OSU Navigation Bar

The Ohio State University

TELRport

TELRport Pilot Report

Released Winter 2009

Successful Phase I Pilot

During 2008, TELR (Technology Enhanced Learning and Research) acquired space in Second Life, a popular virtual world, to investigate how the medium could be used in course curricula.

To evaluate project success, multiple objectives were put in place, such as:

Moreover, successful implementation meant faculty constructed meaningful environments where students participated in coursework and those who were involved in the pilot indicated successful use of virtual worlds in their courses.

On a larger scale, additional objectives included evaluating whether the Ohio State community found virtual worlds fostered learning and research and whether support requirements would comfortably fit within TELR resources.

The project met all objectives successfully. Additionally, TELR's venture into Second Life included hosting several campus-wide and world-wide conferences, as well as campus-wide workshops and consultations. Further, local media distributed stories about the project through network and cable television stations, as well as the Internet.

Proposed Phase II

Due to success in achieving each objective, TELR plans to continue the pilot program, thus entering a Phase II status. This would include plans to:

Phase I Pilot Feedback

Read summaries of the pilot participant projects.

Pre-experience feedback (September/October 2008):

Faculty and student participants voluntarily completed a simple three-question survey addressing their goals, expectations, and trepidations prior to using Second Life for their course.

These students:

Conversely, the students also:

Based on a similar survey, the faculty shared their goals, expectations, and trepidations. The faculty:

Conversely, the faculty also:

Post-experience feedback (November/December 2008):

At the end of their SL use, faculty and student pilot program members voluntarily participated in a focus group conversation and end-of-participation survey.

The students who participated in the focus group:

The students who participated in the survey:

Alternatively, the students expressed mixed feelings (some strongly positive, some strongly negative) about several components of their virtual world experience. These students' opinions split in the following ways:

Furthermore, students provided varied responses (positive and negative) about their SL experience, using adjectives such as frustrating, exciting, interesting, and fun. Some students felt they could apply knowledge created in this course to work or other non-class activities, while others felt the activities remained solely relevant in SL. To learn how to use Second Life, students often turned toward online tutorials.

Faculty who participated in the focus group:

However, these faculty also:

Only three individuals completed the post survey, thus the responses are highly skewed. In general, however, the faculty participants gave positive responses about several components of their virtual world experience. Faculty who participated in the survey:

These faculty also provided mixed responses about other aspects of SL. These faculty members' opinions split in the following ways:

The typical faculty respondent had a relatively newer computer, spent more than 16 hours a week on the computer, and spent 10 hours or less on a gaming system.

To read more about one professor's experience, please visit: https://carmenwiki.osu.edu/display/secondlife/Chris+Hill+-+American+Language+Program+%28English+as+a+Second+Language%29

More About the Pilot

Four out of five pilot participants completed the program. In two of the four cases, the instructor or a team on behalf of the instructor constructed a presence for the students to experience and reflect. The remaining two instructors implemented Second Life as a larger component of their courses, whereby students constructed the experience. One pilot participant's space was constructed by a Digital Union student employee but was never used for course work.

Management Overview

TELR created several committees to investigate implementation of virtual worlds into the curricula. These committees included:

Project Timeline

The pilot project ran for one academic year (Winter 2008 through Autumn 2008).

Winter 2008

Spring 2008

Summer 2008

Autumn 2008

Next Steps

The following provides an overview plan for the TELR/DU Second Life project during 2009, and a vision for SL growth and use moving forward in 2010 and beyond.

Priorities for 2009

Priorities for 2010 and Beyond