2021 #VWEDU: #DTA: Can you teach critical thinking online? The detective story model.

Can you teach critical thinking online? 

The detective story model.

Critical thinking is not something you teach about. It is something people learn by practice.  Online offers opportunities for practice.

• Watch on YouTube
• Starring Hedge as the Digital Teaching Assistant (DTA)
• Think like a coder series
• Computational thinking is really concrete planning.
• So teaching computational thinking also teaches planning.
• Learning to think like a coder calls for problem-solving.
• So courses in coding are also teaching problem-solving.

The story model

• Digital literacy. He did it in Classcraft. Like a detective story. Could you do it better in your favorite virtual world? Are your students the heroes who will solve this problem?
• Death for dessert: Another workshop model: Detective, compact
• Digital Literacy: Cyberbullying, the Learner Bureau of Investigation (LBI), and Sargent Guru: A strawman plan
• The pecan pie murder. A 3D story in first draft for the writer's workshop
• Era of the entrepreneurial educator. The unbundling of education opens the gate for entrepreneurs.
• Practice critical thinking (search)
• Scholarly articles for practice critical thinking

2021 #VWEDU: OSCC20: Using Browser Based Virtual Environments As a gateway to get people familiar with virtual worlds. Virtual worlds as social experiences.

OSCC20: Using Browser Based Virtual Environments 

As a gateway to get people familiar with  virtual worlds.  

Virtual worlds as social experiences

Browser-based virtual environments are easily accessed, even on a Chromebook.  They can demonstrate some of the advantages of virtual environments.

• Watch on YouTube

• "The on-boarding experience for Virtual worlds such as OpenSim can be so frustrating for new users that they may never realize the power these environments have for social learning experiences.
• We argue that by using a very simple browser-based environment such as Mozilla Hubs or Frames by Virbela, we can demonstrate the potential of immersive learning and collaboration to new users.  By progressively showing the increased flexibility in more complex settings that address the shortfalls of the simpler environments, we can convert the frustrated user into an enthusiastic supporter of OpenSim-based worlds.
• We will present the progression from simple to complex using examples from a SJSU iSchool course and the use of the e-Campus room in Mozilla Hubs as a blueprint for getting people hooked on Virtual Worlds."

Other browser-based 3D worlds

• Web-worlds as gateway to OpenSimulator
• CybaLOUNGE login 
• A 3d place in your browser. As easy as going to a web page because it is a web page. Live music, writers, videos, meetings, comedy.

2021 #VWEDU: Interested in VR? Check out 3DWebWorldz. Runs in a browser, nothing to install. Guest entry--no registration. Many online exhibits: museums, libraries, writers.

Interested in VR?  Check out 3DWebWorldz.  

Runs in a browser, nothing to install.  

Guest entry--no registration. 

Many online exhibits: museums, libraries, writers.

Virtual reality in your browser.  All you need is a link. You can put it in your web site.  Then your clients only need your link.  In 20 seconds they can come to your place.  Walk, talk, look around.

• Learning 3DWebWorldz – Step By Step QuickStart
• How do I teleport between worlds?
• Instructions:  3DWebWorldz YouTube channel
• Weekly News:  3DWebWorldz News & Support
• A 3d place in your browser. As easy as going to a web page because it is a web page. Live music, writers, videos, meetings, comedy.
• Web-worlds, 3D virtual worlds running in a browser. Summary
• How to put 3D on your website.

Contents

• Easy access
• Online and social
• Digital literacy 
• The sense of "my place."
• Online Campus
• Art galleries
• Writing
• Library
• Museums
• A place to learn
• Entrepreneurial educators 
• Low cost

Meet the NPC Board Podcast by CVL (Community Virtual Library).

Meet the NPC Board Podcast by CVL 

(Community Virtual Library).

CVL shares a podcast to introduce the Nonprofit Commons Board in Second Life- a collaborative network of virtual world communities.

• Watch on YouTube
• Other articles about CVL
• Podcast 

2021 #VWEDU: Thoughts about Looking for Mr Gelam, a short film An invited article by Chris Mooney-Singh. Immersive learning as time travel.

Thoughts about Looking for Mr Gelam, a short film  

An invited article by Chris Mooney-Singh.  

Immersive learning as time travel

A VR-journey back in time to the year 1825. Immersive learning as time travel.

• Watch on YouTube

Dr Chris Mooney-Singh is the co-founder of Poetry Slam in Singapore and has mentored three Young Artists of the Year Award winners. He is a Director of a non-profit arts company, Word Forward, located at the Aliwal Arts Centre in Kampong Gelam, Singapore. Mooney-Singh also teaches in the M.A. Creative Writing Programme at Lasalle College of the Arts. His verse novel Foreign Madam and the White Yogi was commended in the unpublished fiction category of the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards in Melbourne, Australia. This is his first short film.

2021 #VWEDU: Monash University Virtually Enhanced Learning (VEL) Programme Task-based language, culture learning

Monash University Virtually Enhanced Learning (VEL) Programme  

Task-based language  culture learning

A brief introduction to the use of virtual worlds for task-based language and culture learning at Monash and the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching funded Virtually Enhanced Languages project.

• Watch on YouTube
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L0EX--dqZA&feature=emb_logo

VEL

• Monash University Virtually Enhanced Learning (VEL) Programme
• VEL Home

The Virtually Enhanced Languages Project aims to promote the use of task-based language learning in combination with a 3D multiuser virtual environment to supplement and enhance the learning of Chinese language and culture. Funded by the Australian Federal Government Office for Learning and Teaching, the project builds on eight years of practical experience at tertiary introductory level implementing a range of authentic scenarios that simulate real-life tasks and facilitate purposeful communication and feedback. 

The project website (www.virtuallyenhancedlanguges.com) provides a full range of ready-made shareable resources that any interested educator can download for free to try out for themselves or with their students. 

For general enquiries and technical assistance please feel free to contact Scott Grant in the Chinese Studies program at Monash University (scott.grant AT monash.edu). 

2021 OpenSim Community Conference: a real conference in a virtual world. No COVID worries, no cost, no travel time, no hanky-panky. Just people getting together to learn about OpenSimulator and its uses.

OpenSim Community Conference (OSCC): 

a real conference in a virtual world.  

No COVID worries, no cost, no travel time, no hanky-panky. 

Just people getting together to learn about OpenSimulator and its uses.

How the residents of virtual worlds hold big conferences. We have been doing it for years.  And we have found out how to make it work well.

• Watch on YouTube
• Previous articles about OSCC

Conference Welcome and OpenSimulator Features and Updates

The 8th annual OpenSimulator Community Conference. The 2020's event features presenters across the globe who will be highlighting the user projects and core development work of the OpenSimulator platform. We kicked off #OSCC20 with an overview of the latest features in the OpenSimulator software update and conversation with Core Developers of the platform. Find out where the platform is headed and learn more about the developers who make the software happen!

Speakers

• Crista Lopes, Cynthia Calongne, Joyce Bettencourt, Kevin Cozens, Melanie Milland, Robert Adams, Ubit Umarov

How big an audience can OSCC handle?

• After the break

2021 BIZ: #VWEDU: Let's rethink virtual buildings. What purpose do they serve? What do they keep out? Why hide your promotional content?

Let's rethink virtual buildings.  

What purpose do they serve?  

What do they keep out?  

Why hide your promotional content?

Why do we make so many buildings in virtual worlds?   Is it just to look familiar?  Do we need to hide signs and posters behind walls? 

Office simulation

The good reason

• Sometimes we need to simulate a building or something in it.
• Fall safety (2): Signature Safety: Training in digital worlds

What do walls and a roof keep out?

• The weather? No, we control the weather in a virtual world.
• Miscreants: No: we control region access in a virtual world.
• Prying eyes:  No: we know how to cam through walls.
• If we need privacy, we have a private world.
• Walls mainly hide content that we want to promote.

It is mainly to look familiar.

• So make it phantom.  If it is just a matter of looks.
• And leave off the roof.  People rarely look up.
• Stores: lose the roof, put a sign on the floor
  

2021 BIZ: How can we use an always-on world in Kitely? Focussed welcome center aggregators. Gather welcome centers of focussed interest.

How can we use an always-on world in Kitely?  

Focussed welcome center aggregators.  

Gather welcome centers of focussed interest. 

Always-on worlds can serve as welcome centers for other activities.

Focussed WC development

Use it to host focussed welcome centers

• For a demo I have converted my place Creative Collaborators to always on.
• Two focussed centers are already in development there:
• Seanchai: no signage yet, but if you walk into the building, you TP to Seanchai.
• Agile Business Park(tm): Marked by the signage. No TP yet.
• Other WC's with an educational connection will be welcome. No cost.
•  See you later aggregator. Aggregate the offerings and you aggregate the customers.

Possible themed welcome centers

• PLC (for educators)
• Business
• Conferences, conventions, meetings (VBH)
• Storytelling (Seanchai)
• Entertainment 
• Social (could be at KWC)

2021 BIZ: #VWEDU: Participant worksheet displays (PWDs) let participants have their say without interrupting the meeting. Easy to implement in a virtual world.

Participant worksheet displays (PWDs) 

let participants have their say 

without interrupting the meeting.  

Easy to implement in  a virtual world.

That's a PWD behind me

• Mine is set to let other people type in it.
• So it could be used to collect ideas from the group.
• Since I own the page I can change the settings at will. 

Why a PWD?

• Meeting participants have questions, ideas, or misgivings about items in the current discussion.
• Or so you hope.
• They may not express these because they don't fit into the discussion.
• They may put these into text chat, where they are easily overlooked.
• Participant worksheet displays (PWDs) help get this kind of thinking into the discussion.
• And probably encourage participants to give more thought to the discussion.
• You could set up a similar arrangement in a physical meeting with WiFi and laptops.

• Update 2/11/2021 Land up, actives down in January Sundance goes all-in on virtual this year VWBPE2021 RECONNAISSANCE Call for Proposals

2021 #VWEDU VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: IS ONE LIFE ENOUGH? Project-based learning in a digital world: Closing comments on the presentation. Digital and presentation skills.

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: IS ONE LIFE ENOUGH?  

Project-based learning in a digital world:

Closing comments on the presentation.

Digital and presentation skills.

Reports from a project-based learning team in a virtual world.   Watch project-based learning in action.  

• Watch on YouTube

Closing comments on team presentations

• This is a video from the TU Dublin School of Creative Arts
• An elective module 'Virtual Environments: Is one life enough?'
• Comments following presentations by student teams.
• The Brief
• Student blogs

Notes

• Patagonia, Inc. (Wikipedia)
• Patagonia, Inc.
• Adobe Inc

• Update 2/11/2021 Land up, actives down in January Sundance goes all-in on virtual this year VWBPE2021 RECONNAISSANCE Call for Proposals

2021 #VWEDU: Looking for Mr Gelam by Word Forward. Beach Road at Kampong Gelam, the Malay heritage quarter of Singapore. On the Virtual Beach.

Looking for Mr Gelam by Word Forward.  

Beach Road at Kampong Gelam, the Malay heritage quarter of Singapore.  

On the Virtual Beach.

Embark on a VR-journey back in time to the year 1825, in search of the elusive Mr Gelam around Beach Road and Kampong Glam with Uncle Sam and his niece, Ling. Presented by Word Forward

• Watch on YouTube

• Update 2/11/2021 Land up, actives down in January Sundance goes all-in on virtual this year VWBPE2021 RECONNAISSANCE Call for Proposals

2021 Kitely offers ALWAYS ON worlds with dedicated servers. No waiting to load. Megaregions: about 1.3 miles on a side, area equal to 64 traditional sims.

Kitely offers ALWAYS ON worlds with dedicated servers.  

No waiting to load.   

Megaregions: about 1.3 miles on a side, 

area equal to 64 traditional sims.

New type of Kitely world: a Dedicated Server world. These worlds are always-on, can be up to 64 regions in size, and support up to 180,000 objects. Cost: $150 per month.

80 Bots in Kitely Welcome Center

• Watch on YouTube

• Always-On Dedicated Servers
• "8x8": means that each side is the length of 8 traditional sims
• 256 meters times 8=2048 meters, 1.3 miles
• Instant TP into this always-on world--no waiting to load.
• And no sim boundaries to cross.

• Update 2/11/2021 Land up, actives down in January Sundance goes all-in on virtual this year VWBPE2021 RECONNAISSANCE Call for Proposals

2021 #VWEDU: #DTA: An expertise database for an online PLC (Professional Learning Community) . Online makes a big community. Big needs a database

An Expertise Database for an online PLC 

(Professional Learning Community) .  

Online makes a big community. 

Big needs a database  

And online handles databases.  A PLC is about learning from expert sources.  An Expertise Database can help people find experts.  That collection becomes a Personal Learning Network (PLN).  

• Watch on YouTube

• Expertise finding (Wikipedia) 
• Expertise database university (search)
• Expertise locator systems (search)
• Expert educators database (search)
• Professional learning network (search)

The Expertise DB 

• The expertise DB EDB) lists people in the PLC who offer to answer questions about online learning.
• This EDB lists the keywords each expert can answer questions about. 
• Experts with many keywords are tagged as wide range. 
• The EDB also lists (but does not give out) the email address for the mentor. 

After the break

• How the PLC can use the EDB
• How the experts might benefit from the EDB
• Who might initiate the effort?

• Update 2/4/2021 Land up, actives down in January Sundance goes all-in on virtual this year VWBPE2021 RECONNAISSANCE Call for Proposals Changes in this blog

2021 #VWEDU: BIZ: "Coding" can teach kids strategic and critical thinking, problem-solving, collaborative teamwork, systems thinking, and creative self expression.

"Coding" can teach kids strategic and critical thinking, 

problem-solving, collaborative teamwork, systems thinking, 

and creative self expression.  

How software production can teach a lot more than how to produce software.   

• Watch on YouTube

Coding is the sine qua non of success in a knowledge economy society. It has become a primordial skill in K-12 education and beyond. The pedagogical importance of coding, besides the technical part of helping students better understand the digital world surrounding them, is that it combines a host of other important skills such as strategic and critical thinking, problem-solving, collaborative team work, systems thinking, and creative self expression among many others. -- Educational websites to teach kids coding

Yes and no

• Not the classroom model.  The production model.
• People learn what they practice.
• In the classroom model, the students create code to match an algorithm.
• That is learning to code but not much more.
• In the production model, the students are put into a team.
• and tasked to produce software that satisfies a specific use case.
• That task requires effective use of the skills mentioned in the title.
• That task gives practice in the skills. 
• Even so, it does not really teach.  
• It simply demands that they figure it out for themselves.
• A digital teaching assistant (DTA) can coach them in those skills

• Update 2/4/2021 Land up, actives down in January Sundance goes all-in on virtual this year VWBPE2021 RECONNAISSANCE Call for Proposals Changes in this blog

2021 #VWEDU: Organizing our online PLC. Virtual Worlds Education Consortium (VWEC). Affiliated groups, wider networking and knowledge sharing

Organizing our online PLC. 

Virtual Worlds Education Consortium (VWEC). 

Affiliated groups, wider networking and knowledge sharing

A draft plan for our online Professional Learning Community.  Objective: wider networking, more effective sharing of knowledge.

• Watch on YouTube

Where are we now?

• Our online PLC is now partly organized as multiple groups.
• The broader community is based on informal connections among people in the groups.
• A way to foster stronger connections is to have affiliated groups.
• The affiliation plan can support wider networking and sharing of knowledge

• Update 2/4/2021 Land up, actives down in January Sundance goes all-in on virtual this year VWBPE2021 RECONNAISSANCE Call for Proposals Changes in this blog

2020 #VWEDU: BIZ: Meeting in an online 3D place is not like meeting in a web page. Places hold more than talking heads. Situated learning and social roles.

Meeting in an online 3D place is not like meeting in a web page.
Places hold more than talking heads.

Situated learning and social roles.

An online 3D place can be built or selected for the objective of the class or meeting that will use it. The arrangement of the place will influence what people do there. 

 

• Watch on YouTube

• A 3D place in a virtual world is a simulation of a place,
• That can be a familiar place, such as an office or a classroom.
• Being in a familiar place and a familiar social situation calls up familiar roles.
• People have already learned familiar behaviors for those circumstances.
• Chairs neatly arranged to face to podium in front.
• A screen behind that podium.
• We need no instructions on what to do or what to expect.
• This is an example of situated learning.
• And shows the effect of Social Roles and Roles (Wikipedia).
• You can use that scene if it fits your objectives and teaching method.

• Update 2/4/2021 Land up, actives down in January Sundance goes all-in on virtual this year VWBPE2021 RECONNAISSANCE Call for Proposals Changes in this blog

2020 BIZ: #VWEDU: Conferences, conventions, trade shows. Big meetings of any kind. You can do them online. No travel, no risk, no hanky-panky.

Conferences, conventions, trade shows. 

Big meetings of any kind.  

You can do them online. 

No travel, no hotel, no risk, no hanky-panky. 

Consideration of how big meetings can be held online.

C

OSCC 2019 WELCOME 

• Watch on YouTube 
• Trade show: could that be done online? A digital place could duplicate the look and feel of a trade show

What generally happens in these events? 

• Big auditorium presentations 
• Small localized displays, exhibit booths, poster presentations
• Small meetings or workshops with selected persons conferring or working together: Breakout rooms 
• Opportunities to interact with the media
• Networking 
• Hanky-panky

Where?

• Kitely is an installed virtual world that is specifically supporting this market.
• Hosting Large Events in Kitely
• Virtual Trade Shows   Virtual Exhibition, Tradeshow or Career Fair.
• Virtual Trade Shows: Pros and Cons
• Virtual trade shows 2020 (search)

• Update 2/4/2021 Land up, actives down in January Sundance goes all-in on virtual this year VWBPE2021 RECONNAISSANCE Call for Proposals Changes in this blog

2020 PROMO: BIZ: HG: See you later aggregator. Aggregate the offerings and you aggregate the customers.

See you later aggregator.   
Aggregate the offerings and 
you aggregate the customers.

Aggregators in OpenSimulator. 

Stores and malls are aggregators

• Multiple choices draw multiple customers.
• That is why producers sell to aggregators for resale to customers.
• Kitely Market has over 14,000 items on offer for export.
• OpenSimulator does not have to be limited to Cottage industries
• What else can we aggregate?
• Schools in virtual worlds
• Art colonies
• Events:  Hypevents,  OpenSimWorld Events
• Places: Opensimworld
• Educational places: Kitely search. 
• Educational products: Kitely Market search

• Update 1/28/2021 Land up, actives down in January. Sundance goes all-in on virtual this year. VWBPE2021 RECONNAISSANCE Call for Proposals.

2021 ART: The Mondrian Puzzle: Abstract Art meets Mathematics and a virtual world

The Mondrian Puzzle: 

Abstract Art meets Mathematics

In OpenSimulator.  

Tessellation or tiling the plane fits many interests: art, mathematics, architecture and puzzles.  Mondrian tiled the canvas plane with art.  

• Watch on YouTube

• Mondrian (the artist)
• Mondrian Puzzle
• Multimondrian (a virtual world version with scripting)
• This presentation was made using Melablocks, an App in the RezMela system. 
• RezMela is an application development platform implemented in OpenSimulator.
• It is used for the production of focused 3D applications (Apps)
• [RezMela] Melablocks [Smartblocks] (Kitly market)
• Using Smartblocks

• Update 11/12/2020 VWBPE2021: RECONNAISSANCE Call for Proposals Educators' online calendar and OPLN. Kitely 8X8 megaworlds.

• Update 1/28/2021 Land up, actives down in January. Sundance goes all-in on virtual this year. VWBPE2021 RECONNAISSANCE Call for Proposals.