- Identify builidng projects that support interactivity in learning.
- Associate capabilities of interactivity builds with appropriate pedagogical objectives.
To begin the class Mali Young started a camp fire and asked us to change our environment to midnight. This was done to provide atmosphere and to set a mood, and it actually worked. Mali expressed that building and creating a mood helps to motivate learners. We were also told that including aspects of playfulness are important in motivating learners.
One of the basic, fun ways to incorporate interactivity in SL is to make a live survey. Questions can be asked through powerpoint slides or textures applied to a media screen or prim. Participants can have different colored cards that they wear to provide their answers. We participated in a live survey, and to begin a large media screen was rezzed to view the powerpoint survey questions. Each student then clicked a prim (box) to receive the colored cards used to identify their answers. Questions were then provided to us on the screen and we presented our answers by wearing colored cards. This type of activity is useful for live formative assessment and is known to build cohesiveness within a group.
Another useful tool designed for interactivity is a suggestion box, also known as a feedback box, hand-in box, or survey collector. These tools allow for information to be collected for purposes such as quizzes, surveys, homework or any other type of information needed to be collected. Surveys can also be done through web-based survey tools like Survey Monkey. To do this the survey URL giver is put into a prim with the URL of the survey. When the prim is clicked it provides an option to load the survey in an external web-browser.
Walk through tutorials are another way to incorporate interactivity. A great example of a walk through tutorial is The Particle Laboratory http://slurl.com/secondlife/Teal/180/70/21. It is designed to take you through a step by step process of adding particle textures to prims. ED Tech Island http://slurl.com/secondlife/EdTech/214/56/26 was originally setup to study social persistence in a SIM. Some of the Island's research focuses on how to promote or keep individuals on a SIM. Design methods such as creating pathways, putting information along pathways, creating community groups and sending out group notices have been used to control traffic on the SIM. A fantastic example of a walk through tutorial is Thursday' Fiction http://slurl.com/secondlife/Esperance/239/41/22/?title=Thursday%27s%20Fiction, based on a movie and book of the same title. It is still under construction but what has been created is an amazing experience, although disturbing at times.
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