A case study of Second Life for collaborative learning
Ming Nie1, Paula Roush1, Matthew Wheeler1
1University of Leicester, United Kingdom, 2London South Bank University, United Kingdom
This poster introduces a case study of using Second Life (SL) for providing collaborative learning opportunities. The study was carried out by the University of Leicester in October 2008 with six undergraduate students studying Digital Photography at the London South Bank University. The study was part of a JISC-funded research project called MOOSE (MOdelling Of Second life Environment http://www.le.ac.uk/beyonddistance/moose/)We adapted the idea of Virtual Story Cubes to work in SL. To structure the group work and facilitate collaborative tasks, three SL-based learning activities (SL-tivities) were designed based on Salmon’s (2004) 5-stage model and the concept of e-tivities(Salmon, 2002).In SL-tivity 1, students were shown and encouraged to experiment with different ways of using snapshot tools to create the most stunning images in SL. They were instructed to participate in a discussion to share their experiences.In SL-tivity 2, students were shown how to create a cube, change its size and texture and move it around. Each student then produced their own cube with digital images taken from SL-tivity 1. After the task was completed, students were instructed to participate in a discussion to explain how they came to create their story cube.In SL-tivity 3, in this task, the individual cubes had to be arranged together to create a group story cube. This required lots of negotiation and debate with regard to which snapshots to keep and which ones to hide in order to tell a story about it.Student learning experience was researched using qualitative methods. We interviewed each student and held a focus group with the six students in October 2008. We also recorded chat logs and took observation notes from each SL session for analysis.Students identified a number of ways in which SL enhanced their learning: enabling active learning, gaining publicity as a photographer and promoting research into subcultures. Both the students and tutor found that the most gratifying aspect of working in SL is the ability to work together on the collaborative task which involves building virtual story cubes, moving them around and agreeing on the collective narrative.Salmon,G.K. 2004. E-moderating: the key to teaching and learning online, 2nd edition, London: Routledge Falmer.Salmon,G. 2002. E-tivities: The Key to Active Online Learning. Rutledge Falmer: London.