Week 4: Second Life Class

Wow. When I got in to class tonight I felt like I was in a dream. There were my virtual classmates, who I only know by name-not face, decked out in ball gowns, t-shirts, and pirate costumes. It was an interesting class, and I can see the value that second life could bring to distance learning, once people are comfortable and able to function in that environment.

Like any new tool or complex learning activity, the teacher needs to set the stage, prepare the room, and make sure that the students are comfortable and ready to learn. I am continually impressed with Dr. Mon's prep work for our class sessions. By posting on the DB, sending us messages, prepare links, folders, and connections within second life, and even transporting us when we're lost, she is making a new different world understandable and exciting. I really appreciate how organized and on top of things she is. This class is one that really takes me outside my realm of understanding, and I don't know what I'd do if I wasn't guided as well.

The one difficulty I had with having class in Second Life is that I wasn't quite sure at times what we were supposed to be doing. For example, after buying (for free) the prepared boxes, some people were trying out what was inside, while others asked questions, and others walked around. I wasn't sure what we were supposed to do then, and got distracted by the fireworks, bubbles, etc. On the other hand, I am glad we were able to have exploration time for the new clothes and toys. The class tonight was a good introduction for how to use Second Life.

Week 3: Projects

Project proposals are due tomorrow. I didn't respond to my group until tonight. It seems like we have similar ideas for projects, so we may team up for part of it, and then do individual projects as well, or perhaps just individual projects. I like working with others, but it definitely makes things harder when you have to arrange to meet, work collaboratively, and rely on others to do part of the work. I think though that when it works, a group can really enhance learning.

Week 3

This week seemed to fly by before I had a chance to breath. Virtual reference is one of the more interesting, but harder, classes I have taken for FSU. I am stuggling my way through orientation on Second Life. I realized I finally learned all I could from the island, and have started to explore the world. It is an interesting place. From the list of favorite places I landed myself on hippie island (or something like that) where I supposedly could earn money taking surveys. Instead I am just wandering. I will check out info island next, and hopefully have a message back from Dr. Mon.

I think that Second Life is facinating, and really want to explore the concept of alternate worlds, social networks online, and how the growing virtual world will impact the lives of people in the real world. How will it effect people emotionally, physically, and developmentally, when we no longer need to leave the house to have a life, and there is less expectation of truth and honesty when you are using online systems that require a user to have a different name, allow them to look like anything they want, and explore a world where anything goes (or so I hear). I talk with my middle school students about social network sites, and many have them, and think nothing of lying about their age, name, and location--they are even encouraged to do this by thier parents. I love the internet and all of the opportunities, connections, and communities we can have because of the internet, but I also fear that we may become a society that relies on the internet for communication, friends, and fun rather than actually experiencing life.

Driving along....

The school I am the librarian at is a little over an hour away from my home. This means I spend a lot of time in the car listening to music, audiobooks, and talking to my 1 year old son. It is also the time I spend thinking about what I am teaching and learning, what I need to do for classes, and loftier lifetime goals. Last Thursday my thoughts were all about virtual reference class. Finally, I am getting a chance to read my messy driving notes and put down the ideas in my blog...

1. Getting the message out about the IPL: If there isn't one already, I think it would be useful to have a message that could be sent to teachers, sent on listservs, and shared around as a FYI memo to teachers and librarians. I am working on one to use, at least for the teachers at my school and the Vermont School Library Association listserv. At schools, often teachers will use what they are directed to, especially when it is a great resource. Pointing out the IPL will turn lots of people on to the website.

2. Developing an IPL search button that could go on school websites for students that would link to the KidSpace and TeenSpace (depending on the grades at the school) and search the IPL. It would be like a Google search box, except go the the IPL. What I'm learning in my design and production of multimedia class will help me develop this if this is something that I decide to work on.

3. I would like to work on outreach for students/teachers since that is what I'm most familiar wtih. I think that students need to know more about sites like the IPL, so we need to come up with exciting ways to get them on it. Maybe doing something with Facebook/Myspace/Xanga (three social sites my 7th grade students were all talking about today) would be good to reach the kids out there who need some guidance and a push in the right direction for quality online sites.

Types of class meeting formats

I have been in the FSU program since Fall of 2005 and I find it interesting to see how teaching and learning have changed since I started the program. Prior to this class, my classes have all been held in chat, with the exception of 1 class meeting last summer that we attempted to use the virtual classroom and it failed to work for us. This year, however, I am in two classes that we'll be using Elluminate and Second Life as class meeting places. I don't mind chat, and there are features I like, such as the speed at which you can skim back at a transcript for information, or quickly respond to something that a professor has said, without interrupting verbally. On the other hand, there are limitations that I think are addressd by changing the format and meeting in a format like Elluminate.

There are times that I feel like I am taking classes with the computer, not real people. It was refreshing to listen to information audibly and be able to ask questions, have things clarified, and be shown examples. Although some professors have given powerpoints or audio lectures to listen to before class, having someone live presenting information was more like the traditional classes I was used to from teaching and from undergraduate school.

I really like Elluminate, althought it took some getting used to. After 2 years of classes where I could reread a sentence if I missed it the first time, it was hard to remember that I had to listen to every word that was said or I would miss something. It made it much harder to help my 11 month old son and participate in class--it would have been even harder if I had my microphone on! I loved the format though, especially with the ability it has for the person presenting information to actually link to his or her computer and give a demonstration or point out websites.

Overall I am excited to use the Elluminate classroom this semester, along with Chat and Second Life (that is a whole different post). I think the varying formats are an exciting new way to approach distance learning and will really enhance class.

August 29th Class

We had our first class of Virtual Reference Environments on August 29th. As a class we discussed some of the projects and activities that we will be completing this semester. During this semester we will be running the Internet Public Library. Throughout the summer semester I answered reference questions for the IPL as part of Introduction to Information Services. I am excited to have the opportunity this semester to continue working with the IPL in a different capacity. In class we broke in to small groups based on the different roles necessary to run IPL. I chose to be part of the community outreach team. I hope to work with this team as a writer and researcher, getting the word out about the IPL.

For my project I would like to focus on promotion and outreach that would help teachers and students in K-12 schools learn about, and learn how to use, the IPL, and specifically the IPL Kidpace. I haven't decided how this would look yet or what online resources would be the best for promotion/outreach to teachers/students, so if anyone has ideas, I'd love to hear them.

First Post

This blog will be for my thoughts, starting with my thoughts and reflections about Virtual Reference Environments, one of my FSU courses this fall.