Virtual Teaching and Learning Commons May 26, 2007, 1:30pm - 2:15pm Room 3-15 Kathryn Murphy-Judy Mark Peterson CALICO 2007 Kathryn Murphy-Judy Mark Peterson CALICO 2007

Virtual Teaching and Learning Commons We will present some of the new programs that are cropping up like Second Life in light of their teaching and learning potential inside and outside the language classroom. We will also consider the wider concern of new communicational media and modes and their impact on social and linguistic formations among our students and colleagues. We will indicate some viable directions for research and explorations in this area and the steps to setting up an island.

3-D/Gaming Learning Worlds Second Life ( from Linden Labswww.secondlife.com There ( by Makena Technologieswww.there.com State of Play Academy ( with New York Law Schoolwww.stateofplayacademy.com The SIMs or World of Warcraft Second Life ( from Linden Labswww.secondlife.com There ( by Makena Technologieswww.there.com State of Play Academy ( with New York Law Schoolwww.stateofplayacademy.com The SIMs or World of Warcraft

Why 3-D play worlds? Motivation Accessibility Socialization Global connections Communication Tasks Playfulness Risk-taking Motivation Accessibility Socialization Global connections Communication Tasks Playfulness Risk-taking

Why not 3-D play worlds? Intense learning curve for some teachers and students Time-intensive development, especially to make it pedagogically and SLA sound Expense of buying an island and ‘stuff’ (unless one can build easily) Wild, wild west (mature content unless one is in the teen section of SL) Not the best 3-D engine, inherent limitations of the Linden vision Intense learning curve for some teachers and students Time-intensive development, especially to make it pedagogically and SLA sound Expense of buying an island and ‘stuff’ (unless one can build easily) Wild, wild west (mature content unless one is in the teen section of SL) Not the best 3-D engine, inherent limitations of the Linden vision

Learners as Gamers… From: The key findings of the research were: gamers appear to forget they are playing games less readily than film goers forget they are watching a film because they have to participate in the game for it to proceed. They appear to non-games players to be engrossed in what they are doing, but, they are concentrating on making progress, and are unlikely to be emotionally involved; people play games to escape from every day life and to escape to a world of adventure without risk which, unlike the real world, is under the control of the gamer; games provide a sense of achievement and are active, unlike television and films which are passive. However, games are better at developing action than building character and as such gamers tend to care less about the storyline than making progress in the game; gamers claim that playing games is mentally stimulating and that playing develops hand eye coordination; children begin playing games at an increasingly early age, but the overall age of games players is getting older; there is a sharp divide between male and female games players in their taste in games and how long they spend playing; female games players tend to prefer "strategic life simulation" games like The Sims and puzzle games, and they spend less time playing than their male counterparts; male players favor first "person shooter" and sports games, and they are much more likely to become deeply absorbed in the play; younger players are influenced to play particular games by peer pressure and word of mouth, but negative press coverage for a game will significantly increase its take up; From: The key findings of the research were: gamers appear to forget they are playing games less readily than film goers forget they are watching a film because they have to participate in the game for it to proceed. They appear to non-games players to be engrossed in what they are doing, but, they are concentrating on making progress, and are unlikely to be emotionally involved; people play games to escape from every day life and to escape to a world of adventure without risk which, unlike the real world, is under the control of the gamer; games provide a sense of achievement and are active, unlike television and films which are passive. However, games are better at developing action than building character and as such gamers tend to care less about the storyline than making progress in the game; gamers claim that playing games is mentally stimulating and that playing develops hand eye coordination; children begin playing games at an increasingly early age, but the overall age of games players is getting older; there is a sharp divide between male and female games players in their taste in games and how long they spend playing; female games players tend to prefer "strategic life simulation" games like The Sims and puzzle games, and they spend less time playing than their male counterparts; male players favor first "person shooter" and sports games, and they are much more likely to become deeply absorbed in the play; younger players are influenced to play particular games by peer pressure and word of mouth, but negative press coverage for a game will significantly increase its take up;

Why current users visit SL Fun What can’t RL Make friends Learn Pastime Sex Add to my life Business Change roles Thrills Meet RL friends

Major Nationalities on SL The French are very proud of being #2 English is, of course, the Linden language of first choice

FREN 425: French Media spot.com/2007/05/rtros pective-la-prsidentielle- sur-sl.htmlhttp://frenchmedia.blog spot.com/2007/05/rtros pective-la-prsidentielle- sur-sl.html spot.com/2007/04/ma- super-vie-surrelle-tant- cattie-oh.htmlhttp://frenchmedia.blog spot.com/2007/04/ma- super-vie-surrelle-tant- cattie-oh.html

Walking with Mark Peterson

Quel (sic) discussion palpitante! [22:32] eagles Laval: oui bonjour [22:32] Kingbishop Ferraris: hello [22:32] Petula Beattie: bonjour [22:33] nancy Yifu: bonjour! [22:33] nancy Yifu: bonjour [22:33] serena Parisi: bonjour [22:33] serena Parisi: hello [22:33] lionel Coen: bonjour [22:33] kreshko Allen: :) [22:34] kreshko Allen: hi [22:34] princezze Umarov: helloo [22:34] kreshko Allen: :) [22:36] Mikaelo Seiling: Quel discussion palpitante! :-) [22:32] eagles Laval: oui bonjour [22:32] Kingbishop Ferraris: hello [22:32] Petula Beattie: bonjour [22:33] nancy Yifu: bonjour! [22:33] nancy Yifu: bonjour [22:33] serena Parisi: bonjour [22:33] serena Parisi: hello [22:33] lionel Coen: bonjour [22:33] kreshko Allen: :) [22:34] kreshko Allen: hi [22:34] princezze Umarov: helloo [22:34] kreshko Allen: :) [22:36] Mikaelo Seiling: Quel discussion palpitante! :-)

Multi-lingual confusions

Meeting with Mark…

Directions for research Looking into intersections between interlanguage and interreality *(term by Jacob van Kokswijk, 2003) Risk-taking in SL and FLE, does SL foster the kind that supports SLA? Trust and collaboration in SL work groups Negotiating meaning with native speakers Impact of voice boards in SL What kind of students create linguistically hybrid avatars for ‘authenticity’ and greater socio-linguistic mobility? What effect does 3-D voice have on language learning in a virtual reality? Looking into intersections between interlanguage and interreality *(term by Jacob van Kokswijk, 2003) Risk-taking in SL and FLE, does SL foster the kind that supports SLA? Trust and collaboration in SL work groups Negotiating meaning with native speakers Impact of voice boards in SL What kind of students create linguistically hybrid avatars for ‘authenticity’ and greater socio-linguistic mobility? What effect does 3-D voice have on language learning in a virtual reality?

Some sites… TLT Webinar (costs $) Slurl SecondLife Education About voice feature Babbler (in French) TLT Webinar (costs $) Slurl SecondLife Education About voice feature Babbler (in French)