SL_Katharine


 * __**Mini-Research Project - To be completed for homework**__ Explore ITGS concepts and issues specific to Education and Training and the impact of technology
 * Use the Diigo feeds on the wiki as well as this Delicious set of bookmarks on SL
 * Write a paragraph describing the technical setup needed to access SL. Make sure it is clear so that a novice can start using SL from your instructions.
 * Write another paragraph defining these terms and using them to show understanding of the IT concept: avatar, machinima, teleport, render, streaming audio
 * What impact has SL or virtual worlds had on education? Explore these to write your answer:
 * MUD - what is a MUD? a MMORPGs? (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) ([|Definition], [|example] )
 * How could SL or similar virtual learning environment support learning?
 * []
 * Take notes from videos watched in class
 * Take notes from videos watched in class


 * What are the main issues with using SL - social and ethical?
 * digital citizenship - knowing how to relate to others inworld, knowing how to act, communicate, collaborate?
 * people and machines - getting used to your avatar....what else?
 * Issues with learning in a virtual world - what are these?
 * Find ONE news item to do with learning and teaching in a virtual world
 * Read this article and follow links: Charting the rise of virtual education

**Second Life Journal**
Thursday June 9th, 2011 We went into Second Life together. First, we took pictures of us all sitting on the middle bench, next to the teddy bear. Then, of us doing dance moves in front of the podium on the CISI building roof. The size of your skin affects the way you move. Like if you're wearing a skin of something very small, your movements are smaller(e.g. small stuffed animal, need more steps to walk as far than if you're wearing a human skin) your movements are, the bigger you are, the slower you walk(wearing snowman skin). When you're wearing a bigger skin than your previous one, you need to readjust the viewer, make it closer(smaller skin) or farther(bigger skin). When you're wearing a skin like the snowman skin, it looks kind of awkward when you try to sit down, like you're still standing (the snowman doesn't have any visible legs) and you end up blocking people, if you move in front of them. We were going to use the rest of the time to work on our machinimas, instead we decided to do one together as an example. Took a picture in front of an art exhibition painting and of floating in front of the BISS flag. Went exploring around the island, then to the barbeque/picnic area. Heard from Violet, that there was TARDIS in the river and along the beach area there were shells underwater. Found out that, you can cook hotdogs or hamburgers in the barbecue area by clicking on the grill, it gives you a choice between what kinds of food you want and if you want them fried, well-done, raw, etc. Then, we went to another building. I got lost along the way, then saw it from high up in the air. Today, my Second Life lagged a lot.

__Learned about new actions:__ __Dance:__ -Go to inventory. -Type in dance in the search bar. -Folder in the inventory. -Open folder, click on a dance, and click play.
 * Or just click on them in the gesture bar, dances are near the bottom.
 * Inventory folder - eight types of dances. I actually heard that there were more, like the chicken dance and the robot, but I couldn't find them.**


 * __Jump, used to get onto a higher platform__- press E once**
 * __Another way to fly__ - hold down E, page up(up) or page down(down) & macbook: up and down arrow keys**
 * __Run__ - press W twice**


 * Tuesday June 7th, 2011**
 * I signed onto Second Life a little earlier than usual. Went to the Freebie Factory. So far, one of my favorite things about Second Life is the freebies. There were a lot of boxes with clothes, attachments, furniture, skins, etc. It was one of those places specifically designed for n00bs, a benefit of Second Life, that I don't find on most sites. Most sites if you want something, you either have to pay for it in the site currency or by cash/credit card. I found a snowman skin. I guess this was probably where Shawn found his Snoopy skin. I spent most of the time trying on female avatar shirts and changing parts of my avatar. When, it was 9PM my avatar was in kind of a mess, with different parts from the other in the inventory. Finally, I changed to the snowman skin, then teleported to CISI island. I don't think we did much, just went exploring. There seemed to be connection problems, many people kept getting logged out. Flew around for a while, went to the roof, saw that someone put a teddy bear there.**


 * Tuesday May 31st, 2011**
 * Today, we were supposed to take pictures at the Great Wall. I signed in kind of late. I tried to find the Great Wall, in the search, didn't give me anything. Then I finally realized, that I should type in 'Great Wall of China', I was so used to just calling it the Great Wall. At first, when I got there, I couldn't find the meeting place. Then, I flew around and saw everyone. They were making poses and Mrs. Lindsay took the pictures.**


 * Tuesday May 24th, 2011**
 * We met on the roof of the CISI building. Mr. Cooperman was giving us a presentation on how to make a machinima. He even showed us how to make use of angles(using the view) and how to create special effects(e.g. fluttering cape). After the presentation, we went to the concert stage. He taught us how to get a free guitar. Then, he taught us how to use it, by wearing it, and using the cursor to strum the guitar by using the cursor to pull on the strings.**


 * Tuesday May 11th, 2011**
 * Today at 9:00PM we all signed into Second Life. When I got in, I was lost. I forgot what island we were going to, so I went to Orientation Island. I was really confused on how to get to the island, then I went to itgs.wikispaces. where there were instructions on how to get to the island. I followed the instructions (typed cisi into search), but when I teleported there I was on a different part of the island. I wandered around confused, for a while, then I opened up maps. Maps showed me where people(green dots) were and where there was "teaching" going on. There was a red arrow that lead me to the meeting place. For most of the time there, just wandered around. At around 9:30 PM, I signed out.**


 * Friday May 6th, 2011 **
 * Mrs. Lindsay gave us a letter to give to our parents. The letter was supposed to solve the problem of skeptical-eyed parents that thought we were playing games. The letter explained that we were going to be working in Second Life along with Dr. Cynthia Gerstl-Pepin and the Chinese International School(CISI). **


 * Thursday May 5th, 2011 **
 * Joining us for Second Life was Dr. Cynthia Gerstl-Pepin. Today, Mrs. Lindsay passed around the USB with Second Life for macbooks in it. People with pcs had to download Second Life from internet. After Second Life was installed, we created our accounts. First ended up in Orientation - Newcomer Island, it taught us how to walk, sit down, fly, and to teleport to islands. After, getting off of Newcomer Island, went exploring different islands like Munich, London, etc. (each country is modeled after the one in real life, same language/environment). Realized that, had to sign in as Advanced, since signing in Basic mode cannot go to Orientation Island (where we would all meet). Logged out and changed mode to Advanced. Restarted Second Life. In Advanced mode, I was logged out many times(connection problems). I found out how to get to Orientation Island (listed in Landmarks) and teleported there. Discussed about having meetings with WAB in Second Life instead and about the things we can create in Second Life. **

Friday May 6th, 2011
 * __Pre-Survey Questions__**

1) Describe your classroom personality (shy, outgoing, personable, engaged, etc).
 * __Questions about you as a Learner__**
 * Kind of quiet, participate a little bit. I don't say much, although I really am listening. If I don't understand, then I ask questions.**

2) How effective are you at communicating with other students and teachers on a day-to-day basis (Rate yourself from 1-5 with 1 meaning you are not effective and 5 meaning you are very effective).
 * I'd give myself a 3 because like I said in my first answer I don't talk or participate in discussions that much, but if I'm having trouble with an assignment then I will sometimes ask teacher for help.**

3) How important do you think it is for your learning to have a “sense of community” in the classroom? Please explain. **I think that it is important for learning to have a "sense of community" in the classroom. Can share and get ideas, working with others could lessen your own load?**

4) Are there some learning (classroom) activities where the use of technology helps you learn? If so, please explain why? **Research projects:**
 * Searching for information - search engines(Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc.)**
 * Citing resources - Bibme**
 * Presentations/ppt - Microsoft Powerpoint/Keynote**
 * Typing - Microsoft Word, NeoOffice, OpenOffice**


 * Lab report:**
 * Making charts/graphs (lab reports, categorizing data from experiments in graph) & Categorizing/Calculations - Numbers & Microsoft Excel**


 * Reflections/Journal entries - blogs/Ning, Wikispaces**
 * Communicating with group members - MSN, Elluminate, Skype(video), Wikispaces(posting and displaying information)**

5) Are there some learning (classroom) activities where technology does not help you learn? If so, please explain why?
 * Biology - taking notes, does not require typing, since teacher always gives printed sheets to write on.**

6) What are some ways that technology may connect people together?
 * __General Questions about Technology__**
 * chatrooms, Elluminate, "online whiteboards" - sharing ideas, one to one communication**
 * Social networks - Facebook, MSN, Twitter - sharing pictures, moods, what you are doing at the moment**

7) What are some ways that technology may make people feel disconnected?
 * Emphasizing distance(geographical) between people - in real life meetings (how far have to travel).**

8) Is there anything that you don’t like about technology? If so, explain. **Mostly, I like it because it's made life more entertaining and convenient.**

9) What role does technology play in your learning? **Technology has made my learning easier.**

10) Are there any ways that technology gets in the way of your learning? If yes, provide some examples. **Websites blocked by chinese government - Ning, solution: proxy.**
 * Bad internet connection - Elluminate sessions, kept losing connection, had to re-log in many times & yesterday May 5th, 2011 got logged out of Second Life a few times, when logged in as advanced mode.**

11) What are the virtual learning tools we use in the classroom already? Describe briefly how these are used to support your learning.
 * __Questions about Virtual Learning__**
 * Skype & Elluminate - Can meet with project partners. & Receiving discussion and feedback for projects.**
 * Wikispaces - Displaying project details & work.**
 * Ning - Blog posts/reflections & discussions.**
 * Microsoft Powerpoint - Used for making projects.**
 * Spreadsheets - Categorizing & complex calculations that humans cannot perform.**

12) What do you think are the advantages of using tools that allow us to connect and collaborate online? What are the disadvantages? **Advantages are getting ideas and feedback, planning with partners. Disadvantages are internet connections (constantly having to log back in again).**

13) Have you had a 3D virtual world experience before? If yes, describe your experience. **I once started downloading and registering for an "online game world", but stopped when I realized that it was taking too long/too much work to download all of it and to register(had to pay for it, had to get an "id"(not a username)/needed to pay for that too,etc.). I was surprised at how easy getting into Second Life was.**

14) What do you think classroom learning will be like inside a virtual world like Second Life (SL)? **It would be fun, many choices of islands (countries, clubs, fictional worlds,etc.).**

15) What importance, if any, do you place in creating your own avatar? **Your interests or preferences can be judged on how your avatar looks.**

16) What role do you think your avatar will play in how you interact with your classmates and teacher in SL? **Avatar is virtual self, don't think that there will be many differences than without Second Life. Actually, might be harder to find people - different usernames, appearances, and so many places to chat/islands.**

17) Do you think learning inside SL will be challenging? If so, how? **I think that it might be challenging. E.g. learning about all the commands that are used in Second Life, i.e. learning how to move around?**

18) What sort of classroom ITGS activities do you think will be possible inside SL? **Online meetings, creating own things(own space on school island),etc.**

19) How might relationships in a virtual world like SL be different from face-to-face interactions? **Gestures, expressions?**