Virtual Learning Environments

Presence, to me, has two major aspects. First, its a physical essence that consists of a space and subject that occupies this space; second, and, probably, more important, presence implies mental/social influence between objects. Presence of an object has a necessary impact on another object/subject. Briefly saying, presence has two elements: a physical and a social one. I’m not sure which one is more significant in virtual environment, but both of them have to be taken in consideration when on-line collaboration is being planned. I found Legget’s text too abstractive and would love if anybody could clarify his major points in relations to virtual collaboration.

Highsmith, on the other hand, was very concrete in his argumentation. The ideas that have appealled to me most of all are the following:

- collaboration occurs through groaning (which is true, although people don’t usually realize it in the process of collaboration, but rather when they see certain results or when the project is finished.

- duality of context vs. content (where context in virtual environment has a significant impact on the content); information sharing vs. presentation of information (which presupposes different context, settings, tools and process of collaboration); stability vs. change (which means a balancing between structural patterns and self-organization of collaboration); firm vs. fixed (awareness of boundaries of a team/group/organization as a tool for development and change, not as limitations).

- the idea of democratization from the bottom: self-organization, networked structure of a team/group, flexible hierarchy, etc. allows for organic, free (almost) of bureaucracy, more effective interactions on-line.

I found this week’s readings to be particularly relevant for me, as I have been engaging in an open collaboration process online to develop an (…wait for it) open collaboration platform. (Junto) We’ve been looking a lot into creating 3D environments with livestreaming video in order for people to be able to engage in dialogue on a global scale, and have patiently been awaiting Cisco to release their multi-billion dollar telepresence system open-source later this month.

As I’ve been embedding myself into a networked environment more and more, the points brought up in the presence article rang very true for me. In fact, I’ve actually had a paradigm shift in how I understand human networks and our connectedness as humanity from a meta-systems perspective, based on my usage and research into the power of the Web. One of the big shifts was a shattering of the illusion of ego.. ok, sounds kind of esoteric, but in becoming hyperconnected and really LIVING in this space, in constant communication with a group of globally distributed humans, I really have lost the sense of self. I am a part of a greater whole, and that has changed my perceptions about personal identitiy, and increased my levels of empathy and compassion. Speaking of empathy, I recommend watching this video based on Jeremy Rifkin’s new book, The Empathic Civilization – it rocks!

In terms of the other readings on collaboration and play, I found that I’ve come to many of those conclusions through our experimentation online and through intuition. Keeping excitement and passion and energy sustained online is a challenge, and there is so much that gets diffused through various individual networks, that it is impossible to track, but keeping it FUN is definitely key. I found the 5 ‘control parameters’ in the Highsmith chapter about keeping teams on the edge of chaos very insightful. Without having identified them in words, we have definitely been practicing those behaviors. The suggestions about role-playing and creating personas/archetypes also very much resonated.

Though what we’re doing isn’t “school,” it is VERY much an online public learning environment – I suppose you could call it a community of practice. I engage with people from all disciplines, from design to knowledge management to business and so on, but the common thread is that we are all trying to learn from each other and grow.

When it comes to transferring these insights to answering the question of how to engage students online… I really think a big part of it has to do with everyone being willing to put themselves out there without fear, and also to remove the silos between the individuals and the rest of the world. I don’t think it is enough for students to only engage with each other (though in many cases this is ideal). I see the Web as being a huge opportunity to express oneself out into the ether, and then see what comes back. There are so many people out there with similar interests and a willingness to share their perspectives and experiences, that choosing not to engage is a wasted potential. I know that there is still a lot of fear with the web as a communication medium, but that can be overcome when an individual takes personal responsibility and accountability for their actions and behaviors online. It is public. If you wouldn’t say/do/show whatever you are doing online in the middle of the town square, just think twice before doing it online, because it will be seen, and unlike “in real life,” the archive lasts forever.

I thought I’d post this link if anyone wants to join in a conversation on Seesmic about how we engage students online. I have had a couple of responses from people not related to our class which I find really neat. I have also posted the actual video conversation in the comment section on my post about Moodle vs. Wiki.

olysha

seesmic conversation

I think that it is very important to see people begin to produce and collaborate in virtual environments because otherwise participants end up just using the options provided by the software or the network and they can not work productively and creatively because of the limitations of the virtual platform just like in Metaplace or SL. We have to create our own game that works with the notions of social constructivist education approach where the users of the virtual environment including the instructors and the students work collaboratively and creatively with each other and learn from each other by facilitating imaginative and creative art projects.
In many ways what we do in metaplace is very much like playing exquisite corps and the wiki and blogs are very much that way as well. We all contribute to the virtual space, network or platform and form a literal, visual and audio environment where participants learn by doing research and by working with each other. It is the same in equisite corps. People can share and learn more from this creative process than you might imagine. The concepts of our project assignment which are games, news and activism fit very well with the idea of exquisite corps and also the written version of the game as well where people write a  piece of literature like a poem, story or book collectively. That is why I thought that it would be good game structure for our project purposes.
We can also introduce another game where we would teach about what we as individuals in the virtual  platform know the most about or we can share our knowledge on a specific subject so the virtual environment we are participating in would become an educational environment where people can learn about different subjects and that is absolutely the basis of activism.
For example I would teach about art and film and each person would teach about whatever they are most knowledgeable about or what they are interested in.
One more idea for an educational game is presenting an image and the one who looks at it responds with a word or a sentence so by exchanging images and writing about the images we can create a virtual reflective learning environment or a blog.
As I was reading about teaching and learning, especially about distance learning it became clear to me that entertainment and fun are supposed to be a part of the learning process just like in the example of the Sesame Street series. By incorporating creativity and imagination into our virtual presence and virtual learning environment I think we can maximize the level of educational quality and keep the attention of the participants without making the experience boring which means that the interaction and the visual elements that are exchanged would contribute to the over all social, collective, collaborative and constructivist learning experience in our creative educational environment.

Thinking a lot about the applications of VLEs and LCMS in the HS CLSRM… There is definitely a huge paradigm shift going on here and it is going to redefine the roles of consultants in the classroom and in the boardroom more than for anyone else right now.

My father in law teaches accounting classes to bankers–almost remedial courses for people with promise but little actualy education in the area so that they can get up to speed. I think of a course model like LCMS that he can sell to the banks at a reduced cost to them, and a reduced outlay of time and physical effort to be in the classroom. It is a value add for everyone. I’m going to bring it up with him when I am back stateside.

I also consider them in the classroom, especially with IEP-requiring students. ILCMSs could really help certain students deal with the difficulties they have… and allow for the teacher to automate/simplify the type of individualized education they provide–and allow both teacher and student the capacity to do it outside of the classroom.

If the new paradigm of education is skills-based training, then this will fit well. I would imagine that it will be dificult for it to tak ethe place of ethics and philosophical training–look at what weird places Second Life and Metaplace are right now… not to mention the whole Twitter thing (which kids don’t use… the article about the 15 year old Morgan Stanley intern was hilarious–as though it was actually news! Twitter is a business networking tool, not a social network in teenage sense of the word.

            What is presence?  More than just what you get on your birthday (insert drum roll here) it is your being.  It is where you are, and who you are when you get there.  The problem with presence comes with the Internet.  Is it possible, with the help of a server, to be somewhere, and not be there at the same time?  *Fox News* showed us during it’s election coverage this year that it is possible through holograms, but what about for the common folk?  Our solution is the avatar.    Online chat rooms and private ims have evolved into second life (and other like applications), which makes our presence known not only through our sign in names, but through actual people that we can create and give personality to.  The building of an actual, physical telepresence like that of second life turned cyberspace into just space,this turns actions into meanings, and builds the cultural framework that Legget talks about.  And it is this that creates a network.  A network is not just a server.  It is a place where you can share in creation, and transfer information.  It is a place where everyone involved has a vested interest in what is happening within it.  It consists of those who are committed, voluntarily to a common goal.  Virtual teams over a network must be more committed and more organized that those working together in something like an office environment.  And, as a leadin to my next point, these things can sometimes be practiced and demonstrated through play.

            In the “Play Ethic” we learn that “play is fun that fulfills an evolutionary task.” Play gives us “optimism that helps us triumph over life’s inevitable challenges.”  It allows us to try things and experiment in a way that doesn’t really put us in danger.  Play helps us practice the things that real life doesn’t give us the opportunity to practice.  Real life games give us a glimpse into human nature.  A lot of corporate offices have used games to build trust amongst its employees (although maybe not in the current economy where it doesn’t really matter)  Even as children (I’m sorry the development psychology is coming through here) imaginary play is crucial to our development, and with the internet, we have just found the modern day alternative to the imaginary friend.

I found the reading this week to be quite challenging, but extremely interesting. I’ve read a bit of theory about one’s virtual presence in the past, but the works assigned for this discussion really cover the topic from all angles. Legget’s piece is very conceptual and I like how it examines the idea of presence in relation to the arts as well as science and technology. I especially liked the discussion and definition of “telepresence”, described as “a psychological state of subjective perception in which even though part of all of an individual’s current experience is generated by and/or filtered through human made technology, part or all of the individual’s perception fails to accurately acknowledge the role of technology in the experience”. I recently created an avatar on metaplace.com and was completely shocked at how well developed the site was, and especially so because it’s a free service to users. Not only that, there were so many users engaged in complex social networks. My first time “in” Metaplace, I hooked up with a user that meets his friend from California each week who he rarely gets to see. They trade off going to each other’s worlds for visits. I was actually invited over with them for this weekly get together, and it was pretty cool how they hung out in the house and chatted. While it’s certainly not like a real-life conversation, I experienced a lot of what Leggett’s discusses in his piece about failing to acknowledge the role of technology in the mediated experience. The Metaplace world becomes the focus of your perception and what goes on in Metplace translates into the experience of a real event. While I am an avid gamer and have played many completely engrossing games like WoW, I was unaware that free programs like Metaplace are available and can offer so much in the way of social networking. Additionally, I think that platforms like this have enormous promise and application for education. They can give online classrooms a central forum for students to attend class, where one’s avatar can sit in a virtual classroom on behalf of the student, allowing the student to engage his or her peers and professors directly. This would allow a weekly “class” can be held in addition to the turn based postings that currently dominate online classes.

Presence, collaboration and play:

I found the readings this week, interesting, especially since I never really knew there was so much thought that went into what it actually meant by describing presence, especially in an online environment. From our readings we become aware that presence simply isn’t the physical appearance in the present time- it continues with the state of consciousness and also promotes “the pursuit of verification, dispute and debate” in an oral culture. The attributes continue and are an additive to “telepresence.”

Telepresence “is broadly understood…as that sense of knowing or feeling another human presence across a physical distance mediated by media…” This idea, in our culture encompasses our everyday use of myspace, twitter and facebook, along with other social networking sites. These sites each have a space and/or profile that represent you- the user, which can then interact with other users. The profile alone gives you a presence that you are there. The interactions- posting, messaging, texting, tagging and poking – continue to strength and reiterate that presence online.

Telepresence through online classes and other virtual learning environments are a bit more complicated, especially since more interaction and participation needs to be present. Engagement within these environments has to continue with the idea presented by Michael Schrage on collaboration being “an act of shared creation or discovery.”

What I have noticed through the past year’s worth of online classes is that the New School respectfully treats the online learning outlets as “classrooms” however it is more of a team setting. Most if not all of the classes I have been a part of are structured like a sports team, where the instructor acts more like a coach in pointing you in the right direction and helping when needed and the classmates or students are part of the team, where we learn from our own performance but collectively build and collaborate together. The core values on page 129: Mutual – trust, respect, participation, and commitment are all values that a coach would sound to his or her players.

In Presence, Interaction and ‘data space’, Leggett writes of cultural perceptions about presence in the western world, adding that presence has a virtual implication and that it must be examined taking into consideration cultural meanings including those that point to a subject-object relation that connotes distance. His discussion of Plato’s Phaedrus regarding writing as a new form of communication is important, especially in respect to how Plato was using the new medium (writing) to discuss the old medium (orality). On that topic, Leggett continues by stating “as with any new device [new technology?] … comparing the efficacy of its use with the familiarity and pervasiveness of the old methods was a part of a gradual adoption and continuing adaptation during the transition from the old to the new.”

Is it possible then to infer that the reason so many of the ‘features’ of the old (or real world) are adapted in the new technologies? Is that the reason why the houses in Second Life tend to look like the ones we build and inhabit in the real world? Are we then adapting an old form in order to move forward into a new way of communicating and interacting?

How do we create meaning? Through the ‘absent present’ of Derrida quoted by Leggett? Could that also translate to the real – imaginary? magical – literal? When we create a virtual presence what meaning are we establishing between the interface and the physical? Can we blur the boundary and consider both as an interface? My hand as it writes is the conduct of my thoughts, and my mouse as it selects and picks is also part of this relation. (Am I getting too philosophical? ).

In any case, regarding his other discussion, models of interaction, I couldn’t help but think of the exhibit I had just seen at MOMA of Olafur Eliasson where there was an awareness of the art and your interactions with it, and of the physical environment and presence that was being experienced and reflected back. Literally reflected in one case, when you entered a ledge jutting out of the building encased with mirrors in which you saw your reflection multiplied ‘ad-infinitum.’ Needless to say I became a big fan.

And those are my reflections regarding presence, interaction and data space.