Case Story: SafePlayAreasbeforeSecondLife

Summary	Using OpenSim as a safe learning space before Second Life
Group / workshop	Digital Identities	Status	seed
Project details...	This case-story is based on experiences during the JISC funded OpenHabitat project (http://www.openhabitat.org)

Situation

What was the setting in which this case study occurred?

A short module within an Art and Design course with a group of 11 undergraduate students. They were given a choice of project design briefs that needed to be realised within the virtual world Second Life (SL).

Task

What was the problem to be solved, or the intended effect?

When students are new to virtual worlds and need to be given an induction session of basic skills such as navigation and building objects in-world. In previous years tutors took the students directly into SL for the orientation and induction sessions only to find that the environment was too distracting - the students wanted to explore and socialise) and it was difficult to keep the students together and complete the induction session … even though the students are all located within the same physcial lab space.

Actions

What was done to fulfil the task?

Use OpenSim (an OpenSource reversed engineered version of SL) instead of SL for the induction sessions.In the first instance by installing standalone virtual worlds for each students and then later linking the worlds together for collaborative activity. Finally, once the students were comfortable with basic skills take them into SL and the University island space.

Results

What happened? Was is a success? What contributed to the outcomes?

This worked very well. Students felt comfortable and were not distracted. Skills and competencies were picked up quickly e.g. manipulating objects, creating builds and developing a 3D visual grammer. They also found it a gentle introduction to the 'multi-user' dimension of social virtual worlds when the OpenSim instantiations were linked together allowing them to join each other in-world in small groups. When they were eventually taken into Second Life they felt experienced and were more focussed on the project briefs. They also reported that OpenSim felt like a safe place to experiment. One of the big distractions in SL is the playfulness surrounding the identity of the avatar. In OpenSim all students appear 'Ruthed' i.e. in a generic avatar form with limited opportunity for editing appearance. The use of OpenSim also allowed the tutors to shift the focus of the class easily between the physical space of the lab, where they were all co-located, and the virtual space.

Lessons Learned

What did you learn from the experience?

Creating a safe space to play before moving into a more complex social setting i.e. SL worked well. It helped the student's feel confident in their skills and helped tutors maintain a focus on the skills that needed to be learnt for successful completion of the design briefs.The richness of the virtual space of SL has a strong immersive draw and can make it difficult to 'pull' students back into the physical space of the teaching lab.

Licensing

This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.