EDUCAUSE Southwest Regional Conference Jan. 19, 2010

Thanks to Hobbs Constantine for the photos. You can see more at the ELI group at Flickr.

AJ Brooks: say you rname please and where you are from

Bau Ur: /Unfortunately the hype was hot at the very time that SL was very unstable. Voice would fail for days at a time, lag would shoot up suddenly, notecards would fail to open, scripts would freeze. There seems to be much less hype now, when SL is actually quite a bit better for educational purposes.

Margaret Michalski: At my institution I have seen an increase due to introduction on an individual basis vs. larger groups.

Shannon Rutkowski: (we do have SL displayed on two really large screens here, so we are seeing all of your text chat here - thank you!)

AJ Brooks: that's where the rubber meets the road

AJ Brooks: great point

AJ Brooks: EDUCAUSE has really run with this ball

AJ Brooks: please say your name and where you are from

AJ Brooks: hi gloria

AJ Brooks: hi milt

Bau Ur: Yes exactly! The learning curve to be able to do anything here is ridiculous!

AJ Brooks: it may be hard for us - for the students, its pretty easy

AJ Brooks: its not too far off the games they are playing, as far as GUI

Arielion Clawtooth: And don't forget the "F" word...Firewalls!

Tara Essel: I don't think the learning curve is ridiculous.

AJ Brooks: wow

Margaret Michalski: Does it perform just as well?

hobbs Constantine: nice tip, flashdrive

Shannon Rutkowski: It does, Margaret.

AJ Brooks: thef lashdrive thing is awesome

Margaret Michalski: flashdrive is a good option

Jacqueline Langer: I do have to say I have never tried Second Life until I found out that PSU was on it. I am impressed by the fact the university is willing to use something like this for education. However I do find the graphics a little rough

Zotarah Shepherd: The more complex and flexible the tool the greater the learning curve. I would not want SL simpler at the expense of creativity

Kate Miranda: Getting positive press for activities in Second Life is very difficult. I worked for a year in order to get a major arts critic to do a story on classical music in SL... and even then his Editor pressured him to make some mention of negatives, but we did get a good feature story out of it.

Oronoque Westland: most PCs on my campus are clunkers, even the newer ones have low level graphics cards

Shannon Rutkowski: That's great to hear, Jacqueline! Thanks for saying so!

AJ Brooks: onsite or in world

AJ Brooks: hi Randolph!

Arielion Clawtooth: Flashdrives are being used to hack computers so expect some security issues with those at some places.

Coinneach Brunswick: go wildcats

Oronoque Westland: student success is better when you use the better portals and orientations

Tara Essel: Students are becoming and *must* become very adept at learning complex systems very quickly. This is just one of them.

Valibrarian Gregg: The learning curve may be high for adults but the next generation is already active in virtual worlds and will find it a natural extension for learning.

AJ Brooks: I like Virtual Ability

AJ Brooks: also, ISTE and NMC have good support orientation areas

Oronoque Westland: yes, Virtual Ability is tops

Arielion Clawtooth: Yes. Virtual Ability is the best I've seen.

Bau Ur: Yes, and Orientation Station is still very good.

Oronoque Westland: yes

AJ Brooks: it is immersive, keeps with the theme of SL

AJ Brooks waves at shannon

hobbs Constantine: yuck-- traditional orientation

Jacqueline Langer: My husband has a new gaming pc with all the works so maybe the game wouldn't look so rough on his. Still I think it's a great way for people to interact at an educational level and not feel so distanced.

Kate Miranda: Ah piffle, Valibrarian, I am in my late 50's and compute rings around most students, let's not bow to agist prejudice

[Iggy's note: though I could not be present at the meeting, I agree 100% with Kate. I find students lag my skills considerably, because they struggle with complexity and ambiguity. The SL interface presents those in boatloads. Most of the hard-core gamer-kids do better, but most UR students play very simple games, so SL's UI confuses them to no end, as does inventory and avatar customization.]

Valibrarian Gregg: Many librarians are collaborating here in SL and provide reference services on Info International Island.

AJ Brooks: Kate, I don't see it as age prejudice - fact is, older students who I've done orientations for don't pick up as quickly - for the most part

Valibrarian Gregg: I agree, Kate, I just meant that the numbers of youth (particularly preteens) in virtual worlds is gigantic.

Oronoque Westland: I teach blended so my students and I meet together in a PC lab to get started in SL

AJ Brooks: pick up SL, I meant - not pick up anything

Tara Essel: Median age for SL users is mid-30s.

AJ Brooks: yay!

Arielion Clawtooth: Registration API. Cost?

Shannon Rutkowski: No cost - you just need Linden Lab to approve you

Shannon Rutkowski: There's information on the Linden Lab site.

AJ Brooks: LIZZZZZZZZZZZ

AJ Brooks waves at Chimera

Valibrarian Gregg: Kzero reports 17 million users in SL (adults) and 148 million users in Habbo Hotel (median age 14) last Fall.

Shannon Rutkowski accepted your inventory offer.

AJ Brooks: shannon - I just dropped a KZero graph giver to you - can you rez that for me

AJ Brooks: I can't rez things

Shannon Rutkowski: holy cow AJ

Tara Essel laughs.

AJ Brooks: lol

Coinneach Brunswick: coool

AJ Brooks: can I talk about that

Bau Ur: Does anyone think that removing a lot of the "adult content" to a separate compartment made SL more acceptable to educational institutions? For a time the publicity on sexual content in SL was such that I hesitated to let any other educators know that I even had an avatar here.

Shannon Rutkowski: :D

Reginald Golding: looks like something id build. smidgey oversized :D

Arielion Clawtooth: Typical student" "HE MADE ME!" ;o)

Valibrarian Gregg: http://www.kzero.co.uk/

Shannon Rutkowski: Bau - yes I think so - and... for corporations too. It's harder to get buy-in if you can walk to the next parcel over and see adult content.

AJ Brooks: and I miced off

Jacqueline Langer: I agree Bau. If a site like this is too explicit then I would immagine that for teachers as well as students being in such a sexual setting would take away from the respectable nature of the class room as well as how serious learning should be.

AJ Brooks: Hi Carolyn!

AJ Brooks: lol

hobbs Constantine: who--- aaa science

Tara Essel: We have bars pretty close to campus. I don't think it takes away from the seriousness of the classroom setting.

Azwaldo Villota: Clowey's blog: http://simbioticbiome.wordpress.com/

Bau Ur: hmm but a "forced feminizaton" sexual fetish role playing area right next to my art gallery...not the same as a pub next to the art building on campus :)

Margaret Michalski: I believe that planning is very important.

Shannon Rutkowski: I think learning can/should be fun and I actually think there's a lot to learn even *about* having adult content near your classroom space, but I do think a lot of adminstrators would have problems with it.

Arielion Clawtooth: Immersion and Engagement are the key concepts.

AJ Brooks: I'd like ot hear from someone who is NOT in SL

Azwaldo Villota: Do higher ed programs for developing instruction in virtual worlds provide budget for content creation?

AJ Brooks: there in Austin

Bau Ur: Is anyone there using SL for discussion sections in foreign language?

AJ Brooks: what brought them to the meeting

AJ Brooks: wow!

AJ Brooks: nope, not mine

hobbs Constantine: "budget ' = free (student) labor ? smirk

Azwaldo Villota: six of how many?

Valibrarian Gregg: My university gave me a small budget for content creation on our island.

Azwaldo Villota: thank you

Margaret Michalski: all is based on out of pocket

AJ Brooks: we have money for our maintenance, nothing for in world stuff

AJ Brooks: we do for free or we do without

Arielion Clawtooth: Same here AJ

Kate Miranda: My project at Music Island is entirely out of my pocket and dependent on donated space.

AJ Brooks: shannon rocks

Tara Essel: totes

hobbs Constantine: indeed, Shannon has an awesome job

MaryJoesphine Glas: Is there a list of resources or groups that you would recommend. Groups that might help create interest and inpiration

AJ Brooks: plus, she is awesome at it

AJ Brooks: MaryJoesphine - I'm partial - but I recommend the EDCAUSE and VWER groups

Tara Essel: I need to scoot. Nice seeing all of you lovely folks! Have a great conference.

Bau Ur: hmm...and, students who have the most vivid *soicial* memories of their education are more likely to donate to the universities thorughout their lives. Willingness to donate corellates more closely to social experiences in college than to academic experiences.

Shannon Rutkowski: Bye Tara!

AJ Brooks: www.GiveMeAllYourMoney.com

Bau Ur: and ples

AJ Brooks: just kidding

Shannon Rutkowski: Absolutely, Bau. And Penn State has the largest dues-paying alumni association in the country

hobbs Constantine: lol

Arielion Clawtooth: Do you supply virtual ice cream to the folks who can't get to the real life "Creamery"?

Bau Ur: and please pardon my hideous typos. I have bandaids on three fingers :)

Shannon Rutkowski: We provide a link for them to order ice cream online :D

AJ Brooks: we all speak Typonese, Bau

hobbs Constantine: oh no!

Bau Ur: Does anyone think that it will be helpful for LL to create a certification program to help institutions find competent builders to create their infrastructure in SL?

Arielion Clawtooth: Preach it, sister!

AJ Brooks: Clever Zebra

hobbs Constantine: The idea is to do on SL what you cannot do in RL...so no need to recreate hte campus necessarily

AJ Brooks: They have an entire freebie building set

AJ Brooks: HI Jason!

Arielion Clawtooth: And when you DO build you don't need to have EVERY brick & leaf.

Shannon Rutkowski: unless that's exactly what you're trying to do, hobbs :)

Margaret Michalski: EdTech island also lets you use their area for lectures.

AJ Brooks: replicas are a good marketing tool

AJ Brooks: WOW - how cool!

Shannon Rutkowski: I'm not sure the idea is to do what you cannot do in RL. I think the idea is to do whatever you want to do. :) You may need SL for one reason, and I may need SL for a completely different reason

Bau Ur: I build stuff for free for educators. Twice people have wanted me to do to-scale versions of campus buildings and it has been very hard to explain that doing things to scale here doesn't usually work very well.

hobbs Constantine: @Shannon: that's why I added "necessarily" but I get the importance of place, we are still human beings

Valibrarian Gregg: The University of Washington offers a course in SL called "Certificate in Virtual Worlds."

AJ Brooks: Hi Amin!

Arielion Clawtooth: That Plato concept is the real strength of Virtual Worlds, to visualize a concept you can't in real life.

AJ Brooks: AMEN!

Shannon Rutkowski: I think it always comes back to the 'experience'.

AJ Brooks: we've built 3 islands (for MSU) on no budget

hobbs Constantine: yes, yes, strength within your weakness

Bau Ur: As time goes on you are very likely to have competent builders in your student body.

Arielion Clawtooth: ANd that gets them involved, too.

AJ Brooks: At one of our recent meetings, someone said "Its the people, not the prims"

Arielion Clawtooth: "Peeps, Not Prims!"

Margaret Michalski: it is also very important not to give up too early.

AJ Brooks: can everyone here in SL say who they are, where they work, etc... here in text chat - so we have it in the log

AJ Brooks: I'm AJ Kelton, Director, Emerging Instructional Technology for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Montclair State University

Azwaldo Villota (former teacher, and SL scripter) is interested in helping educators to develop interactive content...often works for virtual peanuts (which can be provided).

Margaret Michalski: Margaret Czart, University of Illinois at Chicago- Research Information Specialist & Doctoral Student.

hobbs Constantine: Heather Dodds, Math and Science Program Community Facilitator, Western Governors University, 100% online

Coinneach Brunswick: Hello, Ken Meyer, Assistant Director, Career Services Center, Eastern Michigan Univrsity

Zotarah Shepherd: I am a MA in Education (technology and psychology) student at Sonoma State University in northern California working on a curriculum project: Teaching and Learning Life-Skills in Second Life.

AJ Brooks: be sure to introduce yourself here in local chat, everyone

Azwaldo Villota: Must away...hate to leave so early! Thank you Shannon, AJ. Cheers All.

AJ Brooks: Hi Janet!

Shannon Rutkowski: Thank you!

Valibrarian Gregg: Valerie Hill, school librarian and doctoral student at Texas Woman's University

MaryJoesphine Glas: Claudia Coyne, Colgate University, ccoyne on twitter and I research web 2.0 tools

hobbs Constantine: claps for Janet

AJ Brooks: f2 f2 f2

Oronoque Westland: Roberta Kilkenny, Hunter College, City University of New York

Kate Miranda: Linda Rogers, Arts Administrator living in Toronto. I was Executive Director of the Toronto Philharmonia when I started Music Island. I so much am enjoying the SL Music project I have dropped back to parttime and freelance arts administration. I am Company Manager of Puppetmongers Theatre this year and I provide freelance grantwriting services and manage a few Toronto area musicians and recently have become the North American manager for three European artists/ensembles that I met through Second Life

Bau Ur: High school chemistry, biology, environmental studies, and art teacher; also ESL tutor. Originally came to SL hoping to create virtual models and animations for chemistry instruction. Was disappointed to find that the internal tools are not really adequate for that. Found that it's a very good place for ESL (English as a Second Language) since Voice became stable!

Firery Broome: University of Delaware, VW faculty & student support, UD islands caretaker, builder.

AJ Brooks: lol

Sorcs Nolan: Neal Cross, Southwest Baptist University, Dir of Instructional Technology

Valibrarian Gregg: I need to run. Thanks to everyone. :)

Shannon Rutkowski: Thanks Valibrarian!

AJ Brooks: there are also less laggy viewers

AJ Brooks: the Rainbox viewer is very good

hobbs Constantine: nice tip, thank you

Margaret Michalski: @ Aj, do you have a url for that?

Bau Ur has gone to some really excellent art history seminars in SL

AJ Brooks: http://my.opera.com/boylane/blog/rainbow-viewer

hobbs Constantine: @Bau, I'm not giving up on SL for science at all....I think our time will arrive

AJ Brooks: I use this on my Netbook, which would not run SL at all

AJ Brooks: wow - how cool is that?

Shannon Rutkowski is @micala on twitter for anyone using twitter who might want to connect there, too.

AJ Brooks: virtual hallucination

Margaret Michalski: For me the best resource are other educators

You decline 1/19 Eduverse Info from A group member named Delta Carlucci.

MaryJoesphine Glas: yes yes I agree

AJ Brooks: CLiVE is working on that with Merlot

Coinneach Brunswick: Outstanding

AJ Brooks: Center for Learning in a Virtual Environment

Zotarah Shepherd: I am setting up LMs to many builds in SL that augment the topics of my sim.

Firery Broome: http://virtualmacbeth.wikispaces.com/

Firery Broome: Angela shares all her resources

Firery Broome: is in Australia so free to use as long as you do not clash with her classes

Margaret Michalski: I created a folder with slurls of health areas to visit.

hobbs Constantine: http://simteach.com/sled/db/

Shannon Rutkowski: go ahead AJ :)

Juice Gyoza: http://uwmsecondlife.wikispaces.com

Zotarah Shepherd: Voice very soft AJ

Coinneach Brunswick: yes

Zotarah Shepherd: Yes

AJ Brooks: http://www.educause.edu/groups/vw

hobbs Constantine: http://www.virtualworldsedu.info/

hobbs Constantine: Also please join Facebook group "VWER"

Chimera Cosmos waves from Austin

hobbs Constantine: waves back from SL

Mimi Muircastle: hi all - back - big storm here, power flickering :)

Chimera Cosmos: and iPhone:-)

AJ Brooks: f2 f2 f2

AJ Brooks: YAY!!!!!!!!

AJ Brooks: \O/

Bau Ur: Take care Mimi.

Coinneach Brunswick: thank you!

Reginald Golding: Thank you Juice, Micala, AJ, and everyone

AJ Brooks: bye everyone