By Preetam Rai, Teaching and Learning Centre

We first introduced Second Life to Ngee Ann Polytechnic in 2007.

At first, students were given simple tasks so that they could learn how to build items in the virtual space. They needed to go to common areas (called sandboxes) to carry out their activities but a problem we faced was the sandbox would get cleared from time to time and the students’ work would be lost. We subsequently bought our own island with the aim of providing an opportunity for staff and students to investigate the potential of 3-D virtual spaces for learning.

The first activities in Second Life were undertaken by students from the Building and Mechanical Engineering diplomas. The objective was for them to learn how to communicate, collaborate and construct buildings and other objects in a virtual space.

1. Activity by Aerospace Technology Students

The Aerospace Technology students created models of aircraft and hangars as illustrated below.

As the facilitator for this activity, it was an interesting experience for me as it was the first time I needed to meet students in a virtual space to help them with their tasks. In this image, I am discussing the requirements for the activity with the students.

As virtual worlds become more commonplace, I think “in-world” facilitation skills will become more important in the educational context. As companies will make more use of virtual worlds to meet with clients and to hold in-company meetings, our students need to be prepared by having experiences in such spaces.

Self-Directed Learning

The students were required to research how to build objects in Second Life, since no formal training was provided. I also encouraged them to look for help online both “in-world” where they would hop on to other islands and consult builders and on YouTube which has hundreds of videos on building and scripting on Second Life.

For example, in this video an avatar is seen using a set of architectural plans to create a building in Second Life.

2. Second Life Activity by Real Estate Business Students

Our second project was with Mr. Keow Yeong Ming and his 3rd-year Real Estate Business students, who were enrolled in the Business Information Technology module. We could only work with 3rd-year students as Second Life does not allow people younger than 18 on the main islands. (There is a separate section in Second Life for those younger than 18).

The objective for this activity were to expose the students to the experience of collaborating in an online space to design and create a building of their own choosing.

The students were divided into about a dozen teams of three each.

The first task the students needed to complete was to create their avatar and then visit certain islands to learn more about what Second Life has to offer.

The students needed to build something of their own choice in Second Life. It could have been an apartment block, a bungalow, or perhaps a restaurant or shopping centre. They needed to build it from scratch or they could explore Second Life to find components that they could use (like staircases, furniture, cars, and even helicopters). The students had access to a building fund of 1000 Linden dollars per team. (Linden dollars is the virtual currency that is used in Second Life. It can be exchanged for real currency.)

The students were given broad guidelines to encourage creativity. One of the choices that the students had was to build their “dream home”.

We were quite impressed by what the students were able to build in such a short period of time.

Assessment in Second Life Projects
The assessment for this project was quite interesting. The lecturer visited each group’s Second Life site at a pre-determined time and the students were required to be there to show him around. He asked them questions on what they had done, why they did it the way they did and what had they learned. The aesthetics of the construction and the use of space were also considered as part of the assessment.

Student Feedback
We surveyed the students after this experience. Most of the students were positive about the experience in Second Life, while around 15% were ‘neutral’ and only a small number did not believe it was a useful experience. They reported that Second Life was “fun and easy to use” and that they “were now more comfortable to communicate with people in Second Life”.

One student reflected on how it had changed his view about the module:

It’s fun and an innovative way to make our module more interesting.

Several students indicated their disappointment with the “lagginess” of Second Life, presumably because of wireless bandwidth issues:

I feel that it is a rather fun and unique way by using Second Life in doing part of our assignments. It is like students can have fun learning and playing at the same time. However, it can take up a lot of time too as i get logged out rather often and slows down everything. Can’t really multi-task using my laptop.

Another reported on student engagement:

I feel that it is a good way to engage students to have a feel of how to build digitally. Even though it was lagging, the project interested me and I enjoyed doing it.

When asked about the future potential of Second Life, we were encouraged when one student responded:

Perhaps there should be a project whereby students are required to hold meetings with their individual groups in Second Life.

Unexpected Lessons Learned

The lecturer in charge of this project reported that after allowing the students to build whatever they liked, wherever they liked, the virtual “town” became very messy. For future runs, there will be more town planning on the island. This was also a good learning point for the real estate students who were involved.

Future Directions for 3-D Worlds at Ngee Ann Polytechnic

1. Next semester we will get a larger group of students to participate in a more involved exercise where the Second Life activity will be more focused on the learning objectives of the students’ core subjects.
2. We are currently piloting MPK20, which is a virtual 3D environment developed by Sun Microsystems. In this 3D world, employees can “accomplish their real work, share documents, and meet with colleagues using natural voice communication.” In the educational arena, students can use MPK20 to share computer applications with each other and with their lecturers; collaborate on projects; and communicate with each other in the 3-D space.