EDTECH : Social Network Learn...

EdTech 597: Social Network Learning in Virtual Worlds

Department of Educational Technology
Boise State University
Fall 2009

Annie Jeffery

EdTech Island Sound Garden

Mission of Dept. of Educational Technology
The Department of Educational Technology supports the study and practice of facilitating and improving learning of a diverse population by creating, using, managing, and evaluating appropriate technological processes and resources. Believing technology is a tool that enhances and expands the educational environment, we promote the use of current and emergent technologies for teaching and learning in a dynamic global society. Educational technologists are leaders and innovators, serving in institutions of higher education, public or private school settings, federal, state or local educational agencies, community organizations, and the private sector.

Course Description & Prerequisites
Social Networking is a growing field of expertise, and has much to offer virtual world teachers wishing to explore new ways of communicating and collaborating both in-world and out-of-world. This graduate level course will explore collaborative and emergent pedagogies related to the use of social networks in virtual world teaching. Participants will gain hands-on experience with a variety social networking tools, create a community-based resource, and have an opportunity to become part of the emerging network of virtual world educators.

System requirements: http://secondlife.com/corporate/sysreqs.php

Prerequisite skills:

Use of camera controls
Ability to fly, walk, and teleport
Knowledge of communication tools (IM and chat)
Basic building skills (create prims, add textures and content)
Basic inventory management (can find items, wear clothing, make a notecard)
It is recommended that participants have at least 15-20 hours of prior participation in Second Life before the course begins.

Course Goals & Objectives

Objectives

To identify the dynamics of social networking as a form of virtual world pedagogy.
To create a wiki that will cover a range of social networking tools that can be used in Second Life.
To analyze how social networking can enhance teaching and learning in Second Life.
To use a range of in-world tools useful for social networking.
To create and share lesson plans relating to teaching using social networking in Second Life.
To create a micro teaching session using a chosen social networking tool or service.
To evaluate pedagogies useful with social networking tools.

Outcomes

Have designed a lesson plan for their chosen social networking technology.
Have written a wiki entry for their chosen social networking technology. The Blackboard discussion forum for the week's technology will form a resource for creating the entry and one person will be responsible for each wiki entry, coordinating work for the entry.
- Topics for the wiki entries could be as follows:
Have contributed to wiki entries through working collaboratively
Have designed and taught a micro teaching session in Second Life that incorporates social networking
Have evaluated teaching with social networking technology in Second Life

Course Readings & Resources

Suggested Reading Resources

John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid, 2000, The Social Life of Information, Harvard Business School Press
Horizon Report 2008 www.nmc.org/pdf/2008-Horizon-Report.pdf

John Seely Brown: The Social Life of Learning: How can Continuing Education be Reconfigured in the Future? http://www.johnseelybrown.com/Social%20Life%20of%20Learning.pdf
Lisa Dawley 2008 Social Network Knowledge Construction: Emerging Virtual World Pedagogy (in press)
Handbook for Emerging Technology for Learning http://tr.im/yRye
Authentic Learning for the 21st Century: An overview http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI3009.pdf

Additional Online Resources

Michael Wesch and the Future of Education http://umanitoba.ca/ist/production/streaming/podcast_wesch.html
Riding the Waves of Web 2.0 http://www.pewinternet.org/report_display.asp?r=189
Educause reading lists http://connect.educause.edu/ (Suggested searches Web 2.0, Second Life, Social Networking and Virtual Worlds.)
Second Life in Education Uses
SLED Events Calendar
EDTECH Island Video

This course includes asynchronous and synchronous components, including Blackboard, and a weekly meeting on Thursdays, 3-5 PT, 4-6 MT, that occurs on EDTECH Island in Second Life, a virtual world. A basic account in Second Life is free. Be forewarned that there is Mature and adult content in Second Life. This version is not for children, although there is also a separate "Teen Second Life" that educators can get permission to join. This mature content can be avoided at most times by not going to places on the map with an "M," and instead staying in PG areas. Class activities will be restricted to PG environments.

Assignments & Grades
Grades will be based on total number of points earned on the following:

1. Weekly Class Activities, Assignments & Participation - Your online participation is critical to your own learning. Each week, you participate in weekly discussions, group work, activities, and/or mini-assignments. These activities are designed to enhance your understanding of the weekly topic. We're interested in the quality of your critical thinking, your reflections, your ability to find connections between materials, between theory and practice, your ability to contribute new understandings to the course, to assist your peers in their own learning and problem solving. If we feel you aren’t reaching this standard, we will communicate with you. We will indicate minimum requirements. You are always welcome to add more.

2. Reflective Action – Reflection on learning is critical to developing long-term and deeply instilled learning. Reflective Action is a process for reflecting on learning, and considering and applying your learning to your own teaching context. Reflective action will occur via weekly discussions and note taking, and form part of the creative writing process.

3. Teaching- Plan, teach, and evaluate a lesson in SL. These 15-20 minute micro teaching sessions will involve use of a chosen social networking tool or service.

4. Social Network Participation – Make weekly contributions of resources, teaching techniques, etc. to support creation of the final project wiki. Some of these contributions will be completed during weekly class meetings. Guidelines to be discussed in class.

5. Final Synthesis Project – Each student is required to complete a final project demonstrating application and synthesis of the course topics. The projects should relate to social networking tools and services, support virtual world teaching or teachers in some way and contribute to the class wiki. You will form part of the editorial process for the final wiki through constructive review of wiki entries. Project guidelines are handed out in class.

Assignments	Points
15 Weekly Activities & Participation (20 points each week)	300
Teaching in SL	200
Social Network Participation	250
Final Synthesis Project	250
Total Points	1,000

Grading Scale:
A = 900-1000
B = 800-899
C = 700-799
D = 600-699
F = 0-599

Schedule

The course week runs from Thursday through Wednesday with in-world class meetings being held on Thursdays, 3-5 PT, 4-6 MT, on EDTECH Island in Second Life. Assignments are due on Wednesdays before class, weekly agendas will be available on Thursday mornings. The syllabus and schedule is not set in stone and maybe adapted depending on the needs of the class and the availability of Guest Speakers.

Topics	Start Date	Activities	Outcomes	Guest
Week 1: Introductions to Course, Social Networking & Virtual Worlds	Aug 27	Introductions & housekeeping
Week 2: Introduction to social networks - in-world and out-world (Labor Day)	Sept 3	Coping with timezones	Joining groups and societies	tbc
Week 3: Social Networking: An Emerging Pedagogy	Sept 10	Understanding pedagogies for social networking		tbc
Week 4: Working Collaboratively	Sept 17	Getting started in working collaboratively		tbc
Week 5: Wikis	Sept 24	Setting up the wiki, decide topics and roles	Begin class wiki project	tbc
Week 6: Mobile technology	Oct 1	Connecting in-world and out-world communities	Class wiki project collaboration	tbc
Week 7: Image Creation and Sharing	Oct 8	Creating job aids, teaching with image libraries		tbc
Week 8: Movies and movie clips	Oct 15	Sharing "Live" action		tbc
Week 9: Diary-like tools	Oct 22	Reflecting and exploring thoughts		tbc
Week 10: Mash-ups and remixes	Oct 29	Creating new content from existing materials		tbc
Week 11: Bookmarks and referencing	Nov 5	Sharing resources with peers	First project drafts due; Peer review begins Proposal writing	tbc
Week 12: Challenges & Concerns; Project Planning Start Wiki Project	Nov 12	Copyright and Intellectual Property Rights, Privacy		tbc
Week 13: Putting it all together	Nov 19	Blending technology and experience	Peer review of projects ends Final edits for class wiki begins	tbc
Week 14: NO CLASS, THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY	Nov 26	Teaching using a social networking tool	Peer feedback on teaching	tbc
Week 15: Micro teaching session	Dec 3	Teaching using a social networking tool	Peer feedback on teaching	tbc
Week 16: Micro teaching session Deliver Final Projects	Dec 10	Teaching using a social networking tool	Peer feedback on teaching Final projects due	tbc

Course Expectations

Course work in EDTECH 597 is divided into 16 weeks of the semester. The types of assignments and the level of interactivity vary from week-to-week. This is not a self-paced course, and projects involving collaboration with peers are required. We will always try our best to give clear directions on what, where, when, and how in the course schedule folder in SocNet.

Communication with the instructors and/or students in the class can be readily accomplished through the email, SocNet Discussion Board, or in Second Life. We will usually return email within 24 hours, and are happy to schedule a time with you to discuss your questions and work. A Student Lounge Area is provided in-world for the class to meet informally. This provides an opportunity for you to visit with other class members about any topic of interest. We encourage you to use this area to visit with other class members (much as you would in the hallway before an on-campus class).

There is also a FAQ thread in SocNet Discussion Forum, and we will post questions for students that we think may help the whole class. Please don’t hesitate to ask questions – online environments vary greatly, as well as students' experiences with them.

Instructions for where and when to submit assignments will be given in each Course Schedule in the SocNet wiki. All assignments are due on a weekly basis before class each Monday at the latest unless indicated otherwise.

Standards

The assignments in this course have been aligned to the AECT-NCATE Standards for the Accreditation of School Media Specialist and Educational Technology Programs: http://www.ncate.org/public/programStandards.asp?ch=4#AECT

Academic Honesty

It is expected that students in this class will create original works for each assignment. We will follow the BSU Student Code of Conduct and also observe U.S. copyright laws in this course. In addition to this please adhere to the following guidelines:

Please do original work for each project. Projects that were created for other classes may not be submitted for credit in EDTECH 597. Each project may only be submitted for credit one time by the person who created it. The BSU Student Code of Conduct states: "Academic dishonesty also includes submitting substantial portions of the same academic course work to more than one course for credit without prior permission of the instructor(s)."
All project text should be original text written by the student who is creating the project. In a traditional course, the exception to this is the use of small amounts of quoted material that is properly cited. Copying and pasting from other Web sites or projects (including the instructor's examples) is not allowed. For materials created collaboratively, please acknowledge authors and sources where requested. A Creative Commons License or GNU Public Licence will specify terms of use or re-use for materials.
Images and sound clips used in projects should be original, or used with permission of the owner, or come from the public domain. Please check terms of use on sites containing these items.
Please cite the source for materials that are obtained for your projects unless they are created by you. If permission is granted for use of copyrighted materials please post a statement explaining that near those materials.

In the event of academic dishonesty a complaint is filed with the BSU Student Conduct Office with supporting documentation. This complaint remains on file and actions may be taken against the student (e.g., loss or credit, reduction in grade, etc.).

More information about copyright: Several great links to copyright information are available on the BSU Academic Technologies site at: http://itc.boisestate.edu/resource.htm

Late Work

Please be advised that the following late work policy will be enforced in this class:

Only one assignment may be submitted late. This one late assignment can be no more than one week late or it receives zero points. All other late work receives a zero.
Due dates falling within the last week of class are final and those assignments may not be submitted late.
All assignment due dates fall on Mondays. Assignments must be submitted before midnight Mountain time on scheduled due dates. For time zone information please visit the World Clock Web site: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/

It is a good idea to schedule specific times to work on your assignments each week and keep the appointment with yourself. Plan to spend 8 - 12 hours per week on this class. The amount of time actually needed will depend on entry-level skills. It is in your best interest to start early on each assignment to give yourself time to fix technical problems or get help before the due date passes.

Advanced Copies of Assignments

Please understand that we are continually adding new materials and multimedia to our course assignments. Although we applaud students who wish to work ahead it is not feasible for us to prepare advanced copies of assignments. Full assignment details will only become available at the beginning of each new assignment week (Thursdays). An outline of topics and reading assignments is available in the course schedule. The reading assignments are all listed so they may be completed in advance if desired.