Finally, an article that I think many interested in Second Life for education will find useful. Will it tell you how you should setup your class? No. Will it help you make the argument to administration as to why this is useful? Maybe. So you are wondering what exactly it does do, right? Well, it discusses what the digital humanities research lab and studio HUMlab at Umea University did when they began thinking about using Second Life, and it describes some of the mistakes they made and how they corrected them. Generally speaking "Spacing Creation: The HUMlab Second Life Project" by James Barrett and Stefan Gelfgren is a good foundation piece to have in your arsenal for future use.
I find that I have written lots of "yeps" and "yeses" and put stars in the margins of the text. Pedagogically speaking, the project decided to use the space as a "constructivist user driven exercise" , and they state that the decision to do so shifted "the emphasis on results . . . from the facilitators to the users in the project" (170). I have read a lot in this text and in others about the constructivist approach to SL, and i am a believer.
While all of this information is good, there is one quote that really caught my attention concerning "space" in SL. The authors state that "space, and subsequetly place, have a deep and defining connection to personal identity. Even virtual space exerts a powerful influence over identity through self expression and as a gestalt to feelings of control" (171). I couldn't agree more. I have been to a LOT of places in SL and I've called several my virtual home. Any property that I have ever owned has had to be on an island and be secluded from others. My favorite "house" in SL is a treehouse, which is basically a tree with a platform. i don't like walls, and I don't like being closed in. The place I call "home" now is on the main island and is surrounded by other builds with very little "nature" to it. I hate it. So I never log in there and I rarely go there. So why do I call it home? Because everyone needs a "safe" place that they can quickly teleport to, and anything is better than nothing.
I must admit that the feelings I have in real life when I am at that patch of land on the main island surprise me. I get antsy and nervous if I stay there too long. Zoe is not meant to be a city girl in SL anymore than Dianna is meant to be one in RL. And maybe it's because I am living in the city in RL that I can't tolerate it in SL. Luckily, in SL I can easily find solitude in a wide open space and chill anytime I have the need. Now ya know why I stay logged into SL all the time. :-)
I find that I have written lots of "yeps" and "yeses" and put stars in the margins of the text. Pedagogically speaking, the project decided to use the space as a "constructivist user driven exercise" , and they state that the decision to do so shifted "the emphasis on results . . . from the facilitators to the users in the project" (170). I have read a lot in this text and in others about the constructivist approach to SL, and i am a believer.
While all of this information is good, there is one quote that really caught my attention concerning "space" in SL. The authors state that "space, and subsequetly place, have a deep and defining connection to personal identity. Even virtual space exerts a powerful influence over identity through self expression and as a gestalt to feelings of control" (171). I couldn't agree more. I have been to a LOT of places in SL and I've called several my virtual home. Any property that I have ever owned has had to be on an island and be secluded from others. My favorite "house" in SL is a treehouse, which is basically a tree with a platform. i don't like walls, and I don't like being closed in. The place I call "home" now is on the main island and is surrounded by other builds with very little "nature" to it. I hate it. So I never log in there and I rarely go there. So why do I call it home? Because everyone needs a "safe" place that they can quickly teleport to, and anything is better than nothing.
I must admit that the feelings I have in real life when I am at that patch of land on the main island surprise me. I get antsy and nervous if I stay there too long. Zoe is not meant to be a city girl in SL anymore than Dianna is meant to be one in RL. And maybe it's because I am living in the city in RL that I can't tolerate it in SL. Luckily, in SL I can easily find solitude in a wide open space and chill anytime I have the need. Now ya know why I stay logged into SL all the time. :-)
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