experiences thus far have resulted in a more esoteric knowledge that I can’t quite define yet.  This seems to have arisen from the constant interaction with different perspectives, different approaches to the realm, and a social dynamic that is both familiar and exotic at the same time.

It’s not something that is easily defined - let alone assessed or evaluated.  The latter puts it in immediate conflict with the traditional university culture.  If you can’t assess something, how can you grade it; if you can’t grade it, how can you grant credit; if you can’t grant credit how can you award degrees?  Is the inherently social constructivistic culture of SecondLife ultimately out of phase with higher education?  I don’t know.

There are of course the technical issues and infamous learning curve to account for as well.  However in my personal experience, if you can see the value in the process, and the learning that emerges amidst the process - you can recognise SecondLife as a learning journey, rather than a learning objective.

The problem once again though, is that university culture and structure is generally defined on the latter - in the assessment of performance focussed largely on the result, or the end product.  It would almost seem then that - in an age of shrinking course periods - maximising outcomes is seen to take priority over promoting a holistic experience that affords learners the opportunity to follow their own interests throughout its organic development.  How then can you tap the immersive potential in SecondLife without diluting it so far that it loses its potency and value?

I normally don’t link to support resources, but this find has proven so informative I wanted to pass it along.

Linden Labs, the folks who bring us SecondLife, have an amazing support library of videos available for download that cover a wide range of topics.  I only discovered them yesterday but have already watched nearly 20 of them.  They’ve cleared up so much confusion for me!

Anyway the post where I initially found the link was called “‘Inside the Lab’ Podcast, a Discussion on Education in Second Life“.  I’ve yet to read this yet, but that topic alone sounds worth a read.

More importantly the support resources are available via a few different means (see the above link for the full options).  Personally I prefer the podcast option, which is located via this link:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=151557204

The link looks unusual if you’re not familiar with podcasting, but if you load it in your browser you’ll find you’re notified that the content will be loaded in iTunes and asked to confirm.

The content is appropriate for a range of experience levels - including brand new users.  I think it’s also a really nice example of what support possibilities exist when considering use of video tutorials.

Finally, if you’re considering building in SL but don’t know where to start, the tutorials point to an amazing in-world resource centre known as the Ivory Tower which depicts how the build tools can be used from the most simple block through highly intricate arrangements.

The in-world location of the Ivory Tower is: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Natoma/208/171/26

Might be worth a field trip I think  I’ve already had a quick look and will definitely be heading back again soon.  Most likely later today in fact.