My reading/writing class is blogging today

I'm really happy because my advanced reading/writing class at Tacoma Community College is in the computer lab right now, blogging! All of the students created blogs and are going to blog about their interests this quarter.

Videos introducing Cypris English Village by Professor Merryman

Professor Merryman of Cypris English VoiceChat Village has made several videos showing the island and how it works:

This one is about a chatbot that he created to help students new to chatting practice typing standard conversation questions & answers quickly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmOLU4fvXS8

Here is how to visit Cypris and join the group:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOmorYp516Y

A tour of Cypris Island and some video of avatars in conversation group activities as well as just hanging out and having fun:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aONJvlne0wI

rethinking SL in language classes

Lessons learned today:
1) Prepare a traditional activity that students can do independently while you walk around and give feedback. Focus the lesson on this and have everyone do it from the start. Make the SL activity optional at the end of the lesson. If an instructor computer and projector is available or another computer that students can see, log on so that everyone is is able to see what is going on inworld, even if they're not initially interested in joining in.

2) A new way of framing SL for language classes: VoiceChat is the important thing. Build subskills into lessons, get to VoiceChat by mid-quarter, get the students to an English conversation group after that.

a possible sequence for weekly lessons: create an account, teleport, take a snapshot (this one is good for writing assignments), local chat, etiquette for VoiceChat, voice chat, join a group.

Readings and video could be created/assembled for students before each lesson.

3) Colleagues with SL skills help each other in class sessions and make it a success!

This morning, we went to the lab for the last time this quarter. My colleague John and I had, like last week, defined a very specific goal for the lesson: show interested students how to use the Voice Chat in SL. Because it was our last session, I also wanted to get them to Cypris English Voice Chat Island in SL and help them join the conversation group at Cypris Village.

All students were shown folders in our Angel classroom where I had posted links to self-correcting grammar quizzes online, specifically exercises that reviewed topics we have just covered and that will help students prepare for our final exam next week.

Once they had been working for about 20 minutes, we passed out headsets to students who expressed interest and showed them individually how to set up their preferences in SL to use the headsets. Having John there to help was crucial--he tested headsets to make sure they worked, walked around and helped students, and even helped fix a lab scheduling confusion (my bad). He made the lesson a success. We could not have done it without him.

I like letting students choose whether to do the SL activity or not because it wipes out my preconceptions. When you prepare a lesson, of course you think it's valuable. But not everyone might think so. Some students were happy just to work on the grammar exercises, and I walked around and helped them. Others really seemed enthusiastic about heading over to Cypris for the last 20 minutes of class and seemed motivated by the activity. I can't always guess who is going to want to do what, so it's best to have a sure-fire traditional activity prepared and put the emphasis on it, making SL optional at the end of the lesson.

Cypris Island--English Conversation

A few weeks ago, I discovered Cypris Island. It appears to be a utopic English Conversation group--just what we try to achieve in RL but never quite make it because of the constraints of RL...time and space. So far, I've had conversations with people located on four continents. It's amazing. Mystie Slade and Professor Merryman, who co-founded Cypris, have been wonderful hosts, as has Deanna Gears, who volunteers a lot on Cypris. I've been warmly greeted and helped by many other people there as well.

On Cypris, English learners from around the globe join a group and can participate in formal and informal English conversations. In the photo, you can see the schedule for moderated conversations. Note that Cypris does not teach English; it simply provides an inviting and safe place for people to practice it. Cypris emphasizes voice chat, not IM, so a USB multimedia headset is a good idea.

Sea kayaking off of Evergreen Island

When I'm not teaching, I like to go sea kayaking. Notice the new SBCTC islands in the distance....So this is the model I'm now thinking of for class: SL as a "field trip" after finishing other tasks, just for students who are interested and finish early. I got this idea from Cypris English Conversation Island, where conversation leaders take students on a field trip in SL after the conversation activity. It seemed to work well in class yesterday, when 25% of the class continued to work on the online practice quizzes while about 75% chose to go on a field trip to Cypris.

keep it simple

Week 8, and I've been feeling nervous about our weekly computer lab session. While SL is supposed to provide context for writing and speaking assignments, the technical aspect has been getting in the way. While some students pick it up right away, others do not..and just because a student has no trouble getting into SL doesn't mean that he/she thinks it is a good use of time. Frankly, just learning how to use it is not the best use of time for a grammar class. But when you have just over a half hour with them each week, it does take a few weeks to get the students up and running.

Once they are...keep it simple. Today, my class worked on online grammar quizzes depending on their particular needs, and I answered individual questions. 30 minutes into our 50-minute class, my colleague and I took them on a field trip to Cypris Chat Island in SL. Originally only 5 of 22 students had signed up to go, but once the others saw these 5 teleporting, they assembled in the launch area at Evergreen and wanted to go too. In the end, over 75% of my class went to this island and met Deanna Gears (SL name), docent on Cypris Chat Island. I felt it was a successful lesson.