Lancaster University in Second Life: an update
Michele Ryan and Julia Gillen provide an update, for snapshot #8, of virtual world activity at Lancaster University.
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We have had several interesting developments in regard to the Lancaster Island in Second Life.
Firstly, our virtual space is now centrally funded. This has alleviated the problems that were caused by the constant searching for, and switching of, financial responsibilities between departments and faculties. It has also increased user confidence knowing that the island has a sustainable future.
Secondly, we now have a computer lab on campus where Second Life is installed and available to all. This allows both teachers and students to avoid hardware and access problems that are sometimes barriers to usage. This room has also been used for teacher inductions and introduction to SL workshops.
Thirdly, our island itself has been dramatically redesigned as a result of student and teacher feedback. We have lifted many restrictions of usage and allow the building of objects outside of the sandbox. Users are allowed to create their own spaces and sky platforms. This seems to give them a greater since of ‘home’ now that they can freely empty their inventory items and make their own personal dwellings. We were fortunate to enlist the services of the Luna Bliss Company, which made the redesigning of the island amazingly painless. The new tropical garden look contains several under-waterfall caves and other secret hiding places where meetings can be held that will not disturb others.
We have seen an increase in the number of joint institutional activities hosted on our island. Including Lancaster students meeting with their counterparts enrolled in similar classes in Turkey, Mexico, Denmark and the United States. We have also opened our island to other educational institutions, including FEs, through our affiliation with JISC Northwest.
Student-run organizations (student union societies) have expressed interest and begun exploring our island. Recently a student media group filmed a mixed reality video. Although these activities are not directly teaching and learning related, they appear to be adding to the island’s awareness. We have not formally announced our virtual world presence, not even to our students. People are still finding out about it through one-off introductory sessions, workshops and referrals via on-campus word of mouth. We are currently planning to inform the student body of its existence and encourage exploration of the environment.
Research still dominates our island’s usage. Several PhD students and staff researchers continue their efforts. Research meetings and activities on the island are sometimes associated with broader research, dealing with other virtual worlds and online spaces including with children. Julia Gillen of the Literacy Research Centre is Principal Investigator of an ESRC-funded seminar series, Children’s and young people’s digital literacies in virtual online spaces. Michele also continues her study about inworld teaching.
More teachers from across the university have been experimenting with teaching and learning. Although like other HEIs we do appreciate the work of skilled SL builders, none of us want a space that is so ‘glossy’ and professional that beginners are excluded from active participation. We value SL as space for experimentation, occasionally messy, and do not intend to go down the route of pushing new entrants into very narrowly circumscribed roles.
In general, we think we have had a shift in mentality. Second Life is no longer seen as a just another educational technology. It is now viewed as space, not just a tool. And as a space, its usage does not have to be clearly defined in order to be used. Pedagogical uncertainty was once a barrier for usage. But when educators threw themselves inworld and allowed students to determine its usage, the results have been more stable than those who tried to force a pre-determined pedagogical strategy. We believe that this is way we should continue in the future.
