I had the best experience the other day when Katrina Coker invited my students and myself to present to her University of New Mexico class on the main grid. Ofcourse the students, not being of age at this point, just sat next to me and spoke but the affect was well received.

We were not quite ready with setting up our main grid Skoolaborate site but thought we would try a presentation anyway and I am so glad I did.

I stumbled upon what was, for me, quite a revelation.  As Mike and I only had about five minutes to get ready for it we just threw up some screens or place holders for pictures.  I then hacked into my slides and some pics on the crowded desktop and put pics on each of the screens.

I had a couple of minutes to think about the presentation and that is when it came to me.

One thing I have always hated about Powerpoint or presentation software is the inability to easily see all your slides as well as present to an audience.  It stifles you - or at least me.  It makes me think in a linear line and stops me from telling my stories. 

I often see the same set up when I come into Second Life and wonder why people present that way.  I sort of get it in the real world because you can't afford more than one screen but in Second Life you can afford anything.

So what I had basically done was filled the room with plasma displays and put one pic per display.  I  could then walk from slide to slide and stop in front on the one I wanted to talk about.  If the discussion took off in a different direction I could simply walk over the appropriate picture and stand in front of that.  People could use their cameras to look past me and at the pic or they could click on the pre set web link and check out the web resource - perfect, interactive and non linear presentation, I might just use this to present live!

You can make it more impressive by then walking outside and visiting a Chinese Museum that you had prepared earlier - lol  Stand inside the thing you are trying to explain, how cool is that?

Recently we began the 'Body Image' unit that challenges students to think about the affect that the media has on their values and attitudes around body image. 

This activity was 'set up' via an online unit (see pic below) developed by the teachers at MLC  Karen Ingram, the head teacher at MLC, made the unit available to all the teachers and schools in Skoolaborate. Students created Collages, had discussions amongst peers, researched local shopping centers and media outlets etc in preparation for an online debate with schools from other countries.  The unit included many aspects relating to Body image such a health issues, media and peer pressures, dieting advice etc.  Others schools including  Kings Christian School and Christs College added more information later to make the units totally relevant to their students body and curriculum.

Part of the  unit required students to develop avatars that reflect what they see as the perfect body image through the eyes of the media.  The first visit 'in world' saw students working on their image and discussing why they  chose what they chose.  MLC students were joined by several other students and teachers from around the world to discuss why they made their choices.  The teacher would ask a provocative Question and the students would move to the appropriate discussion area to discuss with like minded others (see below).

Teachers noticed that students who tried this activity in the 'real world' were reluctant to go to an area that reflected their true opinion but would rather go o where their friends went.  In the virtual world, the students did not stick with their friends but rather visited their true position.

The second  visit allowed the students to upload copies of the collages that they had produced.  Students then discussed with each other and with the Skoolaborate partners who visited, why they had constructed their collages as they had and what meaning they were trying to provide.

It was great to see various images with slight variances from all over the world.  The conversations were around similarities and differences in media pressures and what images were appropriate.

This online unit is now available to all Skoolaborate members who can complete the unit at a time that suits their academic year.  They will also add contributions and variances. 

By Jean Locicero Shankle aka SnowdropMHSUS

Skoolaborate has been the scene for an innovative style of high school orientation for an in-coming Milford High School student this summer. Styled as “Mission Possible” and “Behavior is Communication” the sessions have been designed to help a student work through the kinds of social situations that he may confront in high school.

For this particular student, those kinds of situations present particularly puzzling problems. However, as he tackles the challenges on the notecard of the day, a teacher and a fellow student are able to present situations that he works through with his avatar. While the long lasting results are yet to be seen, the process has been great fun, for the student, the teacher and the student-intern behind the

scenes who has been helping to simulate the high school social situations.

“Lionheart,” our helpful upper classman, uses a computer in a different room from the student we are working with, and has not met his young friend, even at this writing. This has helped the young student, whose privacy I will protect by calling him “Freshman”, invest in what we have termed a game. Each day, Freshman logs in, is introduced to a new SL skill for fun and then receives his mission on a notecard from "Vecchia", the name we have knicknamed the teacher’s avatar (Vecchia is the Italian word for old lady!). Each task has a catchy Italian word and is worth a number of points, for which the student receives a physical receipt daily after he has successfully completed the tasks. The catchy name, the points, and the gift certificate redeemable for books, are to add to the recreational feel of the activities. Freshman has been motivated and is fully participating throughout the game. Lionheart has been coached to respond in general terms, but keeps his responses real so the experience is as authentic as possible.

 Freshman’s first goal of the donated gift certificate to Toadstool, our local bookstore, required 20 points accummulated from each task worth a point or two; therefore, the course of the game has been several weeks. His tasks and assessments| have included acting out the preferred social habits, making and returning note cards, as well as creating comics of the scenes from snapshots taken in Second Life.

Sample activity: Objective –Learn to select age-appropriate topics of conversation

4. Taking Care of Nonna (Grandma)
Yesterday, traveler "Student Avatar Name" (SAN) met an old lady in Skoolaborate. She is stranded in this universe of young people because she lost her ticket home. While she waits for a new one to come in the mail, she looks for interesting places to go and for an interesting conversation. When she meets [Student Avatar Name], [Student Avatar Name] asks her two questions.

Step 1
[Each * one star]
What are the questions [SAN] asked the old lady?
What answers did the old lady give?
Step 2
[Earn **two stars]
From your land marks, choose a place to teleport the old lady and to show her around.
Chat with her for 5 lines about topics an old lady might like to talk about. Save your chat for
tomorrow’s mission.

The comics reflect the principles of successful high school communication we have practiced in Skoolaborate and will serve as keepsakes for Freshman. He caught onto Comic Life quickly and really likes making them. I can’t take credit though for the comic connection. Someone (Thank you, whoever had the idea!) posted a challenge to make a comic with Comic Life and submit it in Skoolaborate. I looked for the software and was thrilled at how perfectly it fits our work and the research suggestions. So far, Freshman has not been convinced to submit a comic in Skoolaborate, perhaps because they have
been created around our theme, but I hope Freshman considers that suggestion again as we wrap up the summer’s work. Ultimately, we hope that when school starts in the fall, the principles of communication we have discussed will be useful in the sometimes hectic world of an American public high school.

The reason we feel the project has pedagogical merit is that a second teacher, Linda, has been feeding research to Vecchia (me) about how to design the missions. Linda’s reading and notes provide the foundation for the underlying design of this personalized program, as she is debriefed by me of each days results she continues to research so that the plan is fresh and flexible. She and I share a Google doc with a journal of her notes, of my questions, and results from the day into which she puts the new research. I incorporate her feedback for the next activity.

One of the features and disappointments of our participation, fortunately and unfortunately, has been our little ramshackle town hall and gazebo in Skoolaborate. It was built by one of our seniors last year, who tried to make it an anatomically perfect match for our real town hall and treasured gazebo on the Milford Oval. He was a pre-engineering student and was in no rush and was infinitely patient with detail –which drove me a bit mad.

However, Freshman, and other students from a special reading class that we took into Skoolaborate in the spring, delight in this recognizable piece of our town. It is a familiar connection for them that welcomes them in and makes them feel at home and gives them a place to return to that feels safe. Currently, parts of it seem to have disappeared, so it needs some renovation, but it tells me something about what makes virtual worlds work – when they feel welcoming, they are more fun.

 A word about our spring time group: in the spring of 2009 a reading class was working on a preset type of reading practice program. The program was helpful, but practice is not always fun. So we used time in Skoolaborate as a reward; it proved itself a motivator and great fun. What was interesting to me was the painstaking choices the students made with their avatars. Some of them created an idealized self, while others worked very hard to match their physical characteristics to their avatars, physical characteristics that others often see as flaws. The jobs they did designing their avatars were sufficiently detailed that passersby immediately recognized the work the students had done as images of themselves. That brings up the body image project.

Without any suggestion from me, one of the young women in my honors English class, also last spring, chose female body image and its impact on young women and their potential as the subject of her junior year research project. I mentioned the body image class in Skoolaborate. While she didn’t particpate herself, she followed up by email. The Skoolaborate instructor was kind enough to engage in an email exchange and interview with Liz, who was very excited and encouraged to have an educator doing what she felt she wanted to recommend after all her reading. Liz subsequently wrote a great paper and speech in which mention of Skoolaborate and its class were prominent features. The speech earned her second place in a hotly contested, 100-year old speech contest held each spring. A teacher who heard it asked Liz to give the speech in a number of her health classes, because Liz’s recommendation of education of young girls on body image was powerfully made – from Skoolaborate and other corroborating sources. The result of that was that well over 250 people heard Liz’s message, also another positive reach of Skoolaborate.

High school orientation, a playground for future engineers, student research resource, reading motivator and making lists is a great little task for morale. A few months ago, I felt as if I hadn’t accomplished much for my students or for Skoolaborate. I still want to see the discussion group we envisioned on our town common – a New England tradition and our first idea. I hope to get our students participating more in the Dilemmas group. I want to tap into all of the great activities on Australia in Skoolaborate (some of which we used with Freshman). I know my list of things to do is longer than the things we have done, but the list of things done convinces me that the things to do list is worth the effort. Milford High’s original group of Skoolaborators didn’t really get off the ground because of IT objections, computers unsuited, no empty place for the group to meet, time zone mix ups, and other hurdles, but even a piece of that was redeemed this summer. Lionheart, my student-intern/helper was part of the original group who got discouraged and fell away.

However, when we ran into him while we were setting up the high school orientation program for Freshman, he was still enthusiastic and willing to return. So to those who had the vision for what Skoolaborate could be long before I came on board, a hearty nod of thanks. To those, like us, still dealing with the hurdles, I recommend that you get going before things are perfect. Looking back sometime, you might see that you accomplished
quite a bit.

During the week of June 22-26, 2009, the World Affairs Council held our second annual Global Youth Leadership Institute (GYLI).  Thirty high school students from 14 different Puget Sound area schools spent five days together learning about global issues and planning to take leadership roles in raising awareness among their peers.

We have taken on a big challenge with this program.  The idea is to reach more than just the thirty individuals who attended the program.  By helping these students connect with others who share their interest in global issues and by supporting them in their peer education plans, we want to be a catalyst for community building and for prompting many teens to think about the world beyond our borders. 

Skoolaborate can help with both of these goals.  So, we jumped in, anxious to see how the students would react and what they would make of all this.

In one short week, we saw both joys and challenges. 

Going “in world” for the first time with this large group of students, we were nervous: Would they like it?  Would they just feel overwhelmed by the notorious learning curve?  Would we have enough helpers to answer all their questions? 

What a joy to immediately find several members of the Skoolaborate community there to greet us and help the students get oriented!  We met welcoming students and teachers from Australia, Chile, and Canada.  It really speaks volumes about the sense of community that is building within Skoolaborate that these individuals were willing to make time in their busy schedules to come and help us, not just for one session, but across four sessions.  We are so impressed by this and so grateful for the support.

Our GYLI students had lots of fun learning to get around “in world,” practicing their Spanish language skills with their peers from Chile, and touring around some of the fantastic builds such as the Great Firewall of China and the Taiwan area.  By the end of the week, most students were able to contribute a panel to the Dilemmas Tapestry, which involved learning some beginning building skills and selecting an issue they want to highlight. 

So, what did we learn?  First, we learned that a week is awfully short!  Some students were just starting to get the hang of it (or see the point of it) when the week ended.  Challenge #1:  Next time, we need to do a better job of introducing the virtual world and explaining how/why Skoolaborate uses this tool (in addition to other tools).  Some students reported that they enjoyed it, but had trouble seeing the application, at least at first.

We also learned that these students are thirsty for knowledge of the world.  In the end, we asked students to fill out an evaluation form for the whole week.  The GYLI experience included expert speakers, a field trip, workshops, and more.  So, we were trying to squeeze in quite a bit of activity and Skoolaborate was just one part of it.  But among all of that, 7 students reported that Skoolaborate will be one of the most memorable parts of the experience, and 17 rated it a 4 or a 5 (on a scale of 1-5).  Since the evaluations were anonymous, we can’t say for sure, but it seems as if the younger students were more open to this experience. 

Keep in mind that this is a very serious group of students.  After all, they did apply to spend a week of their summer holiday learning about global issues.  So, activities need to combine high interest, educational value, and fun in order to meet with their approval.  There is no doubt that Skoolaborate has all three of those qualities, but it is a challenge to get students oriented fast enough to make it clear for them in such a short time.

The GYLI students gave the highest ratings for the week to the expert speakers that we brought in.  They heard first-hand from a former US Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a veteran CIA officer in the Directorate of Science and Technology, and two international journalists who co-founded the Common Language Project.  These students are hungry for knowledge about the world!  Which brings us to Challenge #2 . . .

Challenge #2: How can we bring expert speakers into Skoolaborate – perhaps through live streaming of presentations – in order to continue the learning and also include other members of the Skoolaborate community in these events? 

Looking ahead, we aim to keep in touch with our GYLI students and entice them to return to Skoolaborate by holding meetings and events that will interest them.  This can be a place where we keep in touch with one another while simultaneously forming relationships with peers overseas and discussing vital world issues. 

While this work is not easy, there is clearly a powerful group of individuals within Skoolaborate who share a vision of an international community where students can safely interact, share ideas, ask questions, learn about the world, and communicate their own ideas through creative builds. Here at the World Affairs Council, we look forward to seeing Skoolaborate grow and finding ways to contribute to this exciting project!   

I have so many great great stories to tell lately.  In particular about the students.  I was just telling my wife how cool it was that our Skool didn't have swearing or guns and how the kids were just decent people enjoying working together. I got home tonight and got this email from one of our new partners Barrie....

Our first week has been most joyful.  These are the happiest moments of all for teachers.  To see students learn for the joy of learning is most rewarding.  When class is over, I get a collective booo and have to drag them away.

Being digital natives, almost all of my students are taking to Skoolaborate like ducks to water.  A few immediately identified themselves as enthusiasts and leaders; they are already on step 8 while the rest of us are moving toward step 2.  I had them tell their exciting stories today: chatting in Japanese with a student from Japan, shopping at the mall, learning how to build and script by watching students from the UK.  They have found everyone to be so friendly and helpful.

We are on line at school on Monday, 10:15 - 10:45, Wednesday 8 - 9:40, and Friday 8 - 9:40 am.  About half of my students are able to access Skoolaborate from home. (Don't worry Barrie we are onto it, the students will put on meeting times etc shortly)

Wednesday, I will try to get my students focused on basic skills; this past week, they were just too excited.  Then, we'll move from there.

We are very interested in communicating with other students and would like to set up meeting times.  We will be exploring projects currently underway, then work on initiating our own.

Thanks so much for everything.....

I had just written to Barrie to tell him about a great kid I had met from his school LA School for the Arts (check out their expected school wide learning results).  My wife and I talked to him on the weekend and introduced him to a few of the other students who were regulars.  He told us of his fantastic school and the array of talents they needed just to get in (performing arts school).  Our son went to a similar school here in Australia.  Pretty soon he started talking to the other students and my wife and I backed off and enjoyed watching new friends finding each other in new worlds.

We have also had the not so great times and they will come again but this week, I think I will happily agree with Barrie - life in teaching and learning can be just joyful.

Another secret to success and it is around Collaboration.  We have seen two types of partners participation.  Some ask why things are not finished yet.  They get frustrated and leave having nothing to do.  Others ask what can be done, see a problem and work feverishly to fix it.  They have plenty to do and stay.

Yesterday I had Lucy, a student, visit me with a problem.  Lucy said that there was not enough going on 'in world'.  Yes, I said, "you have a problem".  "So what are  you going to do about it?"

 Lucy accepted the challenge and, after a brief discussion, got to work.  She agreed that we needed regular and purposeful events that matched our vision and that would attract students.  She picked awareness raising for cancer as it is almost November and we do a fund raising drive as part of the Movemeber initiative.

Lucy then sent an email (the content of this blog entry) and asked me what I thought.  My answer was that after reading her email I had a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat as she had demonstrated to me the best thing about teaching and learning here at MLC School - independent thought and confidence to take action. 

What  you have done, Lucy, is taken a small concept and expanded it to the point that it may just work. 

I read, from her text, a true understanding of how to build community,  how to think strategically and how to engage youth from cultures around the world in purposeful activity.

Thanks so much Lucy and keep at me to support you as best I can.  Exciting stuff, wish it was on some exam somewhere. Yes lets chat some more. 

I have included, within her text(in pink), the comments that show  you what I saw, I guess this is  what I would mark her on if the curriculum allowed me to test this stuff.

Hey Mr.Field,

Ok so here's what I've done. I have decided that the event (student matches vision of site and creates purposeful activity  - cancer awareness) should run for about 30 to 40 minutes, leaving it short and sweet. (strategic event planning awareness)

I'm going to run the even twice, once in the morning at about 7:30 and again in the afternoon at about 5:00 (in order to give all schools globally a chance to participate)(global awareness). I'm not sure how these time suit everyone though.

I was thinking the event could run on the 20th, that's a Thursday which would be good for you, right? (nice work, meeting the clients need - this is the time our partners have indicated, on our wiki, their best availability ) So during this time we will have someone (i guess it will be me?)(responsibility, although we could speak about delegation here) who will introduce and conclude the events and keep everyone focused (making it purposeful).

So we will stream the video of your ex-Aussie Idol guy through (use of multiple and appropriate technoliges) and that can go for about 10-15 minutes (strategic - catering for the audience - good music for all to enjoy).

I'm going to make a stall that gives out free prim moustaches so that every one can wear one (initiative and technical skills). All this would be located at the stage, I think this would be a better place than the beach because there's more room (strategic thinking).

So also what I was thinking is, my mum has lots of contacts and I could get someone who knows about Movember and Men's health (ability to network), I could interview them and stream that though or do you think that would be too boring? We do have to have some information about the Movember theme. We could also put up some information on boards.

The other thing I thought of that I think would be really fun and heaps of people would want to join in was a building comp. (pre conference planning) I thought we could make it start on the 1st and finish on the 20th, so then we can give out the prize and announce the winner at the Movember party. So I thought if we do, do it, people would have to register so we know how many people are evolved.

We can make a working space for each in the Sandbox. I don't know what the prize would be, I was thinking somewhere along the lines of, a box of scripts and textures...? Starting on the 1st doesn't give us much time but I think I can pull it off. I need to contact the other schools and let them know about it and also put up some posters in world. (Understanding of virtual worlds and global working)

So what do you think of all this, its all to be confirmed ofcourse. Im going to up load some of these ideas on the Wiki tonight (sharing vision and communication skills), also start to make posters and notifying other schools. By the way, what if the full name of the ex-aussie idol guy? We need to organise for him to come to school one day. (follow up and pro active behaviour) Do you still want me to come see you tomorrow?

Lucy

Lucy is 14 years old and doesn't always do brilliantly in 'normal' classes.

The last word on this from our Principal...

Hi Lucy,

What a great idea!

Never underestimate the power of one to get a good idea up and active!!

Congratulations.

Mrs Stone

Watch this space and let's see how she goes, must talk about  delegation but really, isn't this what education is all about?