ACRL-VWIG & ALA Virtual Communities in Libraries Program
December 13,  2015
CVL Auditorium in Second Life 12:00pm SLT

"Assessing Varied Instruction Approaches in the Instruction of Online Graduate Students"

By Mary Frances.  Library and Information Research. 2014; 38(119):3-12

Available at http://www.lirgjournal.org.uk/lir/ojs/index.php/lir/article/view/642/657

 

Joint meeting with InfoLit Journal Club

 

Discussion leader: Pancha Enzyme (Marshall Dozier) from the University of Edinburgh.

 

 

 

 

Pancha/Marshall, an academic subject librarian, Medicine, at the University of Edinburgh selected this paper for this months discussion as she works extensively with online distance learners at the graduate level.

 

This article assessed the outcomes of two separate interventions designed to develop students’ information literacy in an academic context at a small public university in the United States.  Students in 2 different courses in an online program at the Masters level, 31 students in a Research Methods course and 8 students in an Introduction to Distance Education course.  Two before and after comparison studies: students in the Research Methods course had a pre- and post-test linked to a tutorial activity and differences in scores were measured.  Students in the Introduction group had assignment grades compared to grades from a prior course.

 

 

There were two wholly separate interventions, one for each group: Research Methods had an online asynchronous 3-week course with various learning activities in information literacy; the Introduction intervention was 1-to-1 advice (mostly by email) on selecting and evaluating journal articles.

 

 Research Methods group: 30 out of 31 students maintained or improved their test scores, but no correlation could be found between the various activities and scores, ‘time taken to complete the tutorial varied widely in relation to the scores on the pre-test, worksheet quiz, and post-test. For the Introduction group, the number of contacts from each student ranged from 1 to 7, each email took between 15 and 40 minutes to answer. The main issues that students needed to become more aware of in selecting articles were: currency, identifying peer-reviewed sources, and narrowing the topic sufficiently for the assignment. The students in the Introductory class developed a deeper relationship with faculty members’ as outcome, linked to value placed on collaborative and integrated approach to information literacy.

 

The groups' discussion focused on design elements of the study; questions about the actual "learning" that took place between pre-post tests and concerns about the small number of participants in the study.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ACRL-VWIG & ALA Virtual Communities in Libraries Program

October 11, 2015

"What Makes a Library: A Tour of Libraries in Second Life"

Presented by
Beth O’Connell, (Beth Ghostraven in Second Life) 

CVL Auditorium in Second Life 12:00pm SLT

Beth Ghostraven

Inspired by Allie Vanyar's survey of Second Life Libraries, our guest speaker, Beth Ghostraven took the audience on a tour of some notable libraries of Second Life.  There was a large turnout of 21 librarians/educators, for this event.   

We started at the Community Virtual Library, which also serves as host to our monthly ACRL-VWIG meetings. 

The group of 21 librarians and educators of Second Life gathers outside the CVL Reference area

The CVL is one of the earliest and longest lived of libraries in Second Life. In its' present incarnation, it features both a Reference area and a main library, both of which function  as information portals for those seeking information about library/education related events taking place in Second Life.  Included too are reading resources such as links to daily newspapers from all over the world in English and 12 other languages, book reviews of current books.  In addition to providing information about community group and library related events, the main CVL library contains a large collection of facsimile editions of classic books available via Project Gutenberg and over 60 up-to-date online guides to various world literature. 

Valibrarian Gregg, Joe Cupola and Ilene Pratt survey the CVL Reference area

Reference at CVL

The Main Library at CVL

The Next stop on the tour was the Bracken Library on the Ball State University Campus in Second Life.  This library has attempted to replicate the look and feel of the "real" BSU library.

Exterior Ball State University's Bracken Library in Second Life

The "Real" Bracken Library at Ball State University on the campus of BSU

This library closely resembles the real library.  It features live Reference assistance several days a week, and links to BSU's library information services portal.  At this library, currently enrolled BSU students may search their library's catalog and databases, search course reserves and view over 20,000 digitized photographs on the history of BSU.

Interior Bracken Library at BSU in Second Life

In addition to digital resources the library features meeting areas, a white board for use during presentations and a large theater used to show digital media exhibits and films.  Information kiosks set up in the Middletown Studies Archives within the library, feature videos, slideshows and notecards.  These kiosks provide a means of highlighting special library exhibits and collections on specialized topics.

Information kiosks provide videos and info on special topics

The next library on the tour was the H.G. Wells Memorial Library, one of the Caledon branch libraries.

The H.G. Wells Memorial Branch, one of the Caledon Libraries

This library, one of several operating in the Caledon sims, focuses on both real and imaginary voyages.  Visitors here have access to a large collection of facsimile editions of books on travel available via Project Gutenberg.  This library also serves as an information hub which provides information on upcoming events and links to other areas in the extensive Caledon region.

Interior HG Wells Memorial Library

Next on the tour was Expedition Central at Chilbo.  

While technically an "explorers' club" and not a library, Expedition Central provides scores of links to educational and cultural places found in Second Life.  It consists of a constantly updated library of 130 links/teleports to in-world locations grouped by category.  If you click the link it will give you a landmark so that you may visit that location in Second Life.  It covers almost all subject areas with a focus on historical recreations and educational sims, the Arts, Science and History.  It includes links to such famous Second Life locations as Inspire Space Park, the Chakryn Forest, Roma. Blakes Deep, Mont St. Michel, Genome Island, the Exploratorium, Svaraga, and the Paleozoic Museum.

The final stop on the tour was the Library of Babel at the University of Worchester sim.

The immense spire of the Library of Babel

This is an example of a fantasy library, something not quite possible in the real world.  It is part performance and part virtual building project.  It was really more of an art installation and based on the works of Borges.  One of the librarians present said it might represent how new users sometimes feel about our real life libraries.

Visitors to this library are led by avatar performers through the space.  As a visitor climbs to the top of the library, a tower full of words, he encounters impossible stories 

re-imagined for the virtual world.

Participants next gathered at Beth's Second Life Pub, The Book & Tankard to share observations and hold a brief discussion about the nature of Second Life libraries.  

Post-tour discussion

Joe Cupola

In the beginning, many libraries were trying to recreate their physical space and functions in Second Life.  Today, after some years of experience seeing what works and what doesn't, libraries aren't so bound by the need to recreate themselves in virtual worlds.

Ilene Pratt, Amvans Lapis, Riven Homewood

Libraries in Second Life, like libraries in real life serve a lot of different functions but they have some commonalities; information sharing, access to resources and access to librarians.  With the looming advent of Oculus Rift and the inevitable focus that will bring on virtual worlds, everyone agreed that more librarians need to try (or retry) using virtual worlds.

Alexandria Knight, Valibrarian Gregg, Igard

Having a space that at least looks something like a library works as a kind of visual metaphor for people.  It provides them with a familiar context and helps to make things interesting and comfortable for them.  

Hannah Bluemood, Mimsey Borogove, Dulcie Mills & Bill Friis

However, increasingly there was a sense that in order for libraries to function or even be useful in virtual worlds, they need to accept that there's power to be gained from something not experienced physically.  The very things which make virtual worlds feel so real; their powerful immersive qualities, the enriched sense of space and self they can provide, all serve to add a very powerful dimension which encourages interaction and collaboration.  These two elements, which are so often missing from online learning environments, are among the defining hallmarks of virtual worlds.

 ACRL-VWIG & ALA Virtual Communities in Libraries Program
September 20, 2015

"User Experience Game Design in Virtual Worlds"

Presented by Bruce R. Maxim, (BruceRobert Mizin in Second Life) 

University of Michigan: Dearborn,
Department of Computer and Information Science
at the
CVL Auditorium in Second Life 12:00pm SLT

Bruce R. Maxim

Bruce Maxim of the University of Michigan, Dearborn, Department of Computer and Information Science  presented a program "User Experience Design" as it relates to game design and virtual environment development.

16 attendees, making this one of the best attended of the ACRL-VWIG programs

Bruce reviewed the "User Experience Design" process which is one of the techniques game/software designers can use when they are creating a new game. User experience design goes beyond just making things look nice for the user. The software/game must also be easy to learn and easy to use in order to attract users.  If it's too complicated or poorly designed, users will quit and try one of your competitors products.  User experience designers focus on creating computer interfaces that allow users to accomplish their goals efficiently and pleasantly.

The key to user centered design is to involve the user in the process early in the design as part of the design team.  Utilizing UCD techniques also means the engineer must understand the tasks/goals that users are trying to accomplish.  Bruce pointed out that software engineers are trained to watch the task they are trying to automate.  Their goal is to add in the missing details, pick out the "user story" i.e. the users goals and develop a prototype.  The next step in the design is to let the user tell you what's wrong.  Then the designer goes back and revises it using the input from the users.  The process is interactive and repeats until BOTH the designer and the user are satisfied.

Good design should consider how to move the user to the next stage of attaining their goal. The process should flow easily to the next step and give continuous feedback to the user.  Letting them know they are on the right path to attaining their goal.

Bruce offered some very useful suggestions about designing for virtual worlds.  He suggested that designers should: 

-design for the avatar NOT for the human

-do walk-throughs often to experience the simulation the way you're user would

-do fly-throughs too because avatars in SL CAN fly too

Good designs should always make it very clear to avatars:

-where they are

-what they can do there

-where they can go from there

-where they have been 

At the Q&A at the end of the session Bruce summed up what he thought Linden Labs got right in designing Second Life- 

"They allowed people to build and customize as much as they want, making for a more interesting and complex experience for the user."

The thing he felt they should continue to work on was that "Second Life doesn't cater to new users. It's complex and has a difficult and sometimes extended learning curve."

ACRL-VWIG & ALA Virtual Communities in Libraries Program
July 26, 2015

"Virtual Worlds, an Educator’s View"

Presented byDr. Cynthia Calongne aka Lyr Lobo in Second Life

at the CVL Auditorium in Second Life

Dr. Cynthia Calongne, aka Lyr Lobo, has taught in SL, and been an observer of the VW education scene, since 2005. As a researcher, educator, pioneer, author and futurist she is  passionate about games and simulations, education, authorship, virtual world education and socio-technical futuring.  At this joint session with the ALA Virtual Communities in Libraries MIG, she discussed the creation of games and simulations in virtual worlds and their current and future use.

Lyr presented some interesting stats drawn form the latest Gartner study on information technology.  Gartner predicts that by this year 50% of the organizations that manage innovation processes will gamify them but that 80% of current gamified applications will fail due to poor design.

She examined some current, practical uses of serious games and virtual world simulations designed as a vehicle for interaction, building experiences and creating positive change.  One such virtual world simulation called SnowWorld that helped burn victims manage their pain and medication.  In this virtual world, burn patients wear head mounted display devices and throw snowballs at targets. It was found that they used less medication while engaged in this activity.

Gamers engaging in the virtual world game FoldIt helped solve the HIV protease sequence in 2 weeks, a problem scientists had been trying to do unsuccessfully for 10 years!  This demonstrated that gaming can help solve complex problems by breaking them into smaller, manageable activities.

Re-Mission by Hope Lab is considered one of the largest studies to examine how to empower young people to fight cancer by playing a game.  In one study, 20% of participants fared better in their treatment.

Finally, Lyr talked about how the potential of virtual worlds and gaming for use in examining and helping to solve global problems ("wicked problems").  Pointing out that using a connectivist philosophy, it is possible to link content and systems on the Web within a virtual world and to integrate it into interactive experiences in the real world.

If you want to see more examples, projects and a history of Cynthia's work in Second Life and other virtual worlds visit: http://www.slideshare.net/lyrlobo/

Valerie Hill aka Valibrarian Gregg made a fantastic machinima synopsis of the meeting which can be viewed here:

https://youtu.be/ojwb3ASdyHc

ACRL-VWIG & ALA Virtual Communities in Libraries Program 

May 17, 2015

"Here's Where Copyright, Intellectual Property, and Ownership

Gets Reeaaalllly Hinky in Virtual Worlds"

 

Presented by Herndon Bluebird

CVL Auditorium in Second Life
 





Herndon Bluebird led the program on copyright in Second Life

For Mays' joint ACRL-VWIG program, Herndon Bluebird, a one-time lawyer working in federal litigation and professor of law, shared her insights, knowledge and experiences dealing with copyright in virtual worlds.  Herndon was instrumental in helping the Seanchai and Winterfall libraries in Second Life draw up their copyright statements for live spoken word events.

Twenty librarians and educators attended the session making it one of the most well attended of the ACRL-VWIG programs.  Herndon first provided a brief history of copyright, tracing its origins dealing with pirated books in the 17th century all the way to the present.  Most of the presentation was on how Linden Labs' Terms of Service agreement deals with copyright issues

 

Herndon’s' was the first cogent discussion of Linden Labs Terms of Service as applied to copyright that I've yet heard.  Her program focused on what the TOS actually mean for SL content creators in regards to copyright.  Her main point was that content creators, are NOT giving up ownership of works they create and import into Second Life to Linden Labs.  Instead, according to the TOS, content creators are agreeing to give Linden Labs a non-exclusive license to use those works.  

 

While in theory this gives Linden Labs the right to copy, distribute or license content created in SL to others, in practice, these terms are really set up to give Linden Labs the leeway necessary for running a 3D virtual world. This includes dealing with griefers, running the SL Marketplace, handling abandoned land and moving content to newer versions of SL.  The broad licensing rights granted to LL in the TOS are there to help it do the day-to-day things necessary for running Second Life and are not for the purpose of taking over the intellectual property rights of content creators.

 

Consider a chair

Using the example of a chair created and uploaded into SL by a content creator, Herndon detailed one of the known issues with the Linden Lab TOS. 

In her example, she pointed out that a chair created by a user which incorporates textures created by another user inherently violates the LL TOS, even if the texture creator has granted permission to the chair creator to use and sell those textures in their own original creations.

When a content creator brings something into SL, they are agreeing to the TOS.  The issue arises because by agreeing to the LL TOS, the furniture maker is warranting that they own everything they bring into SL and they are also granting full permissions to Linden Lab to license, distribute, copy etc. the item.  However, the chair creator does not "own" the textures used on the chair. He's only been granted a license by the texture creator to use them.  The texture maker has not transferred his ownership of the textures; he has retained his property rights to them.  This is one of many copyright concerns with the Linden Labs Terms of Service in regards to copyright.

Herndon said that in the short term, it might be possible to tweak the TOS if users show Linden Labs concrete problems that arise because of them along with suggestions for concrete solutions to them.   This might be a good approach to take short term, but in the long term, what's really needed is some sort of ”Avatar Bill of Rights" built into the Terms of Service.

 

ALA Midwinter Meeting February 1, 2015

Meeting of the

ACRL Virtual Worlds Interest Group

at the ALA Annual Midwinter Conference
Sunday February 1, 2015, 3 pm - 4 pm ET
Chicago, IL

 

J.J. Jacobson (J.J. Drinkwater), Chair of the ACRL-VWIG, and other real life conference attendees in Chicago, braved a blizzard to meet at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers for our annual planning and discussion meeting at ALA Midwinter.  J.J., acted as convener and envoy to several librarians who wanted to find out what all the fuss was about Second Life.

Real life visitors from Virginia Tech and the University of Wisconsin-Madison met in the conference room in Chicago.

Virtual attendees gathered at the Community Virtual Library Auditorium in Second Life

The interactive format of the meeting helped illustrate the sense of presence offered by Second Life events. (photo courtesy of Valibrarian Greg)

Interest group members in Second Life, fielded questions from participants in Chicago and shared their experiences working as educators in Second Life.   J.J. provided the vital connection between real-life and Second Life, moderating the meeting, fielding questions, and, calling on audience members to address issues and reply to questions.  

J.J. Drinkwater, Aimee Resident, Valibrarian Gregg, Joe Cupola, Beth Ghostraven, Alexandria Knight, Hyacinth Cortez, Suemoon Magic, Ilene Pratt

 Members of the VWIG were eager to share their experiences.  We answered questions and provided feedback and personal insights to the conference attendees in Chicago.  They were very interested in how things worked in Virtual Worlds and specifically in how libraries and librarians were using Second Life.  They were intrigued by the examples provided of librarians using Second Life to engage in professional development by attending workshops, meetings and conferences.  They were most surprised that it could be used as a tool for networking with other educators.  Group members delineated many examples of other uses for Second Life including holding classes, workshops, historical recreations and art exhibitions. We also touched on issues to consider in using virtual worlds and developments on the horizon for Second Life.   All in all, it was a very successful and informative meeting. The attendees in Chicago left with a better understanding of Second Life and the culture of helping that exists there.  They also came away with a list of very active users, all eager to assist them as they pursue their exploration into the educational potential of virtual worlds.