Another Abstract for Another Conference
Ever feel like maybe, just maybe, you have too much to say to fit into the time and funds you have to attend confereces to say it? Pheww! If this one is accepted it will be six conferences for the next year all on SecondLife research. Way to advertise that diss, right?
“Please don’t attend class naked”: Understanding New Pedagogy Challenges in Virtual Worlds Such as SecondLife
How should an instructor react if a student attended class while cross-dressing, dressed as a monkey, or as a floating point of light? How would we react if students blipped in and out of existence during a class or were constantly talking over us as we delivered a lecture? While conduction courses in SecondLife, a 3-D virtual environment, these kinds of behaviors are common place. Turn taking in discussions changes; student behavior changes; the environment we consider a classroom changes; thus, our pedagogy must change. The traditional model of instructor in front and students in seats simply does not work in an online environment such as SecondLife. Attempts to shoehorn old pedagogy into new technologies brings us dangerously close to Friere’s “banking model” as instructors struggle to acclimate to new learning environments by falling back to tried and true models of disseminating knowledge instead of fostering its independent growth.
In this presentation I will begin by outlining the unique difficulties of developing pedagogy for immersive 3-D worlds. Drawing examples from other instructors and my own experience, I will illustrate the ways that old pedagogy conflicts with the existent learning models in realms such as SecondLife. Next, I will draw on pedagogy theorists such as Peter Elbow, Mark Bracher, Paulo Friere, and Stanley Fish to describe the kinds of “radical pedagogy” that will help us confront the shifting spaces in which learning occurs in today’s online classrooms. I will conclude by suggesting new ways to think about empowering students through independent and collaborative processes based on fostering a love of learning rather than a dependence on instructor-supplied materials.
July 8th, 2006 at 12:19 pm
I absolutely agree with you. When I first read the part about students chatting while the teacher is lecturing, I said, “Why is s/he lecturing!!”
I have had the chance in the past couple of weeks to have conversations with folks who are relatively new to Second Life, but who are very interested/excited about using it as an instructional medium either for on- or off-campus students. Each time, I’ve gotten questions about how to upload slides for slideshows, ways to seat people in rooms, etc. While there is nothing evil about such things, it is so sad that instructors would revert to old models simply because they are convenient.
The strength of SL lies not its ability to replicate what we do in RL, but what we CAN NOT do in RL. So, if one is teaching about narrative construction - the SL-based class would be wise to stay away from talking about narrative discussion (which can be done through IM without avatars), but actually DO narrative construction in the sense of making stories and meaning from what is happening in the environment. In fact, it’d be a great experiment to have students build certain places/things, watch how other avi’s interact with those things, and then have each person build her or his own narrative from those experiences. So - walk around in a bikini, or dress like a dragon, or crawl through a maze of giant insects … not all advised in RL, but they would make for some wonderful stories nonetheless.
Object, or visual, literacy & language is where it’s at for me in SL. I can’t wait to talk to others more about it.
July 8th, 2006 at 2:52 pm
Milosun: I’m glad this strikes a chord with you. I think lots of educators in SL are fighting the urge to use pedagogy that just doesn’t fit. We have a few good models for developing different methods but we could certainly do with more. Be sure to let us all know what you’re working on so we can all learn from each other. We’ll be accumulating some lesson plans on www.simteach.com so be sure to check it out if you haven’t.
Intellagirl
July 13th, 2006 at 12:48 pm
Yes, your comment about talking over the lecturer stuck a chord with me also - but for a completely different reason. I’ve been in SL for 8 months as a grad student and graduate assistant with a major U.S. university. However, I’m also a DISTANCE student within that program. As distance students, I must tell you, that as the professor lectures online via Breeze, we are VERY frequently using the private chatboxes to check in with each other, verify correct information, further discuss concepts and pre-plan group activities. It is a concurrent, constructive learning activity! If one begins to think of the SL environment as a distance learning environment - some different pedagogies may come to light! It is now well established that a distance learning environment is not the virtual equivalent of a bricks and morter classroom environment. It is something unique.. and exciting! I’m looking forward to what you find out!