three activities in virtual worlds
DESCRIPTION
This is the first of two presentations conducted back-to-back at the Institute for Learning Innovation at the University of Leicester on 5th April 2013. The second part is at https://www.slideshare.net/Mark_Childs/space-embodiment-identity/ There is a video of me talking using these slides at https://vimeo.com/68847832TRANSCRIPT
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Three activities in virtual worlds
Mark Childsmarkchilds.orgApril 5th 2013
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Not only good for ...
• Simulation and roleplay• Design / creation / exhibition• Exploration and immersion• Creating a feeling of copresence at a distance• Reification of concepts such as identity
...but possibly best medium for learning these
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Roleplaying Disaster Management Communication
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Disaster Management Communication
• Developed with Yung-Fang Chen and El Parker in Coventry University, UK
• Conversion of a table-top exercise. Students take on roles of agencies after a natural disaster.
• One students in pair travels from office-to-office in SL and negotiate on behalf of their agencies. Other stays at base.
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Interface
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Interface
• Instructions were given via notecards distributed inworld
• Students had to discuss with team members and with other agencies
• Predominant feedback was that the screen contained too many windows. Made navigation and seeing other participants difficult.
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Avatars
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Avatars
• Participants varied in extent to which they modified their avatars.
• Participants did not identify with avatars. They were characters as a means for interaction.
• Varied in degree to which “funny” avatars were a hindrance or helpful.
• Difficult to identify roles of others in game.• “in the computer, there is no extra talking.”
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Design of world
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Design of world
• Didn’t experience it as particularly realistic• Wanted more emotional resonance so it felt
tense, time dependent, e.g. actual refugees, collapsed buildings etc.
• Engagement not through design of world, but through motivation to try out things they had learnt
• A “fake real world”
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Conclusions
• Experienced presence, copresence etc., though need to take into account motivation as contributory factor.
• SL effective at supporting roleplay, because it distances from physical.
• Allow learners to personalise avatars, but assign uniforms.
• Though not realistic, still more realistic than a table-top exercise.
• “Didn’t learn anything”, but ...
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Thinking outside the box
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The learning goals
• BA Media and Communication at Newman College• Module on Media Futures
– critical understanding of theoretical perspectives on developments in new media, interactivity and virtual experience
– understanding of theoretical responses to virtual worlds and computer games
– themes future design of virtual and gaming worlds, imagination, identity, narratology and ludology
• Journal entries related to module themes• Assessed on two entries related to one theme• Guest lecture in support of theme of identity
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Presentation and discussion
• Focused on literature on identity, appearance, performance of identity and concepts such as true self, possible selves etc.
• Learners given tasks of interpreting appearance of avatars. 1st run, from images on slide; in 2nd session analysing Crusty Sorbet (Rich’s avatar).
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Students’ interaction
• Few participate– “y isnt anyone contributing today ? the room seems quiet”
• Most responses – “i have not thought about me really”– “i just made my avatar from the clothes given from there”– “do we have to make our avatar look like somebody?”
• Do make judgments but these are not reflected upon– “simply because it’s nice”
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Activity
• Students are asked to build an “identity cube” and volunteers can then discuss what this means.
• Based on the story cubes invented by Carina Girvan at TCD (SL: Sleepy Littlething).
• Previously given instruction on creating cubes.• Upload 5 images to add to the cube’s faces.
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Results of the activity
• Most completed the task; 1 or 2 struggled• Not all volunteered to talk through the cubes;
those that did effectively explored their identities.• Talked about politics, the importance of their art
to them, what draws them to particular TV, games, etc.
• Creating the cubes gave the abstraction of “identity” a solidity which provided a basis for exploration. Wenger: Reification or “thingness”
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Students’ responses
• “I normally probably wouldn't present all of these things together to someone.”
• “This was interesting.”• “Truthfully i havnt really thought of my
identity a whole lot... this discussion really started making me think on that though”
• “I'm thankful I had this lesson after 2 doubles.. I had alot of fun during it”
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Conclusions
• Discussion is important in raising issues and ideas, even though participation is limited.
• Activity energises students and gives a springboard for their ideas.
• Can lead to distraction, discussion of abstractions still limited, but raises awareness of themes.
• Next time will shorten discussion period.• Also suggest cube building instructions printed
out for referral during activity.
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Extract / Insert
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Installation and performance
• Installation at Herbert Gallery in Coventry, October/November, 2012
• Three artists; Stelarc, Ian Upton, Joff Chafer who work in design, performance, acting in virtual worlds and particularly mixed reality.
• To launch installation, one hour performance by Stelarc.
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Extract Insert is both a sensory and aesthetic experience but it's also a technically interesting one as well … meshing. There’s also, further to that, a speculation on that meshing; that perhaps what's important is not real life or Second Life but perhaps a third life where eventually autonomous and intelligent avatars might want to access a surrogate body and perform with it in the real world. So then there won't be this kind of master-slave set up where you're sitting at a computer physically controlling your avatar in Second Life, but rather equally an avatar might want to access your body and operate with it in the real world.
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Three videos
• Initial performance• View of installation from SL side• View of installation from RL side