Educational Gaming Commons

I was very excited about the ETS Virtual Worlds Faculty Initiative project from the beginning because I see it as another way to provide quality education and learning for our students. It also allows PSGV to differentiate itself in this very competitive education market we're in. We are working in a new and emerging area, so our students will be better prepared to compete in the future. The corporate presence in SL speaks to the fact that virtual worlds are here to stay on the business technology landscape.

I spent the better part of the summer of 2007 immersed in SL to learn how a resident lives. I rented an apartment, bought land, built a house, started a business, bought clothing, furniture, learned to build, script, dance, swim, surf, sail a boat, ski, and many other activities that avatars enjoy in this virtual world. I even got stuck one time in the red light district because the simulator I was exploring began to restart and the nearest place for SL to send me was there. Needless to say, I was very surprised...because I didn't know about sims and estates, and mainland and all of those land management issues.

These experiences were invaluable in ensuring that I would be able to help my students to move quickly into the virtual world of SL. I prepared a simple assignment (I thought)....get an avatar, learn how to get to the PSGV portion of the Penn State Isle, chat with me for a bit...oh, and btw...learn about an SL business and compare it to a real life business. Oh, yes...and prepare a short paper and presentation with your findings. The students were/are enthusiastic about this. On the second or third day of class, one student said that he'd met Brett Bixler and was playing in the sandbox!

However, one key thing that I learned as the instructor is that you have to provide a lot of guidance in the beginning....telling them things that I learned on my own in the summer with the help of the "friends" I made in my travels around SL. Students should be given landmarks to places to get information, learn how to move around, learn how to do what they are interested in doing in SL. They should also be given the SL system requirements so that they can determine quickly whether they will be able to use their personal equipment or rely on the computer labs for accessing SL. I suggested that they explore the SL web site like I did; but most of them did not. Next time, that will be part of the assignment.

I will continue to do one thing as it was invaluable to me and to the students....I met with them individually and in small groups to discuss the concerns they had once they got through Orientation Island. I asked them what kinds of activities they engage in when they visit another country. This usually started a lively conversation about similar things they could do in SL. These conversations created a multitude of "teaching moments". It was also helpful to have our Project Leader/Reference Librarian (Alexia Hudson) at these sessions because she had landmarks that I did not have and has knowledge of virtual worlds from a corporate and external perspective that is invaluable. We were able to provide SL resources for the students, such landmarks for freebies, places of interest such as The Weather Channels island, SL Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Globe Theatre, Chichinitzen in Mexico, the Ivory Tower of Prims, etc. Usually, once a student/avatar got a landmark they were interested in, they were off to explore it! I used these talks to teach them about the mechanics of SL, such as how to make their avatar sit down...smile!

As with other distance education, teaching in a virtual world requires an inordinate amount of preparation and scripting. By scripting, I mean setting up all of the activities and due dates in advance. For example, in the spirit of open source and Second Life, I told the students that they had until "the weekend" to get through Orientation Island and meet me at PSGV. Well, that didn't work out so well. I should have given a firm date...and more importantly, DETAILED instructions. I wanted them to wander and explore as I did, but I realized very quickly that it is a class assignment to them (and time is short in a 7-week class), so they need clear instructions on how to do things. Next time, I'll give each of them a notecard with instructions and places to go to explore.

The other issue for an instructor is in-world office hours. I scheduled in-world office hours for the night when we do not have class. Well, if you have students who are taking 2 classes (i..e, 4 nights a week), they can't come to office hours; so I have had to schedule office hours by appointment on the weekends. Since I'm an avid Second Lifer by now...that's not a difficulty, but it's something to think about if you decide to use SL in your classes.

I apologize for such a long post. I hope it was helpful. I'm sure other issues will come to mind as I do my post mortem on this first class. I am looking forward to learning from others' experiences!

Peggy D. Lee, Asst Prof of Management, Penn State Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies (SL: Linda Sautereau)