Virtual Learning Environments

            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.

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.