Through Second Life, UC Profs Hold Virtual Barn Dance

One of the latest crazes for tech-savvy people is a program known as “Second Life.” Open to the public since 2003, Second Life (SL) is an Internet-based virtual world that came to international attention through mainstream news media in late 2006 and early 2007. Developed by Linden Lab, a downloadable client program enables its users, called “residents,” to interact with each other through motional “avatars.” Through their avatars, residents can explore, meet other residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, and create and trade items (virtual property) and services from one another.

The word “avatar,” which comes from Hindu philosophy, means the earthly incarnation of a higher being or god. Avatars come in a small number of basic models to get started. Then users quickly learn to tailor their avatars appearance to suit their persona. From there, users — or residents — learn to walk, run, fly and dance. Similar to open map video games, avatars wander through the world, interacting with other avatars. "Interacting” for about 30 students includes dancing and roasting virtual marshmallows. The students from “Women in Science” and “Communication and Technology,” are having an end of quarter “dance” in the virtual 3D world Second Life.

Educators at the University of Cincinnati are exploring the use of SL as a possible e-learning environment. Two faculty members of the McMicken College of Arts & Sciences, Wendy Eisner and Nancy Jennings, have not only integrated Second Life into their curricula, but now they’re also using it to introduce their classes to each other, with a barn dance scheduled for

8–10 p.m. Monday, Nov. 26.

“There will even be a virtual hay ride!” says Eisner. “We are also inviting students from University of Oregon Assistant Professor Michael Aronson’s new media theory and digital culture class, who have been working in the UC space.”

Second Life provides “islands” where individuals and organizations can build virtual communities, either totally imaginary or representing some real-life community. More than 11 million world-wide users have registered with Second Life. Even on the Sunday morning of an American holiday weekend, more than 40,000 people were “in world.” Almost 1.5 million people had logged in during the past 60 days.

Eisner, an associate professor of geography and environmental studies, is teaching “Women in Science.” The course is an exploration of how women work in the sciences, how they are perceived by the sciences, and how they are changing the sciences. Jennings, an assistant professor of communication, is teaching “Communication and Technology.”

Jennings’ class was conducted almost exclusively in world in Second Life.

“I designed the course to examine the growing phenomenon of the video gaming and virtual worlds,” says Jennings. “In it, students explore the historical development of video games, why people play them, and what kind of impact this might have on the individual and communities.” Jennings uses virtual worlds to teach about local community partners.

Jennings’ student Joshua Stutzman says that he truly enjoyed the experience and that even though his class requirements for Second Life are now complete, he knows that he will log on to Second Life in the future — “and not for a grade but instead for the gratification of escape, and the ability to transform myself into something or someone who can get lost in the crowd and is not overwhelmed with the mundane ambiguities of life,” he says. “It is through this class and ultimately this assignment that has better equipped me to understand my unconscious self. This experience in Second Life has enabled me to grasp the concept of self and the constructs that form my identity.”

“I incorporated SL into the Women in Science class with the idea of giving the students an opportunity to study gender biases that have been adopted in SL,” says Eisner. “The students had an assignment to learn SL and attend one formal classroom meeting in a beautiful mile-high tower built by UCit’s [information technology's] Chris Collins on the UC island, where I lectured and presented a PowerPoint. Then they were ‘let loose’ to examine shopping and advertising behavior in malls, male-female avatar interactions at dances and hangouts, and then just a sort of free-form exploration of anything they found interesting."
 
Eisner’s students then wrote essays about their experiences, she says. “The students were very enthusiastic about the project.”

Eisner’s student Sarah Briedis says that she was skeptical when she first heard about Second Life. “A real-time virtual world in which you can interact with people from all over the globe, buy virtual clothing, accessories, and land, build objects and fly was out of my scope and my comfort zone,” Briedis says. “Although I have grown up in the information age, where communication is instantaneous, I have never been interested in video games and I wasn’t sure what to expect from Second Life. However, I was surprised to find I really enjoyed experimenting with my avatar, meeting new people via Second Life, and observing the similarities and differences between Second Life and the real world. In particular, it was interesting to look at the booming consumer culture that is an integral part of this virtual world, the types and frequencies of places and the variety of people on Second life.”

Eisner’s class conducted several classes and assignments in Second Life, while studying gender biases and the effects of technologies on gender roles. Briedis found many of the stereotypes of gender and gender relations in the real world are also found in world in Second Life.

“Our society’s obsession with material goods and attractiveness, especially for females, is magnified in Second Life. This is apparent when looking at the difference between photos of clothing for males and females,” Briedis wrote in her essay. “Male models are usually fully clothed and the focus is on the actual garments. On the other hand, female models are usually barely clothed and emphasis is on sex appeal. Women’s gestures are dainty and when sitting down a female avatar automatically crosses her legs.” Although many mannerisms can be created by the user, users cannot override the default mechanics of their avatars.

Jennings and Eisner set up the barn dance with the help of Chris Collins, facilitator of the UC Second Life Learning Community, ambassador of the Ohio Learning Network Second Life, and co-moderator of the OLN Second Life Listserv.

"The UC Second Life Learning Community really takes advantage of the 'learning community' concept," says Collins, who works in instructional and research computing. "The most exciting aspect for me is how much interdisciplinary collaboration is growing out of those experiences. Whether it's a virtual barn dance between two classes or a joint research project, we're seeing that virtual worlds like Second Life can really facilitate collaboration because you can meet and talk and 'see' each other without ever leaving your office."

The University of Oregon received a small grant that enabled them to lease the property on the University of Cincinnati island. Jennings and Collins recently wrote an article about Second Life, which was published by the International Journal of Social Science, called “Virtual or Virtually U: Educational Institutions in Second Life.” Their observational study focuses on what educational institutions look like in this specific virtual environment, the types of spaces educational institutions are creating or simulating, and what types of activities are being conducted.

UC’s island does not look like campus, especially with a horse, bonfire and haywagon waiting for the dance. Still, student Briedis was surprised at the quality of objects created.

“At University of Cincinnati in Second Life, much of the detail is exact, including signs around the virtual campus and the stone walkways,” she says.

"Over 30 faculty and IT staff from many departments and disciplines here at the university have set out to explore how Second Life might be useful for education," Collins adds.

“Eric Maurer and I are working on a project to incorporate SL into the Environmental Studies curriculum,” Eisner adds. “One advantage of SL is its power to visualize scientific principles in a novel and compelling way.” Eisner is planning on doing more teaching using Second Life, but is also planning on incorporating it into her Arctic research as part of the community outreach program. [link to tundra story]

Avatars can come as you…er, they…are, but in case yours doesn’t have anything to wear, Eisner has taken care of that for you.

“I found some free western clothes, and dropped the box of clothes in the sandbox.”

 
Related links:
 
9/10/2005  UC Faculty Members Break New Ground While Treading Gently on the Alaskan Tundra
Three University of Cincinnati faculty members are combining their separate disciplines and areas of expertise to study the effects of global warming on indigenous peoples in Alaska. Their research has lessons for us all.

Nancy Jennings and Chris Collins' paper: (2007) “Virtual or Virtually U: Educational Institutions in Second Life.” International Journal of Social Sciences, 2(3), 180-187.

About the University of Cincinnati
 
Ranked by the National Science Foundation among the top 25 public research universities in the United States, UC's faculty have distinguished themselves worldwide for their creative teaching and research. The University of Cincinnati serves a diverse enrollment of more than 36,500 students through a balance of educational excellence and real-world experience. Founded in 1819, UC is the largest employer in the Cincinnati region, with an economic impact of more than $3 billion.