Integrating Second Life into a UT Austin Freshman English

Course

Integrating Second Life into a UT Austin Freshman English

CourseNMC Conference, November 9,

2006

Michael MayrathMichael Mayrath

• Educational Psychology Ph.D. student

The University of Texas at Austin

• Graduate Research Assistant Division of Instructional Innovation

& Assessment (DIIA)

AgendaAgenda

• Tour: DIIA, UT Austin’s Second Life Island, SL Pilot Project

• Research & Evaluation Methodology

• Results, Conclusions, Future Directions

Tour: •DIIA

•UT Austin’s Second Life island

•SL Pilot project

DIIA(Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment)

DIIA(Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment)• one DIIA core objective: identify,

explore, and research the technological horizon

• DIIA starts with assessment: project criteria

• games at UT Austin?

• pilot Second Life: 1 year

DIIA supportDIIA support

• Instructional Assessment Group

• Teaching and Learning Excellence Group

• Instructional Technology Group

• technical support

DIIA deliverablesDIIA deliverables

• SL island

• account setup

• training sessions

• instruction manual

• instructional consultation

Second LifeSecond Life

• Multi-User Virtual Environment (MUVE)

• 1.2 million total SL residents

• Harvard, Tennessee, Pepperdine, Ball State, and Central Missouri State

UT’s Second Life islandUT’s Second Life island

• 16-acre private island

• safe for students

• replicas of buildings on UT Austin campus

• freedom for students to build anywhere

Instructional setting for pilotInstructional setting for pilot

• English course: Composition & Reading in World Literature

• 18 Plan II freshmen

• Fall 2006 — Spring 2007

• technology-oriented professor

Instructional objectivesInstructional objectives• discovery learning

• fall goal: personal vision statement

• spring goal: leadership vision statement

• develop unity in verbal and visual rhetoric

• compare UT Austin to other universities

Instructional activities in SLInstructional activities in SL

• personal roadmap

• campus master plan

• two social hours per week

ImplementationImplementation• 8/30 - Course started

• 8/31 - Pre-surveys e-mailed

• 9/5 - 1st training

• 9/7 - 2nd training

• 9/12 - 1st SL assignment due (Roadmap)

• 11/30 - 2nd SL assignment due (Campus)

Research & Evaluation

Methodology

Research questionsResearch questions

• Are students more engaged in a course when SL is used for instructional activities?

• How does students’ motivation in the course change over the year?

• How do students’ beliefs, attitudes, and self-confidence regarding technology affect their desire to complete assignments in SL?

Evaluation questionsEvaluation questions• How much support is needed to implement

SL?

• What types of support are required?

• What do students like and dislike about SL?

• How difficult is it to learn SL?

• What is the future for using SL at UT Austin?

Mixed methods approachMixed methods approach

• Quantitative methods:– Surveys on 8/30/06 (pre),

11/22/06 (mid), and 4/13/07 (post)

• Qualitative methods:– Interviews– Observations– Student reaction essays

Mixed methods studyMixed methods study

Surveys• writing confidence• motivation while writing• confidence in using technology• feelings about technology

Response data analyzed for statistically significant gains

Quantitative methods: SurveysQuantitative methods: Surveys

Writing ConfidenceStrongly disagree ↔ Strongly agree

“I am able to …

…write using correct grammar.”…write a 20-page term paper.” …write a novel.”

Quantitative methods: SurveysQuantitative methods: Surveys

Motivation while WritingStrongly disagree ↔ Strongly agree

“When writing a paper for school …

…I have a sense of control over what I am writing.” …I always start out with a clear goal

of what I want to write.”

Quantitative methods: SurveysQuantitative methods: Surveys

Confidence in using technology Never done it ↔ Strongly disagree ↔ Strongly agree

“I feel confident …

…searching the Web using Google or Yahoo.”

…playing virtual world games such as Second Life or SIM City.”

…creating/modifying your character in a game.”

…creating 3-D images.”

Quantitative methods: SurveysQuantitative methods: Surveys

Feelings about technologyStrongly disagree ↔ Strongly agree

•I would rather use Word to write than paper.

•I like it when my instructor uses PowerPoint in class.

•I like playing video games.

Qualitative methods: InterviewsQualitative methods: Interviews

• five students: high/low random selection

• November 2006 & April 2007

• interviews recorded, transcribed, and analyzed

• 34 questions

Qualitative methods: InterviewsQualitative methods: Interviews

Questions• How has SL affected your interest in

the course? • Do you feel like you have control over

what you do in SL?• What frustrations have you

experienced working in SL?• What do you like about working in SL?

Qualitative methodsQualitative methods

Observations• on-going throughout the year

Student reaction essays• SL & writing

PreliminaryResults,

Conclusions, Future Directions

ResultsResults

Writing confidence survey•Students were very confident in

their writing ability.

Motivation while writing survey•Students believed they had skills to

match challenges.•Students reported they had to work

to concentrate on writing.

ResultsResults

Confidence in using technology survey

•Students were very confident in using e-mail, the Internet, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

•Students were not confident in using graphics programs, creating Web pages, and programming.

ResultsResults

Feelings about technology survey

•Students liked using technology in the classroom and in their work.

•Students expressed mixed feelings about gaming.

•48% of the students reported not playing computer games.

ResultsResults

Interviews

•“[The] most frustrating thing is not having a Control-Z key to undo what you just did.”

•“I think the competition is a good thing. It pushes a person can do.”

•“Our class is super competitive.”

ResultsResults

Observations

•competition for extra credit •student anxiety and frustration•training necessary for specific

activities•hand-outs with step-by-step

instructions

ResultsResults

Student Reaction Essays

• “Just as a SL building’s tiny details and elements must all add up to a unified impression, a piece of writing must be composed from support and linked components.”

• “Having little to no experience in gaming or computer programming, SL proved to be a real challenge for me. To be completely honest, I found the SL project to be more of a nuisance than an integral part of my project.”

ConclusionsConclusions• Research questions addressed

– students’ engagement in course– students’ motivation in course– role of students’ attitudes on their use of SL

• Evaluation questions addressed– extent of support needed– type of support needed– students’ frustrations with SL– students’ likes concerning SL– difficulty of learning SL– future of SL at UT Austin

ConclusionsConclusions

Research question: Are students more engaged in a course when SL is used for instructional activities?

Students’ engagement aided by• anchoring activities in learning context• training and support for SL activities• avoiding too much competition

ConclusionsConclusions

Research question: How does students’ motivation toward the course change over the year?

• SL frustration may arise• extra credit competition worrisome• competition may grow too heated

ConclusionsConclusions

Research question: How do students’ beliefs, attitudes, and self-confidence toward technology affect their motivation to participate in SL?

• like technology in the classroom• high confidence in their tech skills• motivation drops if SL gets frustrating

ConclusionsConclusions

Evaluation question: How much support is needed to implement SL in a course?

Dependent upon …

• instructional activity• students’ proficiency in SL skills• professor’s proficiency in SL skills

ConclusionsConclusions

Evaluation question: What types of support are required?

Dependent upon …

• students• faculty• independent evaluation

ConclusionsConclusions

Evaluation question: What frustrations do students experience using SL?

• ownership and group issues• building• activities not anchored in class context

ConclusionsConclusions

Evaluation question: What do students like about SL?

• customizing their avatar• socializing in SL• reflecting on what they have created

ConclusionsConclusions

Evaluation question: How difficult is it for students to learn how to use SL?

• steep learning curve (for our pilot)• training • step-by-step handouts

Future of SL at UT AustinFuture of SL at UT Austin

• expand SL applications at UT

• year-long course provides an advantage

• community building takes time

• continued assessment

• problem-based learning

Future of SL at UT AustinFuture of SL at UT Austin• student programming in spring 2007

• continue data collection

• design other UT Austin SL opportunities

• extend literature on educational gaming

Michael Mayrathmmayrath@mail.utexas.edu

Questions?