September's Activities

September has been busy with finalising the plans for delivering the training with real learners commencing the first week of Term 4. As a group we decided to have a third trial in September rather than a team meeting, to give us a chance to put into practice what we learnt from the first and second trial. More on the trial later.

This month we have been promoting our project at every opportunity. After contacting our marketing department, Helaine and Cathy had a phone interview and we provided background information and photos. Shortly after there was an article about our project in the inDFEEST newsletter. I was also approached by staff from the Knowledge Tree E-journal http://kt.flexible.earning.net.au to make a contribution to the next edition. This entailed me logging in and providing verbal responses to a set of eight questions about VET Practitioners and E-learning. Most of my responses were informed by my experience of being involved with our project and what we have learned. Additionally, we have also been approached to present at the "Showcasing E-learning" on-line conference 4-5th November http://networks.events.flexiblelearning.net.au . Helaine and Cathy will be presenting our project on the 4th November. We will also be presenting at E-dayz which we are very excited about. Hope you come to our session!

This month we have also been continuing to finalise our evaluation framework in preparation for the delivery phase and again a big thanks to Ian for all his support. So far we have our framework for the evaluation, we have identified the areas we need to focus on, decided the methods for collecting data and now Ian is developing up the questions that we will use. There is a lot of interest in the research we will be undertaking in our project and we are excited by the prospects of being able to contribute back to the e-learning community.

Technology has continued to be challenging for various reasons but as always the issues just continue to reinforce how important it is to plan and prepare for when the technology doesn't work and to use preventative measures as well. A recent example is that Cathy's USB stick became corrupted and she thought she may have lost all of her files for the project including powerpoints, word documents and images. Fortunately she located a recovery program and was able to recover her files. This program can be found at http://www.tucows.com/preview/504783 if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, however, the learning here is to back up your files!

Cathy and Helaine have finally managed to get Helaine's voice on all of the powerpoint resources but there are still some issues with 2003/2007 office compatibility. The solution here has been to save the files in various formats including PDF so that they can be printed off for any learners who prefer a hands on approach.

Communication via technology has also continued to proved to be challenging and this has prompted Helaine and Cathy to develop a reference guide with very basic step by step instructions and hints for troubleshooting Skype, voice in Second Life, local chat and individual messaging. They have come us with the catchy name of 'Can you hear me now? - communication matters' and it has been uploaded along with all the other resources onto the project's moodle.

And now to the 3rd trial....

Having 2 trials under our belt already and a whole lot of learning it was decided that this time all the teams would log into Second Life off campus or from their desks and not be in the same room! The focus of the trial was to test the refinements and to get feedback from the team ready for the start of term. There were again some issues with voice as Helaine was having trouble with her sound card and had to change to another computer which put a bit of a spanner in the works. However, once this was resolved to a satisfactory point the trail moved on to cover:

• Communication techniques including local chat and individual messaging (IM)
• Exchanging of teleport invites
• Adjusting microphone levels
• Finding friends & groups
• Mini-map use
• Flying, sitting and standing
• Adding friends
• Personal inventory usage
• Opening boxes of clothers & putting them on
• Setting Capricorn Cove as "home" for the purpose of the course

This really represents where our learners will begin when they start with us in Term 4, this first introduction and orientation will really prepare them for engaging fully into the Second Life environment. The risk with not addressing these fully is that it will divert attention away from the actual training we want to deliver. These areas really are the basic skills for being able to communicate and interact in the Second Life environment and the are in stark contrast to the basic skills of a classroom based learner.

Overall the trial went exceptionally well, the team have given feedback that it was a productive session. Some team members really enjoyed being able to hear Helaine and Cathy but not having to speak back, but instead use local chat. Others liked the fact that this time round there was more time to sit in one place and just focus on a few key skills before attempting anything. For one team member who was at home with demanding children fighting to get their attention, it was a very real representation of what it could be like for our learners. This member found it hard to concentrate but was able to cope and this is a good indiction that we are on the right track with how we structure this first session and subsequent sessions so they are manageable under different situations the women may find themselves in.

At the end of the day it seems we have gotten both the content and pace right which is fantastic. The trials have really been beneficial.

Stay tuned for the commencement of our project with learners next week and we will try to bring you a journal entry on each session.

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......

July Activity

From L to R Susan, Cathy, Michelle, Rianna, Karen, Janette and Helen at the 1st Trial.

Helaine, our Project Facilitator, leading us in Second Life. The team in the background.

In July we conducted our first Trial to test our induction and orientation materials. We met in the Women's Ed IT suite at Elizabeth campus during the holidays and cracked the packaging on the headsets. We shared the room with an electrician who was also working on the lighting and at times Helaine our Project Facilitator had to compete with an electric drill!

To start with the headsets didn't work and we all found out that there is more to making them work than just trying to turn up the volume. Luckily our Learner Rep Cathy knew exactly what to do and stepped us through the process, which has now been turned into a electronic guide for the learners. This was a bit like hearding cats though as she tried to get everyone to pay attention so she only had to do this once. Sorry Cathy, educators make the worst students!

Next step was registering in Moodle and locating the Second Life group. Helaine had put a digital welcome on the Moodle which gave the heads up on what to expect, where to find the resources and step by step instructions via a powerpoint 'how to'. The first task was to set up and register to use Skype. This turned out to be much harder than it should have been as Skype was having a bad day. It took ages to load then when it did we couldn't register and use it as it kept dropping out and telling us to try again. So much for our backup communication system if voice doesn't work in Second Life! Oh well we moved on.

Finally we were up to registering in Second Life and for some of us this was a slow process as we cautiously followed the powerpoint, switching between screens to make sure we did everything right. Others who are IT savvy, fearless or were already registered and had an Avatar flew on ahead. It was at this point we hit a major hurdle, we had reached 5 registrations under the TAFE IP address, and some of us got a message telling us we couldn't proceed with our registration. So that meant there were some with an Avatar and then there were the rest of us that could go no further.

Well not to be deterred we got on the phone and tried everyone we could think of to get some advice on what others in the same situation had done. Message banks all round!!! Everyone was on holidays. IT couldn't help us with this one because we needed Second Life to tell us what was really wrong and that wasn't going to happen there and then. So we moved on regardless with what we had and in my case Cathy let me use her Avatar as I am a real live example of someone for whom Second Life is completely foreign and therefore a good test dummy.

Next thing for us to do was to all meet at Cathy's Island for our Second Life welcome. Unfortunately this is where the mob went quite wild, the worst was me I think. There are lots of buttons, lots of options, things to see, the ability to fly and much much more in Second Life. So getting everyone to listen and follow the welcome was again a bit like herding cats, nearly impossible. I found the gesture drop down box and had a lovely time clicking on all the different types of gestures one's Avatar can make. I laughed and giggled away as my Avatar did a jig, waved, blew kisses and then unbeknown to me sang a rather rude song. Cathy's Avatar is quite an advanced young women with lots of customised gestures. As my headset wasn't working properly I didn't realise that my Avatar was making a lot of rude sounds and saying rude things! The text box doesn't quite do the whole gestures thing justice. Once Cathy got my headset sound right and I heard some of them I stopped straight away.....I promise.

We then were introduced by Helaine to the TV screens in our meeting place which explained to us how to invite each other to be friends and then start interacting. There was lots of 'talking' and we all tried to help one of us who couldn't quite work out how to walk to the group and face the screens. We all got there in the end and the trial really helped us to understand what it will be like to be a learner in Second Life. We are all looking forward to the second trial on August 28th.

We are actually thinking that our orientation and induction process might actually be a good 'module' and that as a side product we could later, run some peer training with other educators who want to start working with Moodle, Skype and Second Life.

We all learnt quite a lot from the trial including how important it is to have a back up plan for when the technology fails. Because our class itself exists within the technology, when the technology goes on the blink we can't communicte with our class to say OK lets switch to another print based activity or run an impromptu class activity. We have to plan and think ahead and communicate to the learners what needs to happen when the technology fails.

One of the frustrations for the project has been gaining access to the TAFESA Island. The increased used of the TAFESA Island has resulted in a management committee being established. This has slowed things right down and despite the intent to give each of the three TAFE Institutes equal access on the Island the reality is it has gotten caught up in a bit of red tape. As we needed a space immediately so that Helaine and Cathy could set up the resources and equipment in Second Life ready for the Trial we had to make other arrangements. Fortunately for us Cathy has a partner in Second Life and together they have their own Island which they have allowed us to use for the project. This enables us to tell our learners where to teleport in, to have a secure space that cannot just be accessed by anyone and provides us with excellent physical facilities within a beautiful environment. We can also leave our resources there without fear that they will be moved or removed. Our trial could never have occured without this fantastic support and we are so grateful.

Tune in again later in August to find out how our trial goes and to see our Avatars.

June Activity

June was a busy month and a month of frustration!

We have been unable to get the Voice Client working in Second Life at Elizabeth Campus, which has been incredibly frustrating in terms of preparation of digital orientation materials. In the end we worked closely with IT Services and discovered that Voice Client only actually worked on one campus in TAFESA Adelaide North, Tea Tree Gully. The good news is that as a result of our project IT Services became aware of this situation and it has been rectified. This means we have paved the way for others!

Another issue for our project has been getting access to the TAFESA Island as it's popularity has grown so much it now needs a 'Management Committee' to administer it. This has held things up for us in terms of getting access to our own space with privacy and the ability for our learners to teleport in, but we are hopeful that things will get sorted very soon.

This month the team have been working on getting the orientation materials together including a fact sheet on the technical specifications that the learner's computers will needto have to successfully access and operate in Second Life. The project Moodle site which will house our resources has also been set up and we are in the process of linking this to SLoodle (moodle in Second Life). We have developed a Second Life media clip on our project which is accessible through YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLZn8kxLKEU&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Efacebook%2Ecom%2Fhome%2Ephp%3F&feature=player_embedded

As our project will result in a White Paper that will provide research that compares traditional classroom based training to training in Second Life, we have also started work on our Evaluation Strategy. We have made connections to the e-Learning Benchmarking project http://flexiblelearning.net.au/e-learningindicators through Annie Ferguson and are very lucky to be given the opportunity to work with Ian Phillips who manages this project. Ian has agreed to help us to establish what we will measure, what data we will collect and what tools we will use.

We held a full team meeting on 25th June and we were very fortunate to have Ruth Frazer and Jacinta Ryan, who had a Second Life project last year, attend and share their knowledge and experiences with us. Among many things they talked to us about Decka's Decks in Second Life, a place where we can book space and have privacy to run activities with our learners and also connecting up with Malcolm Jolly who has already done quite a bit of work on protective behaviours. The day was full of wonderful exchanges of information and we finished off heading into the IT suite to watch media of Ruth and Jacinta's learners in action and then 'visit' a range of places in Second Life.

On Thursday 16th July we will be trialling the orientation processes that the team have been working hard on. This includes gaining access to the project Moodle, registering in Second Life, establishing an Avatar and undertaking an orientation to operating safely in Second Life. More on this next post, when I will also include the pictures of the team's Avatars.

Welcome to E-ffective Communication

Welcome to the 'E-ffective Communication - Virtually Anywhere' Blog. We are team of enthusiastic educationalist who have taken the plunge, with funding from the Australian Flexible Learning Framework, into the world of virtual teaching and learning.

Our Blog will keep track of our progress, success and those moments we could all do without! I invite you to tune in on a regular basis to see how we are doing, maybe learn something new yourself and to share your thoughts with us.

We hope our Blog inspires you and gives you valuable insights and information. As we progress we will post links, pictures and other media that will no doubt keep you entertained.

Setting up a Blog is a first for me and as it turned out I have procrastinated through 'fear of the unknown' for no reason at all. Many thanks to our friends at the Australian Flexible Learning Framework for their 'How To' guide on Blogs.

The next posting will start the ball rolling of what we have been up to so far and what is coming next. Hope you come back to our Blog again soon :)