TEACHING IN SECOND LIFE: MORE THAN JUST PRETTY PICTURES?

Peter MillerBiological Sciences

Outline

What is Second Life?

What did we try to do?

Did it work?

What happens next?

Second Life is built from user-generated content (prims)

Architecture

Single prim

Princeton

Urban planning (Unity)

Berkurodam

Mont St Michel

In SL you can build worlds that are imaginary or that no longer exist

HUDs for audience,actors and navigation

Theatron Island

Can we use SL to model the architecture of the cell?

Annu. Rev. Biochem. 2008. 77:583–613Opening of Skylabs on Nature’s Elucian Omega Island, June 2009

Why? Active learning!

What were we trying to achieve?

Core skills module; focus on communication and problem-solving

2 h introduction and 5 x 1 h sessions

Introduce students to working in multi-user virtual environments

Context: interaction between host and bacterial cell wall

Intro: how is information conveyed in SL?

Texturing a prim

Protein rezzing

Database use

Making a presentation

Cell components

Proteins Simple image Multi-prim Animated texture Sculpted prim

Peptidoglycan

Prim-based model

Scratch

Image

Student workspaces and cell wall model with proteins

What did we learn? Students do not know about SL

Students will edit their appearance

Need simple, consistent navigation

Plan carefully (include groupwork)

Meaningful milestones and de/briefing

One hour barely long enough for a class

Hard to be inworld and helping students

Keep it simple

Student evaluations

26% named SL sessions as one of three most disliked elements100% of students satisfied with project allocation (n = 19)External Examiner strongly supportive of continued use of SL

Tuberculosis build

Cityscape

Cellscape

Datascape

Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Cityscape level

Notecard

Hyperlinkedimage

Features found in alpineTB sanatoria

Quests across multiple levels,Notecards can be annotatedIntegration of images, either inworld or personal

Inworld label

ORFs on giant genome

Gene marker (yellow)withinteractome (cyan) and accessory map

Protein

Metabolicpathwaybrowser

Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Datascape level

Drug

Quests across multiple levelsData/web integrationShared presenceComparison with other species

Conclusions

More than pretty pictures: context!

Does not Suit all students Handle text /web well Like low-end PCs

Does Suit visual and

kinesthetic learners Opportunity to tailor

projects to students

Development getting easier Procedural simulation

authoring tools

PIVOTE (paramedic training)

Citrus Virtual (H&S)

Elsewhere: Washington U and i-GEM synthetic biology challenge

Student work: Gut microbiota with focus on possible rolesin obesity and diabetes

Student work: Training simulation for environmental health inspectors

Notecard

Hyperlinkedimage

Features found in alpineTB sanatoria

Poorly organisedfood storage

Issues in kitchen design/layout

Robot avatar programmedto respond to questions from inspector