I will be meeting up with Dennis Newson and anyone else who is interested to chat about my experiences in Second Life and what I see as the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to delivering English language instruction there.
I'd like to extend my thanks to Pete Sharma who appeared on 'Coffee With ..' on Sunday June 14th. I really enjoyed our discussion which covered, experiences in Second Life, Pete's views on blended learning, Interactive Whiteboards and a range of other technologies
You can listen to an audio recording of the chat here. Many thanks to Carol Rainbow for supplying the recording for the session again.
Recently, I've been doing quite a few interviews within Second Life as part of the Coffee With series, and one of the things that I've found most fascinating (apart from the insights of my guests of course) is the amount of text activity going on in the 'backchannel' while the interview is going on. Each time I ask the guest a questions, I see a stream of text chat appearing as almost everyone in the room adds their own comments and answers to the question I addressed to the guest. When this first started happening I found it incredibly distracting and a bit rude, but pretty soon realised that it was one of the most interesting aspects of this kind of event in Second Life and that there was some really valuable information being circulated behind and in response to what was happening in the interview and it wasn't being captured. This is rather a long introduction into why I find Today's Meet so interesting. Today's Meet is a very simple way to set up an instant text chat room. That isn't particularly anything new, but what is good is that they are promoting for use during classes, lectures, presentations etc, to capture the 'backchannel'. The idea is this:
You set up your instant chat room (just type in a name to create the URL)
Share the URL with the people in your class, lecture, presentation etc.
They log in and can chat and communicate with each other, share ideas, references, ask for clarification during the session.
You can either respond to the text during your session or review it at the end and clarify, confirm, refute, augment.
This makes the process of teaching/learning much more communal, collaborative, inclusive and hopefully engaging.
Of course this is a tool for those who are mobile connected, but still a good idea for those working in that context.
You will also have to get used to people tapping away during your session, but especially for those working with really large groups where addressing everyone questions and comments can be difficult I think this means of providing a 'backchannel' to enable peer support can be really useful.
Sunday 14th June 09 (GMT 18.00 = 11.00 PST) will see the next in our series of 'Coffee With ..' education chat shows on Edunation II in Second Life, so please do come along, join our audience and meet other people interested in developing education and learning within Second Life.
In this show I'll be interviewing, teacher, teacher trainer, and ELT author Pete Sharma. Pete is a Business English expert and has published books on blended learning. He also publishes weekly e-lessons for Macmillan and has his own office in Second Life.
This is a chance to come along and participate in discussion with an ELT and technology expert.
If you would like to come along and watch the show and join in the discussion, then go along to Edunation II or email Gavin at: gavin.dudeney@theconsultants-e.com. The event is free, but we are limited to 100 places. The show starts at GMT = 18.00 (GMT is 7 hours ahead of Second Life time, so that's 11.00 PST and 20.00 CET)
If you don't have a Second Life avatar but would like to know how to set one up then you can download instructions from here. Setting up a Second Life avatar
During the interview Jeremy shares his opinions on a range of topics including his first impressions of Second Life, how technology is impacting on his work, why he started to Twitter and the role of technology in teacher training.
If you enjoy listening to this interview, then come along on 7th June 2009 and join our interview and have Coffee With Pete Sharma.
To find out more about other events and courses organised by The Concultants-E check out their website: The Consultants-E
I hope you enjoy the interview and look forward to seeing you at the next Coffee With. Special thanks go to Carol Rainbow for the audio recording
Sunday 3rd May 09 (GMT 18.00 = 11.00 PST) will see the next in our series of 'Coffee With ..' educational chat shows on Edunation II in Second Life, so please do come along, join our audience and meet other people interested in developing education and learning within Second Life. In this show I'll be interviewing, teacher, teacher trainer, author and ELT guru Jeremy Harmer. Jeremy's books and writings have introduced a generation of teachers to ELT. He is also a regular conference speaker and musician.
This is a chance to come along and participate in discussion with one of the UK's most influential ELT writers.
If you would like to come along and watch the show and join in the discussion, then go along to Edunation II or email Gavin at: gavin.dudeney@theconsultants-e.com. The event is free, but we are limited to 100 places. The show starts at GMT = 18.00 (GMT is 7 hours ahead of Second Life time, so that's 11.00 PST and 20.00 CET)
If you don't have a Second Life avatar but would like to know how to set one up then you can download instructions from here. Setting up a Second Life avatar
This Sunday 15th March 09 (GMT 18.00 = 11.00 PST) will see the next in our series of 'Coffee With ..' educational chat shows on Edunation II in Second Life, so please do come along, join our audience and meet other people interested in developing education and learning within Second Life.
In this show I'll be interviewing Leon Cych (aka: Eyebeams Electricteeth) Leon Cych is a web designer, coder, teacher, poet, artist, broadcaster, journalist, independent consultant, advisor, teacher in ICT in education in the UK.
He is passionate about advancing the sound pedagogical exploitation of new technologies within the state school environment. Among the things we'll be discussing are his involvement in projects like Schools of the Future, the G20 Summit, the Holodeck project and his work on developing narrative based learning and learning communities within Second Life. Leon also has his own Learn4Life island in Second Life
If you would like to see some of his work and find out a bit more about him, checkout these links:
If you would like to come along and watch the show and join in the discussion, then go along to Edunation III and click the sign-up terminals or email Gavin at: dudeney@theconsultants-e.com. The event is free, but we are limited to 100 places. The show starts at GMT = 18.00 (GMT is 7 hours ahead of Second Life time, so that's 11.00 PST and 19.00 CET)
If you don't have a Second Life avatar but would like to know how to set one up then you can download instructions from here. Setting up a Second Life avatar
Sunday 15th February 2009 (GMT 18.00 = 10.00 PST) sees the return of Coffee With.
This is the forth in our series of 'Coffee With ..' educational chat shows on Edunation III in Second Life, so please do come along, join our audience and meet other people interested in developing education and learning within Second Life.
In this show I'll be interviewing Dennis Newson (aka: Osnacantab Nesterov) Formerly: University of Osnabrück, Webhead and member of SLexperiments
In the show I will be talking to Dennis about his experiences of starting off his Second Life as a digital immigrant, his observations of language teaching within Second Life and his recent foray into teacher training and development.
If you would like to come along and watch the show and join in the discussion, then go along to Edunation III and click the sign-up terminals or email Gavin at: dudeney@theconsultants-e.com. The event is free, but we are limited to 100 places. The show starts at GMT = 18.00 (GMT is 8 hours ahead of Second Life time, so that's 10.00 PST and 19.00 CET)
If you don't have a Second Life avatar but would like to know how to set one up then you can download instructions from here. Setting up a Second Life avatar
Just spotted this very interesting video about a mash up between Second Life and Google Earth. Best to watch and listen to the video to find out more.
This is a really nice development and is going to make those geography field trips from the classroom so much more interesting. I found the video on the Hackshaven Youtube channel, where you can find quite a few more videos if your interested in Second Life and its educational potential. Hackshaven also has a pretty interesting blog about Second Life called Hack's Haven. Some interesting articles there and also some pretty interesting Education related Delicious links too.
So if you have some spare time and want to keep up with what' happening in Second Life, it's well worth a look.
This Sunday 14th December (GMT 18.00 = 10.00 PST) will see the third in our series of 'Coffee With ..' educational chat shows on Edunation III in Second Life, so please do come along, join our audience and meet other people interested in developing education and learning within Second Life.
In this show I'll be interviewing Kim Anubis (aka: Kimberly Rufer-Bach) is owner, designer & producer of The Magicians (www.TheMagicians.us), a 3D interactive software development company that specializes in creating innovative Second Life content.
In the show Kim will be talking about the potential of Second Life for educational development and will be helping us to understand what's involved in working with a development company and managing projects within Second Life.
This is a unique opportunity to come along an interact with one of the leading developers within Second Life.
If you would like to come along and watch the show and join in the discussion, then go along to Edunation III and click the sign-up terminals or email Gavin at: dudeney@theconsultants-e.com. The event is free, but we are limited to 100 places. The show starts at GMT = 18.00 (GMT is 8 hours ahead of Second Life time, so that's 10.00 PST and 19.00 CET)
If you don't have a Second Life avatar but would like to know how to set one up then you can download instructions from here. Setting up a Second Life avatar
This Sunday 30th November (GMT 18.00 = 10.00 PST) will see the second in our series of 'Coffee With ..' educational chat shows on Edunation III in Second Life, so please do come along, join our audience and meet other people interested in developing education and learning within Second Life.
In this show I'll be interviewing Kyle Mawer from the British Council and finding out about the work he has been doing designing materials in the Second Life Teen Grid and about the forth coming opening of the British Council's island in the main grid.
Kyle describes the work of the British Council as "both an iconic virtual representation of Great Britain, and a rich setting in which learners of English can further their learning of the language and culture of the UK as well as raising awareness of visitors to the work and opportunities provided by the British Council."
Kyle is particularly interested in using the medium of gaming as a learning tool and adapts free online computer games for use with his classes. The games, materials and lesson plans he’s found, developed and successfully used have been posted on the wikispace he runs at http://kylemawer.wikispaces.com
If you would like to come along and watch the show and join in the discussion, then go along to Edunation III and click the sign-up terminals or email Gavin at: dudeney@theconsultants-e.com. The event is free, but we are limited to 100 places. The show starts at GMT = 18.00 (GMT is 8 hours ahead of Second Life time, so that's 10.00 PST and 19.00 CET)
If you don't have a Second Life avatar but would like to know how to set one up then you can download instructions from here. Setting up a Second Life avatar
Well anyone who keeps up with this blog on a regular basis will know that last Sunday (26th Oct 08) was my debut as a chat show host in Second Life.
Firstly I have to thank Gavin Dudeney from The Consultants-E for being my first guest and of course for sponsoring the series which will be taking place on his Edunation Island. Here's a quick clip of Gavin telling me about his 'Killer app' in Second Life and how he got pulled into working in Second Life.
The experience of being the show host was actually very enjoyable, even if somewhat surreal, with a native American appearing in loin cloth in the middle of the coffee table and at one point a young girl avatar running through the wall and into the audience!
Gavin was a very informative guest and talked about some of the difficulties and challenges of teaching language in Second Life as well as some of the amazing potential that virtual worlds offer for education.
We hope over the coming few days to be able to make the complete audio available for anyone who missed the event and wants to hear what Gavin had to say. Here are just some of the questions that Gavin answered:
What goes on at Edunation Islands 1 - 3 and what kind of people / institution are setting up business here?
Who comes on your TT courses? What’s thee typical profile?
The course uses Moodle with SL. Why the combination and will SL make Moodle redundant?
Could you tell us about the free teaching tools you’ve created?
Do you think SL is a viable place to for commercial language schools to make money from teaching?
Is communication in virtual worlds a new ‘genre’ of communication? Are the skills needed different?
It's often said that online learning isn’t suitable for beginners. Can beginners learn languages online in SL?
How can you over come the sense of coldness and lack of reaction while teaching in SL?
How should languages be taught in SL? Should schools be replicating classrooms?
What future developments would you like to see? What would you ask Linden Lab to develop to make language teaching more effective?
Is there a ‘killer app’ or characteristic that made you want to dedicate so much time to SL?
Have you thought about SL competitors and which ones would you consider shifting to?
For anyone thinking about getting involved in Second Life Education then check out the information on The Consultants-E website where you can find out about their training courses for teachers. Also worth checking out is Gavin's Blog That'SLife.
This is just a quick announcement about a free event for educators in Second Life. On Sunday 26th October at GMT = 18.00 (GMT is 7 hours ahead of Second Life time, so that's 11.00 to 12.00 PDT)
This will be a pretty informal event and there will be plenty of opportunity to ask questions and find out more about the work of one of the main innovators of ELT and teacher training in Second Life. You'll also be able to find out a bit more about some of the free educational tools Gavin has been developing for use in Second Life.
If you would like to come along and watch the show and join in the discussion, then go along to Edunation III and click the sign-up terminals or email Gavin at: dudeney@theconsultants-e.com. The event is free, but we are limited to 100 places.
To find out more about Gavin's work in Second Life, Check out his blog That'SLife
If you don't have a Second Life avatar but would like to know how to set one up then you can download instructions from here. Setting up a Second Life avatar
I've just been trying out the beta Lip synching feature of Second Life in preparation for a chat show I'll be doing this coming Sunday on Edunation III. I'm hoping to be able to create a video recording of the show and decided to see how well I could record video and use the lip synching feature to make it all look more realistic.
Well here are the results.
I'm actually quite impressed. I think it does add an element of realism that has been missing and greatly increases the potential of Second Life for creating Machinima or any other video or animation projects. If you want to have a go with the lip synching, this video shows you how to switch it on.
To create the movie I actually used two computers each with a seperate avatar on. I then used one avatar as the 'actor' and the other avatar to record the sound and video (recording was done on a MAC running I-ShowU) I then edited it with I-Movie and uploaded directly to YouTube from there.
If you would like to come along and watch the show and join in the discussion, then go along to Edunation III and click the sign-up terminals or email Gavin at: dudeney@theconsultants-e.com. The event is free, but we are limited to 100 places.
New 3D virtual worlds seem to be appearing almost everyday at the moment and here's another one. It's called Hangout and is still in private beta at the moment, so if you want to have a look around you'll need to apply for an invitation. This one claims to be designed for teens and if you watch the video on the homepage, it does look as though it will appeal to that age group.
It looks like each person will be able to have their own room which they will customise. The graphics look nice and there's a good level of customisation of the various rooms. They are boasting both voice and text chat and the ability to create audio playlists and videos in the rooms.
It doesn't say yet if it will be free, but there is mention of credit card payments on the terms of use, though this might not be for membership.
The terms of use also say that user between 13 and 17 need to get their parents approval to register, so hopefully they are taking security seriously.
Anyway, this could be one to watch if you're looking for an alternative to Second Life.
Following on from my posting last month on building in Second Life, here are 4 more video tutorials showing the basics of Inventory management and how to create folders and notecards within the inventory.
The first tutorial looks at how to open the inventory and create a new folder within it.
The second tutorial looks at how to create new notecards for sharing text and activties. This for me is one of the prime sources of deliveing materials to students as the text on Notecards is much clearer easier to read and manipulate than text on textures, so I find this a key function to enable effective teaching within Second Life.
The third tutorial looks at how to find things within the inventory by using the search. This can help to overcome what can be quite a frustrating problem.
The forth and final tutorial in this set looks at how to clear up the inventory and delete some of the multiple instances. Keewping your inventory under control can help make it easier to find things and also speed up your avatar when you log in to Second Life, as there will be less inventory items to download.
If you are new to or haven't tried Second Life yet, then I hope you find these videos useful and they encourage you to try it out. The videos were originally commissioned by The Consultants-E and are part of an introductory course for teachers they deliver on Edunation Island II and are used with their kind consent. You can access all the tutorials on my YouTube channel here:
Over the last few weeks I've been creating quite a long series of video tutorials for teachers wishing to use Second Life. These have been created on Edunation Island for the The Consultants-E and are to be used as part of one of their short courses that they run in Second Life.
This week I've started by adding a series of four tutorials on the basics of building and also one on setting up voice for SL. I'll be adding a few more each week.
You can see the first one on setting up voice here.
I've also added all of my WetPaint Wiki tutorials, so hopefully this will make them more accessible and also provide an embed code for anyone who wants to use them elsewhere.
For a few months now I've been thinking about writing an article about why I decided to rent an office in Second Life and how my virtual office there has changed the way I work and the kind of business I do. I booted up the MAC this morning to get started and saw this article from Web Worker Daily. Well I guess this will save me some of the bother. This is a really interesting article from Aliza Sherman about her usual business day in Second Life. Well worth a read.
I received my copy of There Fun Times today in my email box and was interested to see that Coca-Cola were opening and island in the 3D virtual world of There.com. It's amazing to see how many big brands now have a presence in a virtual world of some kind. It's especially surprising that Coca-Cola are using There.com as it has had none of the high profile publicity that Second Life has attracted. It may well be that There.com as attracted a big proportion of the younger age group that CC want to market to. There.com certainly has a much younger and lighter feel that SL and it does seem to be designed more around the concept of having fun ( in a less adult way).
Anyway it's good to see that Second Life isn't the only player and that big companies are looking beyond that and taking other virtual worlds seriously as a place to promote their brand.
