A First Experience on Implementinga Lecture on Second Life

Luis M Martinez, BScEE, MSc IMS, PhDDepartment of Communications

Learning Technolgies LaboratoryUniversidad Iberoamericana

Mexico

Introduction• We implemented a Technology, Human and

Transcendence course lecture in SL• Used first principles of pedagogy including delivery

criteria• First higher education experience in SL reported in

Mexico

Instructionaldesign

Lectureimplementation Results

• SL is a furtive and challengingenvironment for academic andeducational activities

• Observed development lines of SLEA :– Meta-educational regions– Extension of “real world“ activities– Personal teaching initiatives

Course & context• Universidad Iberoamericana is

the Jesuit university in MexicoCity (+12,000 students @ 33+UG & PG programs)

• Every UG student must carry-out4 elective courses “UniversityReflection Courses” (curricularspaces aimed at ethical reflectionand development of criticalcapacity and self criticism)

Course & Context

• Reported experience belongs to thecourse “Technology, Human andTrascendence”

• Aims to identify convergence pointsbetween philosophy, religion andscience

Motivation

• Research at the Learning TechnologiesProgram at UIA

• Broader study, identifying SLEA• Exploration of spirituality activity at SL• Experimentation spirit within SL

Instructional design• Based on theory on learning (Gagne) &

the Ignatian pedagogy

Evaluation

Context

Experience

ActionReflection

A lecture in second life• Theme: Terrorism• Objective: identify convergence between technology,

faith and philosophy in recent terrorist events• Delivery strategy: present information, discussion,

brainstorming• Additional activities for “extra time”• Student profile: UG, 3rd year, engineering, design,

law, political science and architecture• Lecturer profile: engineer & researcher, 15y teaching

experience

Lecture hall design

Pedagogical event

Lesons learned• Students need a “SL tutorial” for adapting to

the environment and optimize time• Implementation time is twice as for face-to-

face lecture• We estimate a length of less than 45min for

proper attention level• Chat must be “moderated”• Active learning techniques = less distraction• Parallel conversations in other channels• Observers can be present in RL without

interference• Lectures can be recorded

Student´s experience

• Graded the lecture with 8.5 / 10• No need for RL presence• Care for avatar design• Slower class rythm compared to RL

Conclusion• Novel and exciting environment for online

learning• Competitive advantages over conventional

LMS. Inmersive interaction and synchronousdialogue

• Near face to face interaction can be achieved• Usability and reliability needs improvement

Luis M Martinez (Hipouia masala)Luism.martinez@uia.mx

Department of CommunicationsUniversidad Iberoamericana