Group Project | Virtual Environments: Is one life enough?

Posts Tagged ‘Group Project’

Group project: Building in SL

October 30, 2015

The project is to explore SL to find an interesting building. By ‘interesting’ we mean:

the design (interior or exterior);
the purpose (what use the building has been designed for);
the actual use of the building (it may be that it ends up having a different use than the original purpose);
the type of people who visit, own or use the building; etc etc.

For the project each pair of students will visit at least five possible buildings before selecting one to work with. The building must be open to the public (or, in the case of a private dwelling, permission should be sought from the owner) and freely accessible. The rationale for selection is to be developed and a presentation made to support your choice. The presentation should describe the building drawing attention to the key aspects that make it interesting. It should also describe the building in context:

how it fits into the immediate environment;
its fitness for purpose;
the use to which it is being put;
the origin of the building;
how and why it was built;
whether or not it is considered a success by its owner, builder, users, neighbours etc.

The presentation should also give the audience a flavour of the building.

The presentation can be made in or near the building or in any other appropriate venue selected by the group/pair. It should last between 5 and 10 minutes. Presentation date is normal class time on Thursday 10th December.

Each participant should also describe the progress of the project in a weekly blog post. Discuss the details of the project and also the issues that arise in working collaboratively online. How easy is it meet up virtually and plan the project? What difficulties arise in development? How easy or difficult is communication? What particular problems arise and how do you deal with them?

See page 6 Module assessment for assessment criteria applying to this project.

Important note: If you use images or sound be mindful of copyright, particularly as presentations will be posted to the module blog.

Central station, Amsterdam

Mocha cathedral

Falling Water

Posted in Class resources | Tagged #iole15, Group Project | Leave a Comment »

New course begins October 1st

September 17, 2015

We are pleased to announce that registration for the Autumn/Fall 2015 course is now open. The module will begin Thursday, October 1st, 8:00 p.m. Irish Time, and will be taught online in Second Life.

The ‘Is One Life Enough’ professional social media course is a university-level online course taught weekly for 10 sessions held at Dublin Institute of Technology Campus in Second Life and accredited by Dublin Institute of Technology in Ireland. The audience for this course is undergraduates, professionals, and educators seeking university-level training and credit in the use of online tools, such as Second Life, WordPress, Twitter and LinkedIn. Attending class as avatars participants will maintain online journals between sessions. Students will learn to establish and strengthen their online professional presence. You will learn also to work collaboratively, online, to complete team projects selected by the students and presented at module’s end to a collective university and Second Life audience.

Dublin Institute of Technology Students will receive 5 ECTS Credits as part of their current tuition – contact the office of Dean John O’Connor or your School for details.
Second Life Students receive DIT Accredited Professional Continuing Education Credit for a part-time tuition fee (99 Euro or equivalent in L$/US$) – contact Dublin In SL Registrar Sitearm Madonna
University of Akron Students may receive UOA College Credit as part of their current tuition – contact the office of Dr. Dudley B. Turner.

Inquiries: James Neville (‘Sitearm Madonna’ in SL) sitearm@gmail.com

Module History

In 2009, the ‘Is One Life Enough’ module was founded for Dublin Institute of Technology DIT students by (then) Head of School, John O’Connor (‘Acuppa Tae’ in SL), and eLearning Development Officer, Claudia Igbrude (‘Locks Aichi’ in SL).

In 2010, IOLE received the ‘Jennifer Burke Innovation in Teaching and Learning Award’ from the Irish Learning Technology Association and Dublin City University. Also in 2010, module eligibility was expanded to the greater Second Life Community via collaboration with Dublin Virtually Live Owner, John Mahon (‘Ham Rambler’ in SL).

In 2012, IOLE received the ‘Further and Higher Education Innovation Award’ from Learning Without Frontiers (London, UK). Also in 2012, Dr. Dudley Turner (Dudley Dreamscape in SL) graduated from the Autumn 2012 module as a Second Life Student.

In 2014, module eligibility was further expanded to University of Akron students via collaboration with Dr. Turner.

Organization History

Dublin Institute of Technology is the largest provider of third level education in Ireland with degree awarding authority and is on track to be Ireland’s first nationally accredited technological university.

Dublin in Second Life is a recreation of Dublin City online, celebrating the music, art, education, culture, and enterprise of Ireland and is a premier member of the broad Second Life Community, recognized by both Residents and Linden Lab Top Management.

University of Akron is one of America’s strongest public universities, focused on innovation, entrepreneurship and economic growth.

Vitae

John O’Connor is a Director of Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) in Dublin, Ireland, and Dean of the College of Arts and Tourism. His work includes sitting on the Senior Leadership Team of DIT, teaching the award winning module, ‘Virtual Environments: Is one life enough?’ and promoting Dublin as a creative city and thriving economic hub. His academic interests include: access to education for isolated communities; the use of technology to support learning; typography; and development of the professional design sector in Ireland.

Dr. Dudley B. Turner is Former Interim Dean, College of Creative & Professional Arts, University of Akron (UOA) in Akron, Ohio, USA. He teaches communication, persuasion, and professional speaking. Dr. Turner is a champion of the use of virtual world communication technologies such as Second Life. He is the 2014 winner of the prestigious Ohio’s Innovative Teacher Award from the Ohio Communication Association.

Posted in News | Tagged #iole15, blog writing, class meeting, Dublin Institute of Technology, Dudley Turner, Group Project, Ham Rambler, John O'Connor, Locks Aichi, online presence, Sitearm Madonna, University of Akron, Virtual Collaboration Projects | Leave a Comment »

Class 9: Consumers to Produsers

March 28, 2015

This week is Spring Break for Akron students so the class was in the DIT seminar room in Dublin for a change of scene. For the first half we discussed progress on the group project and re-emphasised the importance of reflecting on what is not working in the collaboration in addition to what is working. It is important that participants are writing about this in their blogs from now to the end of the semester.

The second part of the class consisted of a discussion based around Prof Axel Bruns’ lecture that students had read over the week. At the beginning many professed confusion about what Bruns was proposing but as the discussion progressed it became clear that most understood it better than they realised. It may be that as emerging ‘produsers’ themselves the concept is so familiar that it is almost invisible to them.

The concept of wikipedia not being about the creation of finished products but the ongoing revision of information – constantly amended and updated by people who may have originally come to it as consumers but have become content creators – was clearly understood. The development of the distribution system for news from the formality of traditional newspapers that are controlled by editors and publishers to the openness of blogs, Facebook and such systems that have eliminated the gatekeeper was considered – with particular consideration of the pros and cons. The issue of reliability was surfaced, leading to a reminder of the importance of reputation – and brand. As users become the producers of content: people who care enough to participate – as opposed to those who merely want to consume – personal brand becomes increasingly important.

DIT students are reminded that their blogs were due for the second assessment (after week 8) but this has been postponed to this week giving you a chance to catch up if necessary. The importance of proofreading posts before publishing was emphasised.

ACTIVITIES FOR NEXT WEEK:

Read: about the girl who resigned her position as uk police youth commissioner due to previous tweets (accessed 02/13/15).
Read: about another example of a person losing her job over a tweet (accessed 02/13/15).
Read: why Dr Phil removed a tweet from his TV show (accessed 02/13/15).
Write the ninth post: to your blog reflecting on the benefits and difficulties of collaborating online across time zones.

Posted in 2015 Class summaries, Uncategorized | Tagged #iole15, class meeting, Group Project, online presence, personal branding, Prof Axel Bruns | Leave a Comment »

Class 7: Communication?

March 15, 2015

Class this week proved to be a lesson in communication – or lack of it! Summer time began in the US the previous Sunday but doesn’t begin in Ireland until the end the month resulting in a three week period where the usual time difference between us is increased. We knew about this but, the difficulties associated with adjusting schedules and communicating across continents defeated us this semester. For DIT the 9.30 pm finish time is quite late and moving it on to 10.30 pm is not possible. For Akron students the class takes place in the afternoon and most students have other classes directly after it so changing their schedule is not feasible. In addition, it is reading week for a number of DIT students and they were not expecting class this week. In the end, about six students attended a rather small class gathering – demonstrating in a practical way how difficult online collaboration and communication can be across time zones.

We used the opportunity to discuss project progress with those in attendance and, unsurprisingly, similar difficulties were revealed by the students in relation to their communication within groups. One particular issue that may be a cause of concern to some is the selection of the cause or charity for the project. John and Locks advised students not to become overly concerned about this, reminding that the project is a vehicle for participants to experience working collaboratively online and discover not only what works well but also what doesn’t. It is the process of working together that students are expected to explore and the detail of the project itself is of lesser importance. Group members might also do well to review Sitearm Madonna’s talk, in the second class, about the roles of group members

This conversation continued as the student blogs were discussed. The importance of reflecting critically on the process of working with colleagues in an online environment across different time zones was emphasised. Please read what was posted to the blog around this time last year which outlines what students need to consider in their own blog writing.

ACTIVITIES FOR NEXT CLASS:

Lecture: watch ‘From Prosumer to Produser: Understanding User-Led Content Creation‘ by Prof Axel Bruns (Creative Industries Faculty at Queensland Institute of Technology) explains his theory of user-led collaborative content creation.
Write the seventh post: to your blog describing the process in which your group engage to select the subject for your project. Include a critical review of how successful (or otherwise) you think the process was and what you would change if you were approaching this task again.

Posted in 2015 Class summaries, Uncategorized | Tagged #iole15, class meeting, Group Project, Virtual Collaboration Projects | Leave a Comment »

Class 5: Virtual Ability Island

February 27, 2015

We had a brief discussion of how to establish community in the virtual realm. There are many approaches, and we listed a few ways to begin: Facebook, blog (as you are doing), Twitter (with appropriate hashtags) and follow others, and LinkedIn. But it takes time and effort, as we are learning in this module.

Then we wanted to make sure we had time to learn about Virtual Ability Island (VAI), so we took a field trip. Students can return to VAI and explore some of the other areas by using the landmarks on the notecard: ‘Landmarks for Virtual Ability,’ and if you did not get one, contact Dudley Dreamscape for one.

Gentle Heron and her friends greeted us. Gentle gave us a brief overview of the history and activities of VAI in both voice and text. They communicate in varied modes so that everyone, even those who are not able to see or hear or read or comprehend English can participate in ‘real time.’

Welcome to Virtual Ability Island.

An overview of VAI from Gentle Heron:

(1) Who is the Virtual Ability community?

We are a cross-disability peer support community of nearly 1,000 members from 6 continents. That means our members who have disabilities may have a physical disability, a mental or emotional or developmental disability, or a sensory disability (deafness or blindness). About ¼ of our members do not (yet!) have disabilities. They may be a parent, spouse, child, or friend of a person with a disability; caregiver; researcher; medical professional; or an educator.

Our community has been in Second Life for over 7 years, and we won the first Linden Prize for a project that has “a tangible impact on the real world.”

We are supported by an RL nonprofit, Virtual Ability, Inc. Our community assists people with all kinds of disabilities to enter and thrive in virtual worlds like Second Life. As a community, we offer our members a variety of educational and entertainment activities daily, but also encourage members to explore all the incredible things to do and places to explore within Second Life.

(2) Why are we considered a community?

Some definitions of ‘community’ include a geographic proximity, and obviously since we are on every continent except Antarctica, we don’t embody that aspect. Nor do we have cultural similarity. In fact, we embrace diversity! The population of persons with disabilities is the largest minority, and the most varied.

However other aspects of community we do certainly exhibit:

Both close and informal relationships
Mutual support among members
Common values and beliefs (in our case about emphasis on Ability, not DISability)
Organized interactions and activities
A strong sense of belonging to the community

On Healthinfo Island, we are focusing not on disabilities and impairments, but rather on health and wellness. You will find landmarks to exhibits, displays, a pavilion listing research opportunities, and the Path of Support. The Path of Support lists information about the more than 120 peer support communities we have identified so far in Second Life for disabling conditions and chronic health issues.

Our community has 2 residential islands, with private properties around the edges, but public land in the central area. On Cape Able, there is an art gallery on the public land; on Cape Serenity, there is a library. In both the art gallery and the library, we offer only works that are created by persons with disabilities. That goes along with our emphasis on the abilities of people with disabilities.

You can learn more about the VAI community at their website: www.virtualability.org

Then we had a lively Q&A session.

The Q&A session covered a lot. Only a few are summarized below. Answers were provided by Gentle Heron and some of the members of the VAI community: Ruby Vandyke, Winter Wardhani, Stepin, ÎsaЪeĻ, Lukey Woodget, James Heartsong, Suellen Heartsong , levi Ewing, oɹɐubǝ dןɐuǝɹ, and Vandala.

QUESTION: How did the community begin?

A: We wanted to participate in a community but were too disabled to do so, and we came to a virtual world so we could socialize.

QUESTION: how do you get people from RL into this community in SL? How do you get the word out?

A: I found this community by seeing one of their Events listed in the Events search
We often invite people in other online types of communities, like chat rooms for people with specific disabilities.
I found an article in MS Magazine, mentioning support in SL. I came here, was lost for a bit, but then was guided here by a kind person who knew of VAI.

Overview of the island.

QUESTION: Are people more accepting in SL than RL?

A: yes, I find that they are
not always people are accepting as in real life that is also the case:)
that kind of depends on the disability that is being responded to. Some people are very rude to people with disabilities that make them type slowly or if they type in ASL grammar (which makes them sound nonintelligent).
I find that SL is sort of a ‘great equalizer’. Disabilities are not as obvious here, so we feel more confident in our interactions with other.

QUESTION: what benefits have you and the members found from joining this group

A: personally for myself I have open up more about my disability with Virtual Ability which actually they have helped me deal with it as well much more in real life
We have done several research projects on benefits to people with disabilities of being in a virtual world. It offers several! including improved socialization and self esteem.
understanding your not on your own and understanding about the outlook and thinking of other disabled people

QUESTION: Does the improved self-esteem translate to RL?

A: yes, being at SL has made me more confident in RL, such as doing public speaking, being able to strike up a conversation with people

One last benefit to SL. I get to meet folks from around the world, without ever leaving my desk. 🙂

world wide friends
I got to meet so many people from so many place that I wouldn’t have otherwise
me too, being retired helps..but would never be able to physically travel to other countries

We thank the VAI folks for participating and to Suellen for voicing.

NEXT WEEK:

Groups will work together and the instructors will visit each group to get an up date on your progress and provide some help.

Posted in 2015 Class summaries | Tagged #iole15, class meeting, Group Project, VAI, Virtual Ability Island | 4 Comments »

Group Project: Going Global

February 12, 2015

Coined in the 1960s by Canadian intellectual Marshall McLuhan the term ‘global village‘ is becoming a reality in today’s society. This is seen in how news spreads, the connections people make, working patterns and day to day life – shopping, socialising, communicating etc. The world of online digital communication in the form of the web, social media, virtual worlds and so on is becoming an integral part of the professional experience. No longer restricted by physical geography professional collaboration crosses cultural boundaries and time zones. The ability to work effectively in this environment is essential for those joining the 21st Century workforce. Familiarity with the legal frameworks, social conventions and etiquette that frame this online environment is a prerequisite to success.

For the project each student group will explore this theme by identifying a cause or charity anywhere in the world, and taking it global. Use the social media platforms of your choice to raise the profile of your cause or charity beyond the local boundaries. Groups will present their projects on either 30th April class or 7th May class. The presentation will be in the form of a Pecha Kucha and will highlight your work, your group dynamic, and the impact; and describe the challenges encountered as you worked with the cause or charity. 20 images x 20 secs each.

For tips, examples and resources, see Catherine Cronin’s blog.

In summary: working in your group, design a campaign to manage your digital footprint; and at the same time work with your group to raise the profile of a cause or charity beyond local or geographical boundaries using social media and online platforms. At the end of the campaign, design a PK presentation to showcase all you did and your experience. Emphasis is on the experience rather than the result. But results will be noticed too.

Important note: If you use images or sound be mindful of copyright, particularly as presentations will be posted to the module blog.

If you haven’t already done so, read this book.

Posted in Class resources | Tagged #iole15, Group Project | Leave a Comment »

Class 2: Project teams

February 21, 2014

CLASS SUMMARY:

The class started with each student presenting an ‘elevator pitch’ that essentially consisted of a brief introduction to themselves, their area of study, and particular interest in this module.

This was followed by a presentation on team working skills by guest tutor and module graduate Sitearm Madonna. The slides for this presentation can be viewed here: http://www.slideshare.net/sitearm/virtual-collaboration-tips-and-tools

The participants were then divided into three groups and the module project was introduced and discussed. Full details and the project specifications are given on page 6 Module Assessment. The theme for the project is: ‘Reality’. There is a growing tension between what is considered reality by different generations and groups in society. We know it is possible to live predominantly in a virtual medium and this trend is likely to continue and be more easily afforded with ongoing technological advances. Each participant is asked to explore what makes up reality to themselves and, in particular, how any virtual lives and online engagements are integrated into their daily reality.

The three groups decamped across Akron Island to allow the members to get to know each other, discuss how they might proceed as a group, arrange communication channels and meeting times.

The teams are:

ania, Daniel, Sam, Michael, Knitsy, and Mitch Madness
Seranox1, Irale, Leela, Mandana, and Twinkle Toes
Q, Benisgreat, Knightt, Lewis, Andrew, and Garrett

Please note: There are at least two other Akron students who cannot make it to our Thursday meetings. They are not on a team yet, but if you can coordinate other times to meet with them and other ways to communicate, please recruit them to your team. They are: Lindsay and SteveSykes (you can search for them and find them in SL).

ACTIVITIES FOR NEXT CLASS:

Explore: Get to know your group members and explore SL with your group. You are to visit at least 3 locations that are new to you. Find them in search, or ask other residents for recommendations or select them at random.
Discuss: ideas for your project with your group how you are going to develop the project.
Write: the second post on your blog reviewing the locations you visited. Explain how and why you chose them and what relevance they might have for your group.
Read: Personal Branding Basics for 2011 (accessed on 02/21/14) by Chris Brogan, expert in online community, social media, and related technologies.

There is plenty of interesting writing about Second Life and virtual worlds across the web in online publications such as Virtual Worlds Magazine. Seek them out and try to discover others for yourself.

Virtual Anthropology and the Prometheus Myth (accessed on 02/21/14) by Salahzar Stenvaag in Virtual Worlds Magazine

Forget Playing Games. Meet the Man who wants to Empower you to Make Games (accessed on 02/21/14) by Stephen Totilo in kotaku.com

Your Second Life is Ready (accessed on 02/21/14) is an interesting, and still relevant, introduction to Second Life from Popular Science in 2005.

Posted in 2014 class summaries, Class resources | Tagged class meeting, Group Project, module project | 1 Comment »

Posts Tagged ‘Group Project’

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An overview of VAI from Gentle Heron:

Then we had a lively Q&A session.

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