So my life is now consumed with the art of grant writing.  As I read in the Dummies Guide to Grant Writing, if it were easy everybody would have all the money they needed.  I applied for this grant last year and was approved, if funding was available.  In other words, I was at the bottom of the totem pole and there is never enough money for people at the bottom.

I'm giving it another try this year.  After reading grant proposals in the Faculty Writing Group I am leading, reading through bits and pieces of the Dummie book, and looking at some samples from colleagues, I can understand why I didn't get funded last year for the Second Life island for the online writing center.  My proposal did not look anything like a grant proposal.  Was it a well written narrative?  Apparently, since it did get approved if funding was available, but it did not LOOK like a proposal should.  I did not lead with pertinent information, and it wasn't until the end that I really discussed the value of the research.

I now have 15 days to get it right, and I am determined to do just that.  I have the rest of the grant application done, so now it is just a matter of getting the narrative right.  I have a decent start on it, and I've discussed it with my boss, so I'm pretty hopeful that I can knock it out this week and then start revising. 

So, when I say "Show Me the Money" that is exactly what I mean.  S h o w  Me  T h e  M O N E Y!!!!

And one of these instances is in virtual environments research.  I was totally psyched to read "Online Instructor Immediacy and Instructor-Student Relationships in Second Life" by Traci L Anderson.  I would go so far as to say I actually enjoyed the first four pages.

I agree with Anderson's comment that "immediacy behaviors bring about a sense of psychological and/or physical closeness between people" (101).  I also agree when Anderson invokes research that states that "educators must work toward integrating a greater variety of immediacy behaviors when teaching in online environments" (101).  The fact is, I have quite a few stars in the margins of these first four pages, which is always an indication that I am connecting with the text.

However, it all goes down hill for me after this.  For instance, Anderson informs the readers that "in this research the alpha coefficient for modified 9-item perceived immediacy measure was .86 (M = 21.6.  SD = 8.31)" (106).  Now I know that those who are familiar with quantitative methods understand all of this mumbo-jumbo, and I'm good with that because I knew there would be explications in the Discussion section.  But things continued to go south for me even in that section.

In the Results, Anderson states that "as student perceptions of instructors' nonverbal immediacy in Second Life increased, student motivation increased" (107).  This sounds good, right?  Well . . . maybe not.  The next paragraph states that "although student motivation was assessed in this study, the specific factors that motivate students were not" (108).  Huh???  Didn't Anderson just say that immediacy increased . . . motivation increased?  How can Anderson claim that if specific factors were not assessed?

The rest of the text is similar.  Everything is positive but then maybe not so positive.  By the end I was wondering what exactly the research proves.  Bottom line: maybe I do need to know what all those numbers and initials mean, or maybe, just maybe the research needs to be more clearly presented!!

This article, "Future Directions for Learning in Virtual Worlds" by Mats Deutschmann and Judith Molka-Danielsen, concludes the book Learning and Teaching in the Virtual World of Second Life and predicts that "by the beginning of 2009 Second Life will be one of the most prominent virtual worlds in education" (187). 

Of course that prediction was made before the former CEO of Linden Lab decided to give 30 percent of the personnel their walking papers in June of this year, and that percentage included every single employee at Linden Lab that was connected to the educational aspect of SL.  Of course, it was a mere 18 days later that the CEO was stepping down and Phillip Rosedale, founder and creator of SL, was taking the helm once more.  What this means for the future of Second Life in general and education specifically is anyone's guess, but many hope it means a return to some core values: one of those would be education.

In the meantime, I am still a firm believer in SL's potential for learning and education.  I also agree with Jane Vella (quoted in this article) when she says, concerning learning, that "we respect life experience and their unique context and offer the task [learning task] as an open question, inviting their reflective response.  Some learning takes place in the mind (cognitive), some in the heart (affective), and some in the muscles (psychomotor)" (qtd. in Deutschmann and Molka-Danielsen 185-86).  The fact is we can do so much more in SL than we can in a brick-and-mortar classroom.  The learning can take place in the mind, the heart, and the muscles when SL is utilized effectively. 

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 read 20 pages (all) of Toni Sant's essay "Performance in Second Life: Some Possibilities for Learning and Teaching" and what I got out of it was basically what I already knew: virtual worlds are all about performance in one way or another.

Sant begins by discussing how SL is used in theatre, music, dance, and live art, but what I find the most interesting is when she discusses identity performance.  Sant asserts that "the mechanics of Second Life--its physics and game engine and expected or acceptable behavior--are the the rules that enable you to operate within the online environment.  Beyond this, whatever role you chose for your avatar is an identity performance" (160).  She even discusses how the name one chooses for their avatar is part of that performance and part of how we want others to perceive us in the virtual world. 

I know this to be true, at least for me, because I spent a LOT of time choosing both my first name and last name in SL.  When I signed up, last names were listed to choose from, and you then chose a first name to go with it.  I knew I wanted my first name to be Zoe, which is Greek and means life.  I couldn't get Zoe with the last name I wanted, which is McMillan for my ancestry on my father's side, so I brought some of my real life identity into SL by adding a capital B to Zoe: the initial of my real life last name.  I wanted to present myself as a fiery Scottish woman full of life.

The other thing that Sant discusses which I find interesting is the difference between role-play and real-play.  First, I had never heard the term real-play before.  By definition, Sant claims that "if a truthful exchange occurs between Second Life residents, who known [sic] exactly who is behind the avatar they see in-world, then the suspension of disbelief that is essential in successful role-play is disengaged temporarily to enable real-play between the users" (161).  I'm undecided about this.  Not sure I buy into the "real-play" concept.

Even though I had to read 20 pages to get 1 1/2 pages of something I found interesting, it was worth it.  If you don't know much about Second Life and the possibilities it offers for all types of performance, this is the article for you.

The next article, "Learning by Creating Historical Buildings" by Marco Bani et al, discusses the virtues of using Second Life for a multidisciplinary and international project between the Centre for Computing in the Humanities at King's College in London and InfoUma at the University of Pisa. 

One of the most interesting quotes from this text admits that they "favored 'skills' over 'knowledge' -- in teaching History.  But in the end, we also have reached good outcomes in the field of knowledge, because the remarkable engagement in building and discussing has pushed students to study hard and nearly spontaneously, increasing their attitude to criticize; SL makes them feel at ease in discussions and encourages them to clearly state their thoughts" (131).  To me, that is impressive.  Skill was favored over knowledge, but knowledge was spontaneously generated through research and discussion. 

The project called for the recreation of the leaning tower of Pisa and Galileo's laboratory, complete with some of his tools.  This is quite the undertaking, and they are dedicated to following the guidelines as set forth by the London Charter for the recreation of such historical sites.

The point here is that if you give students a project to complete in Second Life, it becomes a form of active learning.  To get it right, they have to do the research and learn about what it is they are trying to recreate.  The same with Bryan Carter's Harlem Renaissance.  In order to give a legitimate representation, the students must learn what it is they are recreating.  Not just how it looked either.  They have to go deeper to find out the "why."

This article presents one of the most interesting projects I have read about in SL.  This, along with Bryan Carter's, really shows the versatility  of an environment like Second Life.  It is rich in what can be accomplished in virtual worlds in general and SL specifically.

Ok, first things first.  I've been doing my reading, but I did not have internet access for 4 nights, and last night I was too exhausted from heat and driving ALL day long to even think about posting.  So I will spend the next few nights doing double duty and creating more than one post: a way to kind of catch up and stay true to my original plans.  With that said, let's move on to the next reading.

"Role Play Study in a Purchase Management Class" by Bjorn Jaeger addresses a very interesting use of Second Life: teaching students how to become more affective buyers in the business world.  Jaeger argues that developments of virtual worlds like Second Life have enabled the design of more sophisticated on-line role play environments which both mimic real world environments more closely than before, and which go beyond what is possible in real world domains.  Role play has high learning value in educational domains where skills such as critical thinking, group, communications, debate and decision making are of high importance" (116).  He goes on to discuss how SL meets the four requirements of Media Richness Theory and gives examples of each (117-120).

Jaeger also discusses on how SL exceeds the use of video conferencing stating as one reason the fact that "all participants observes [sic] the same virtual environment in which they can easily group themselves according to team membership and their role in the meeting in the same way as in real life" (120). 

I am finding that one recurring theme for the use of SL in education is the feel of proximity that it gives users.  You begin to feel that you are in close proximity to other users via  avatar.  This is something that is missing in any type of video conferencing.  Another recurring theme which I have not touched on much is the ability to invite outsiders into the learning environment.  In this instance, Jaeger was able to invite experts from major corporations who are familiar with the buying process and what is necessary to complete a transaction.

While we might not be slaying literal virtual dragons with this type of role play, we are slaying metaphorical dragons (the naysayers of virtual worlds for educational purposes).  Perhaps one day, they too will be nothing more than a myth, a bad memory.

So I thought today that I would read something totally unrelated to Second Life, but a couple of things changed my mind about that.  First, I'm determined to finish this book, and after tonight I only have four more chapters to go.  Second, the next article in the book is by Bryan W. Carter, Ph.D., whom I've spoken with before about Second Life and his Harlem project in SL, and after my freak out over the last couple of days over having changed my avies "skin" (basically giving her a whole new look), I decided that I would read Carter's article "Enhancing Virtual Environments."

Carter's article discusses his Harlem Renaissance Island, how it came into existence, and the possibilities for performance and learning in virtual worlds.  What I found most interesting, however, were the notions of identity and passing that Carter focuses on later in his article.  The notion of passing, how people do it, why they choose to, the consequences of it, have always intrigued me.  Carter makes an interesting connection between passing and how we represent ourselves in virtual realities.  Carter argues that "the possibilities for connections are endless regarding how one can configure him or herself in a computer generated environment and the reasoning behind why people decide to 'pass' in real life" (111).  He discusses how "the practice of 'passing' occurs in various ways.  One can 'pass' within or without of her race, gender, class, and eventually, out of her humanity, regardless of her outward appearance.  If one is not fully knowledgeable about the practice of passing and some of the subtleties associated with it, confusion, questions, and sometimes frustration can occur" (112).

This notion of passing in virtual worlds intrigues me greatly.  Over the past week or so, well before reading this aritlce, I started thinking about changing my appearance in SL.  But not just from one caucasian skin to another, but actually trying to pass virtually for an African American.  I decided to try another caucasian skin to see how it affected me first.  And, quite frankly, it's been a bit weird, so I'm not sure how I would react to trying to pass as an African American.  As Carter points out "the subtleties" associated with passing are just as important as the visual appearance.  I'll have to consider it further before deciding whether or not to attempt it.