August's Activity

August has been a buzz of activity with a lot of the detailed work being done in preparation for the delivery of the training in October. I have drawn heavily from Cathy's blog to ensure I capture all this fantastic effort. August was also a big month for Cathy as she successfully completed her TAA qualification. Well done!

Early on in August Helaine and Cathy started mapping out the activities for the Orientation with lots of input from Susan. The idea was that Orientation would occur like a Treasure Hunt, with everyone having to complete different tasks that required the development of some basic skills needed to effectively work in Second Life. As an aside Cathy 'gave' Helaine and Susan a Pegasus so they could practise using the treasure hunt map. Susan proved to be quite the unicorn rider and managed to land on a bridge which is no mean feat!

In terms of course content so far work has progressed well and includes a plan for:

• Students logging into Moodle everytime to collect lesson plans/instructions
• A registration day - adding friends, teleporting and group photo
• Information day - OHS, course overview, learning outcomes and get to know you exercises
• Orientation day - treasure hunt, lots of photos and discussions on selecting a major project
• Quizzes, group outings and role plays on OHS and staying safe in Second Life
• Excursion to Ohio Uni's Women's Education resource library
• Excursion day - going on the trips each student planned as their major project
• Feedback and break up party
  

In preparation for the second Trial in August Jenine lent a hand with posting all the instructions onto the Moodle. Cathy's partner Rich, set to work and 'built' a lounge and chairs in our beautiful Island beach classroom and Helaine sent out a message to all the team to be registered, posted on Moodle and be ready to go at 10am sharp!

And so we began....

This time Helaine, Cathy and the team were all in separate rooms and this helped maked it seem more real. We all teleported to 'home' and took our seat on the 'lounge'. This proved to be a bit of a giggle as some just couldn't get their Avatar to sit and one found their Avatar sitting right 'in' the lounge with legs semi buried. The biggest annoyance for us all was that despite having our headsets all working, there was problems with feedback and echoing which made it impossible. Initially we tried to recify the problem but with little success. We did find out later that there was a broader issue with voice across the Asia Pacific region, which again just demonstrates that there is always a risks with technology and some things we have no control over.

In the end Helaine was the only person who was 'allowed' to use voice and the rest of us 'students' commuincated using local chat and instant messaging. This was semi successful because with Helaine and Cathy not in the physical room we just talked to each other instead of using the tools! As a result of this more time will be given to teaching the real students how to use local chat and instant messaging during the actual delivery because it does require a degree of confidence and skill to make it work effectively.

Helaine invited each Avatar to introduce themselves to the group and tell them why they chose their Avatar's name. This proved a bit time consuming because we had to type our answers and not everyone is a touch typist. Also, people waited until the person before then had finished before starting to type their own answer.

Soon enough we broke up into pairs and headed off down the beach to start the treasure hunt. Poor Helaine and Cathy, there were Avatars in all directions. I think I have said it before educators are not good students. Poor Cathy had to give chase down the beach to catch one lost soul.

At each checkpoint we found 'note cards' that gave instructions on what to do and how to do it. Some of us found this easy, some did not. One of the problems is working out who does what in your pair and collecting the tools as you go. I missed collecting a very important piece of equipment, the actual treasure map with all the locations of the checkpoints. My mother always told me to follow my nose when I was a young girl, so I hung onto that little chestnut and did OK. At one point my partner and I got completely lost, (see the photo at the top of this post) but hey we were having fun.

Eventually we all made it to checkpoint three and at that point we decided to call our treasure hunt to an end. We ajourned to lunch for a debrief and the general consensus was:

• Everyone needs to know how to use various forms of communication
• Note cards are a great tool but the content needs careful consideration as it can be overwhelming
• The treasure hunt was great fun but it could be simplified and still get the results we are looking for
• There is alot of learning that can be done as a whole group rather than in pairs which would help speed things up and keep people focused
• It is good to have an orientation that people can go to in between scheduled group times and they can work through it at their own pace as much as they want

An important thing we all noticed is that there is so much happening on the computer screen when you are in Second Life. It can be distracting and a bit of sensory overload at the same time. It is important that we help the students to choose what to keep on their screens and what they can hide/reduce.

Overall the second trial provided us with more valuable information and is again shaping our thinking. Helaine and Cathy continue to modify the 'classroom' and the resources in Second Life and on the Moodle. Little things like using 'pose balls' to help people sit down and face the front without problems help to make sure our learners are not sidetracked unnecessarily.

We have a third trial planned for the 25th September and this time we will all be in different locations and suburbs. Should be fun! Tune in again to find out what happens......