Case Story: Creature of the week

Summary	a story about motivating first year students by showcasing good student work every week to the class
Group / workshop	None	Status	seed
Project details...

Situation

What was the setting in which this case study occurred?

A large class (138) of first and second year computer science students on a programming module called Interactive Systems. The students' assignment was to create a virtual pet in Second Life. This involves 3D modelling and programming skills.

Task

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

The intended effect was to engage and motivate the students, to show examples of good work which others could learn from, and show students their work is valued. Also to build a sense of community.

Actions

What was done to fulfil the task?

The approach was to introduce "creature of the week". This means that I select a virtual pet from the second life island every week, take a screen shot of it, and display that screenshot at the start of every lecture. It also goes on the class blog in the VLE for the module. Sometimes there are runner up creatures. Sometimes I do a live demo of the creatures in SL to show interactive behaviour. Sometimes I pick creatures which display particular techniques we have been learning about. Sometimes I just pick them because they appeal to me.

Results

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

It's quite hard to measure the impact of this alone, particularly as the module is not finished and it has not been taught before. The lecture audience seem to like seeing the creatures, the owner of the creature often looks sheepishly proud. Sometimes students tell me someone's pet should be creature of the week, sometimes they tell me theirs should be creature of the week. They also often point out good examples they have seen which have not been showcased. One student said he didn't like creature of the week because he thought it was "dimeaning" for students who weren't picked. "Demoralising" is perhaps a better word. A result which should not be discounted: I like doing it. It's fun. Staff experience counts too, you know. :-)

Lessons Learned

What did you learn from the experience?

I might do this more systematically next year, trying to show more examples of good technical work. But I think it is a reasonable light weight way of trying to create a fun class community. It works because the assignment is about something visual, and because the project is ongoing for 12 weeks.

In a similar vein, there will be a Virtual Crufts at the end of semester where peer nominated creatures get prizes. This is based on previous modules I have taught where we have had Multimedia Oscars ceremonies.

Licensing

This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.