Second Life
I had never heard of Second Life (SL) until reading Weller (2020). From reading the chapter (Weller, 2020), the motivation for universities to have virtual islands was unclear. There was discussion of the great possibility of SL and that it could integrate with learning management systems (LMS) such as Moodle, but I did not get a true sense of what it hoped to achieve in education. SL, as it was being used in education by universities in the mid-2000s phased out; however, SL is still being used. It is one of the largest spaces for virtual commodity exchanges, such as Bitcoin (Virgilio, 2022). Thus, while SL was not strongly adopted in the education realm or valuable to what I teach currently, it remains relevant in our lives behind the scenes.
As discussed in the post-chapter discussions online (Between the Chapters: Blogging – 25 Years of Ed Tech: The Serialized Audio Version, n.d.), SL has also paved the way for virtual reality (VR) to be used in education. There is space for the virtual world in education; educators were not necessarily creative in how SL developed in education in the mid-2000s. I see this growing in medical education specifically because my cousin works in VR and is currently building VR technology for NHS medical students to train them in surgery. What he is developing allows medical students to perform surgery without performing surgery on cadavers which has numerous limitations, including enormous costs.
E-portfolios
Although not widely adopted, E-portfolios had merit in their intent to showcase student achievement, competencies, and skills in a tangible way to future employers (Weller, 2020). I recently took over a course taught by the same person for 5+ years. Within the course, one assignment was an e-portfolio which I removed from the course. Namely, I did not see it as the valuable tool for future employers that the previous instructor had hoped it would be. I also felt that learning the tool the portfolios reside in was less important than the content on the tool, but a considerable amount of time was needed to perfect the tool. Something the students did not have. Both points, I now read months later, are noted by Weller (2020) as some of the issues with adopting the e-portfolio.
I received pushback for wanting to remove this assignment. As a compromise, I created an assignment that still had the desired artefacts and showcased their work through LinkedIn. They cultivated their online professional presence in a space where employers already reside. I listened to the online chat regarding their best practices for not being too prescriptive, giving students license over what they publish, and how they publish (Between the Chapters: Blogging – 25 Years of Ed Tech: The Serialized Audio Version, n.d.) and confirm that my choices for this task were on point. Cultivating the content meant for an e-portfolio has a place in academia, but the format needs to be something that aligns with the professional realm to be useful.
References
Between the chapters: Blogging – 25 years of ed tech: The serialized audio version. (n.d.). https://25years.opened.ca/2021/01/14/between-the-chapters-blogging/
Virgilio, D. (2022, February 9). What comparisons between second life and the metaverse miss. Slate Magazine. https://slate.com/technology/2022/02/second-life-metaverse-facebook-comparisons.html
Weller, M. (2020). 25 years of ed tech (1st ed.). ACP – Athabasca University Press.
Hi Gill, great post. I too had never heard of Second Life before reading that chapter in Weller’s (2020) book. I admit that I felt it was very strange and was a moment in the book where I stopped and was like – wait, what? The University islands were a very far-fetched concept for me and I also struggled to find the motivation behind their creation. Weller (2020) suggests that virtual worlds may be due for a comeback in learning. I can see this in the VR experiences that support learning such as with medical students as you have suggested, however, I am not sure about virtual worlds as an evolution of the University islands concept. What do you think?
Hi Leah, thanks for reading. I, too, stopped myself and went back because I was listening to the audio version while multitasking and felt I had missed something. It turns out I did not.
The concept of university islands and mention of the tours to now empty campuses (Weller, 2020) is bizarre. Knowing how the pandemic forced the world to go online and how many struggled in 2020, I can see how a virtual island in 2007 did not gain the headway it had hoped as they were being used. However, I think the fact that they were trying to simulate the classroom experience with a kitsch (ish) and non-relevant side to it, like a professor being “represented by a seven-foot tall purple cat” (Weller, 2020, p. 98), is likely part of the problem. Like many online courses, trying to replicate a classroom experience rather than creating something entirely new doesn’t work.
However, I can see how a virtual world could work in my field of Tourism and Hospitality. We could create resorts/ hotels and businesses for students to run and simulate a business experience. A simulated university led by a purple cat would not seem legitimate or a credible educational experience if I was choosing a university. But, I think a mock lesson to teach a specific skill or expertise is feasible and likely beneficial. Do you agree?
Hi Gill, yes the purple cat professor really did not sit well with me! There is nothing appealing about this and this representation of University education is not something I would be interested in. I agree with you that there is value in teaching specific skills or expertise through a mock session, however. I can also see great benefit to virtual worlds in your field from a student perspective and now I am thinking how neat it would be for a client to be able to explore a resort virtually as part of their destination decision process as well. As far as I can tell, virtual tours of resorts are photos that you can interact with and are not necessarily an ‘immersive’ experience.
Hello Gill,
The Chapter on Second Life (SL) also caught my attention as I knew little about it. I am also aware of one program where I teach using SL. I have heard the teachers talk about SL with excitement, but I have wondered if students find it quaint compared to current simulated reality experiences.
On the topic of e-portfolios, I also tried this for a class project. Unfortunately, like you, I found that the set-up and student training needs overwhelmed the project. So instead, I worked with the Library on a digital collection, VIURRSpace. The Libraries of Royal Roads University and Vancouver Island University collaboratively offer VIURRSpace.
How did students feel about sharing their work through LinkedIn? Did you experience conflicts or challenges with that approach?
Hi Jessica,
Thanks for reading. I was unaware of the VIURRSpace! I will check that out, as there are always opportunities for new assignments and various submission types.
The students found value in sharing and showcasing their skills and were optimistic about the experience. They controlled the content and sent me a rundown of what they wanted to post/ produce. We had an open feedback space they could also pitch ideas to one another for creative input. All in all, it was a successful project that helped them build their professional network and enhanced it.
I don’t think I would do this for every course, but specifically for an internship and career development, it is apt. I would be less inclined to go the LinkedIn way for my ethics class.
Hi Gill,
I connected with both your points regarding SecondLife (SL) and virtual reality, as well as e-portfolios.
Your thoughts about the usefulness of SL in the education world reminded me of something Weller (2020) mentioned several times in his book; “Like many other applications of ed tech, the pattern may be one of overenthusiastic initial adoption” (p.100). He also mentions this in his chapter about blockchain as well (Weller, 2020). Do you see this in your area of work? I can say with certainty that I see it in mine as a K-12 educator. Part of why I am taking this Master’s program is to alleviate this need to buy-in to every piece of technology and focus more on a critical and practical approach to technological implementation.
Your decision to remove, or rather replace, an e-portfolio assignment resonated with me, as I have been struggling with e-portfolios as a high school teacher. My school district has put in much time and effort with student e-portfolios, but the student engagement is quite low and many teachers are often unclear of how/when to use it.
Thanks again!
Hi Terry, thanks for reading. I found the chapter on blockchain intriguing. I had no concept of what it was really, but the amount of energy required to use it (Reed, 2017 as cited in Weller, 2020) seems insane to me. In my department, there are a couple of us who aim to try a new tool each term. Sometimes it is about engagement or capturing student work and activity. Sometimes, it is about streamlining our work or the students. However, we aim to stick to one for consistency. We can support one another in the tech, and the students get familiar with one tech piece.
I think there needs to be both buy-in from the faculty and consistency of use for students to buy it too, which sounds a little like the issue you are having with e-portfolios. If the teachers are unclear of its importance, how can the students be?
Thanks!
I can relate to the e-portfolio and also the physical binder that was part of my ELCC diploma, but none were as helpful as LinkedIn is today. I had the opportunity to bring my portfolio to an early interview and they hired me without ever looking at the book. Does LinkedIn offer any additional privacy options that restrict sharing to some audiences? This could help mitigate some risk for those that are worried about workplace boundaries, privacy etc. Thanks for sharing, this chapter didn’t really stand out for me, I may need to go back and review it again, cheers.