Virtual Life Role Playing

Here is my main character in Second Life.

Aelantha Heartsdale

Here is my alt.

Donna Arentire

My alt looks like me, and I had a lot of trouble creating her.  I am not comfortable with my body image.  I'm a fiftyish, overweight, short woman.  I doubt that I will log in as Donna Arentire unless I absolutely have to for class.  Don't get me wrong.  I don't want to be 30 again.  I am happy where I am in my life.  I just don't like the way I look.  The problem is that losing weight isn't going to make me look younger or taller.  Plastic surgery looks like plastic surgery.  It makes you look like you've got money to burn, not like you are younger.   Am I being deceitful by using a beautiful main character?  No.  This is my Second life, not my first.  I am going to look at something I like.  That reminds me....  Where did I put Aelantha's fairy wings?

Donna

An LMS by any other name is still a Learning Managment System, Part 2

These are the LMS programs that I am considering.  There is a more complete list is at Wikipedia.com under Learning Management Systems. 

• aTutor 
• Claroline 
• Desire2Learn 
• Dokeos 
• eFront 
• Blackboard 
• Ilias 
• JoomlaLMS 
• Moodle 
• Sakai

 I am staying away from the LMS that are K-12 or HR oriented. 

I will evaluate these systems using a decision matrix.  The decision matrix is a spreadsheet that list the products down the side and the decision criteria accross the top.  The general process of develping a decision matrix is to

1. Develop the criteria
2. Assign a value or importance to the criteria
3. Rank or rate each products as to how well it neets the criteria
4. Multiply the rankings by the importance of the criteria
5. Add the totals up. 

For instance, let say that I am deciding between three pairs of shoe to buy.  My criteria might be cost, looks, and comfort.  I will assign cost a value of 1, looks a value of 3, and comfort a value of 5.  My daughter would assign different values to cost, looks, and comfort!  Pair A is most expensive, and I am giving it a 1 in cost.  Pair B is less expensive, and I'll give it a 2.  Pair C is cheap, and it's getting a 4.  Pair A isn't bad looking.  It gets a 3 in looks.  I think Pair B is adorable, and it gets a 5 for looks.  Pair C is ugly.  It gets a 1 in the looks category.  Pair A is very comfortable.  I'll give it a 4 in comfort.  Pair B hurts, and it gets a 2.  Pair C hurts too.  It's rated a 2 in comfort.

Let's put the matrix together.

           Cost=1  Looks=3  Comfort=5    Totals


Pair A       1          3                4                30

Pair B        2         5                2                27

Pair C        4         1                2                17

According to this matrix, I should buy pair A.  It is the best combination of cost, looks and comfort.

For more information on decision matricies, read http://www.decision-making-confidence.com/kepner-tregoe-decision-making.html.

Next post will be on what are the criteria, and how are they ranked?

Enjoy,

Donna

An LMS by any other name is still a Learning Managment System, Part 1

My boss wants me to look at Learning Managment Systems and make some recommendations.  So, the first thing that I'm going to do is to come up with our requirements.  What do we want an LMS to do?  Then I'm going to look at what is out there.  I'll make a decision matrix to list the options and how well they meet the requirements.  Lastly, I'll recommend the top two or three, using the matrix as back up. 

Later,

Donna

You Only Live Twice - Teaching in Second Life, Part 1

So I started a class entitled "Teaching in Virtual Worlds" last night.  It's always interesting seeing a class from the student's point of view.

My take-aways from the first class:

• Separate the students who are familiar with the environment from those who aren't.  Have diffferent learning activities for both.
• Use the microphone with care.  The conversations will not be available to hearing disabled students.
• Have an activity at the end that could only be performed in a virtual environment and that is fun.  We did the Thriller Dance.  It brought the students together, and it's a great example of an activity that could only be done in this environment.  Now that's value-added.

Enjoy,

Donna

The Start

First, a little about me -

I am a technical instructor for the New Horizons network.  My favorite subject is Suse Linux, although I also teach Microsoft and CompTIA classes.  My certifications?  CNI, MCT, MCSA, MCITP in Vista, MCDST, NCE, CLE, A+, I-NET+, Security+, Server+, Project+, CTT+, Network+, MCIW - Administrator, CIW-CI, and an old CCNA.  I am working on an ACNI in XEN on Suse 11 and a Master's degree in Educational Technology with a Certificate in Adult Online education from Boise State University.  (Go Broncos!)

Second, what we will discuss -

This blog will focus on applying technology to teach technology.  Educational institutions are moving away from bricks-and-mortar classrooms, much as companies are moving away from bricks-and-mortar storefronts.  According to a study by the US Department of Education in 2000-2001 on http://www.educationcenteronline.org/e-Learning/Distance-Learning-Statistics.html:

• One-third of all postsecondary schools offer distance learning courses.
• 8% of postsecondary schools offer college-level degree or certificate programs completely through distance learning.
• 55% of 2-year and 4-year institutions offer college-level credit-granting distance learning courses at either the undergraduate or graduate level.
• The top 3 technologies used to deliver courses involved internet-based, two-way interactive video, and one-way prerecorded video

In the 2000-2001 academic school year, 3,077,000 students enrolled in distance education courses. And the National Center for Education Statistics expects this number to increase by around 19%, to 18.2 million, by 2013. They think the biggest factor affecting enrollment will be the increasing likelihood of traditional college-age students, 18-24-year-olds, to participate in distance learning online programs.

This enrollment will increase across all postsecondary levels, with a projected 18% growth for undergraduate students, 19% for graduate students, and 27% for first-professional students.

Clearly, this is a growth area for the education industry, and it's a perfect way for adult professionals to improve their skills.  However, we technical instructors learned through Instructor Lead Training (ILT).  How do we make the leap to delivering quality training using online and virtual environments?  That will be the focus of this blog.

Enjoy,

Donna Kruse
mobilegoddess@gmail.com