Utterli audio to twitter, blogs, and more

Mobile post sent by anthonyfontana using Utterli. Replies. mp3

SL and students

I'm not sure who said this quote or where I heard it, but when I did I knew I'd been hit with some real wisdom:

"There are two types of people in this world, those that believe people can be categorized into two types and everyone else."

I would consider myself in the latter group, however when it comes to discussing educational and student adoption (or lack thereof) in Second Life it seems that many fellow bloggers and researchers would rather segregate and divide users into two easy-to-explain groups. Educators and students. Gen X'ers and M Gens. Us and them. It's hard to believe that in this complex and diverse world that anyone can really think they can quantify such groups so easily.

If you travel across the country and speak with educators from very different geographical locations, in higher ed or K-12, with students from very different socioeconomic backgrounds you know that such categorization is simply not helpful. I've ranted about the so-called 'Digital Native' before, so perhaps you're with me on this. But hopefully, you can see the difference between learners in your own classrooms and conclude that grouping all-students-everywhere into one group and then making blanket assumptions about them would just seem silly.

Some recent online articles trying to make sense of education and student involvement in SL do just that however. I thought I'd take a quick minute to point out a few, their salient points and the views that seem detrimental to the continuing research in this area.

First, is "How we should encourage cheating in youngsters" by Roland Legrand over at the Metanomics blog. The article points out that students could be engaging in "'collaborative co-creation' using the internet-tools at thier disposal" and "challenging the underpinnings of education like it is organized now". I believe this sentiment to be very accurate, with educators encouraging such innovations by promoting such online tools as wikis, blogs, Facebook and more. However, he goes on to ask such questions as:

"So are these Millennials the perfect flexible, collaborative inspired
people who will transform society and the economy, and who will stream
into virtual worlds such as Second Life as soon as some virtual
evangelists make them discover those virtual environments?" (italics added)

And even quotes Feldspar Epstien's post in The Metavers Journal, Students vs. Second Life:

In Second Life, the gap between Generation X and the Millennial Generation comes sharply into focus (...):

1. Second Life is primarily filled with Generation X’ers,
unintentionally creating a socially unwelcoming environment for
Millennials;

2. Generation X’ers know how to play in the freeform manner that
Second Life requires, whereas Millennials typically do not display that
skill.

While this observation may be insightful and seemingly on que (with everyone else making such categorizations)... is it really helpful? It is true that the average age of the SL user is 30+, but even out of that demographic the percentage of actual Generation X'ers grows smaller with many users being older than the Gen X'er. It's also hard to say that they/we are "unintentionally creating a socially unwelcoming environment," as if all of Second Life was made of the SAME kind of environment. Also, I'd like to see something that says all Millennials do not display the skillset to play in a freeform manner. I know that some of my Millennial students do... some do not. Again, two types and everyone else.

Over at Second Thoughts, the post "Why The Kids Aren't Alright" sums up student users SL experience by looking at their Blog Hud posts, the amount of users on a virtual campus on a Friday night, and a theory of "boredom" reified by one of the student interns at Metanomics.

Most of all, he hated that he couldn't grief people. See, that's the
reality of this generation, and why we need to wait another generation
for virtual worlds to be used effectively, until the griefing impulse
is bred out of this current one, raised on violent video games, or at
least, until there is enough of an institutionalization of virtual
worlds that they are able to successfully restrain the griefing genes.

Violent video games? Really? Give up and wait until the next generation comes along?

I can't say that there isn't reason to believe that certain individuals in the Gen M population don't like violence, even in my own experiences at BGSU. For example, last year Dr. Dena Eber held a student art critique in which two of her students 'crashed' (mildly greifed) the event by attending as horrific avatars. Since this was an art class the so-called griefing seemed appropriate, even performance like. This interpretation was reinforced for me when I attended the MUVE session at Siggraph last week in which Mick Brady (Chrome Underwood, Live Teams Manager at the Serious Game Design Institute) called griefing something like 'the most interesting and important thing happening in Second Life artwork'. (Please note that these were 2 students out of a class of 20... 10%. Imho, that's probably about the same percentage of student population that these articles are accurately referencing.)

Even AJ Tan, the intern at Metanomics whose blog post on boredom was referenced above, goes so far as to say:

In my experience, the demographic of Second Life residents is roughly
in the mid- to late-thirties. For me, these individuals represent
“real” adults who do not celebrate the end of finals week or the
advertisement of a city-wide bar crawl.

As a thirty-something Second Lifer and educator, let me just say... I do celebrate the end of finals week. I'd also like to point out that not all of my students are drunks interested in keg-stands, bar crawls, and/or violent video games. AJ's post on his experiences in SL are a wonderful addition to this discussion however, we need to see more student blogs, responses, and polls in order to better understand what the 'students' are really getting out of SL; students of various ages, geographical locations, races, socioeconomic and technological backgrounds who may offer a wider range of analysis than the tech savy Gen M raised on violent video games.

I would also challenge those intent on changing education - are we creating socially welcoming environments? Are you providing your students with a platform for reward advancement, much like an mmorpg? (I see this as a typical letter grade approach really.) Or are you pushing your students toward freeform play in which information can be applied and developed into a product of learning achievement, much like the structure of SL?

New Asynchronous Video Conferencing (Mail vs. Threads)

There are many people enamored with Skype or Yahoo IM for video conference calls, but with some new web 2.0 apps we may see some users moving towards browser based services instead. I've already mentioned the usefulness of Stickam.com when it comes to video conferencing, broadcasting that event, and even recording it. For a better form of asynchronous video messaging check out Tokbox and Seesmic.


Tokbox

This is as easy as it gets. Login, touch a button and your sending video messages all from your browser. You're notified by email if your recipient watches your message or sends one back. You can even make public video messages - tokbox's way of adding a twitteresque feature that can compete with up and coming sites like 12seconds.tv. The video quality at talkbox looks great and if you're really not into the browser-ball-and-chain then you can download the desktop client which runs on Adobe Air.



Best features:

• URL as contact info (like an email or phone number - anyone with the URL can call you)
• Embedable widget (for places like MySpace, Facebook, Blogger, and more) allows one click calling for other users to call or message you.
  
• Unlimited number of conference callers (according to the FAQ - untested by me)
• 15 minutes of video message time
• API for devs
  

Seesmic

Seesmic seems to be drawing an international crowd to publicly discuss virtually anything in a threaded video conversation. Essentially, you can make a public video post recorded using your webcam and mic (flash) - a question perhaps - then, users who speak your language can respond with their own videos - hopefully answers to your question.

Here's an example... This user says 'show us your favorite iPhone app'.

Best Features:

• Your having a conversation with the world!
  
• Send video messages - converse privately
• Embed videos (not threads) easily

I'm not sure there's much for me on Seesmic, but there are a lot of people spending a lot of time there. I expect Seesmic to gain popularity for the webcamming crowd. Although it's been a while since YouTube installed a 'Reply to this Video' button, it still doesn't feel like many folks are using youtube for threaded video conversation like you see here.

I could see this site used in a communications class: Ask a question on Seesmic. How did users respond? Perhaps this could even help in the creation of an ePortfolio by posting a thread of former employers and colleagues who have great things to say about you. The video document resume of the future! Feel like adding your two cents? Respond to this video below here:

In either case, it seems the idea of video calling and public broadcasting is finding a crowd. How far it bleeds into popular culture and what effect it has on education as younger students familiar with the technology enter higher ed remain to be seen.

Live Broadcasting 2.0

Live broadcasting changes everything.

There are many new and exciting things on the horizon for technology in education (see post on browser based virtual worlds) and none more exciting than the acceptance of live broadcasting (call it "Web 2.Live"). As you will see demonstrated below, there are several different sites available for live social interaction via webcam or desktop. Some specialize in the production of live content and each allows for recording and distribution of live recordings via embeddable players.

How can these tools be used in education? How is this different than simple video conferencing?

• Faculty, students, and other individuals (visiting lecturers, professionals, etc...) can interact from great distances while still having access to all media and desktop tools needed for dynamic discussions
• Recordings of these interactions can be documented and distributed asynchronously
  
• Like podcasting and video helped to create a culture of user-generated material so too might live media (there are many "live shows" already gaining popularity on these sites
• As mobile video becomes more mainstream, so too will live feeds of people's lives: aka. Lifecasting

Below are a few sites I have chosen to feature. Each has a variety of similar or competing features. I have listed the pros and cons of each. Each video will also demonstrate some of the features. Since my interests also lie with Second Life, I was especially keen on the ability to publicly display a live feed of SL on the web. I have provided links to each site and also my profile or channel page. The only added software I am using beside the webservice is CamTwist for my Mac. It can be found here:
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/24275/camtwist

Stickam.com




http://www.stickam.com/anthonyfontana

Stickam.com Pros:

• Highly social: up to 6 other "live visitors" and unlimited chat/profile page viewers or visitors
  
• Easy to manage, record, embed recordings
• Autopilot for embedded player when not live (plays video, pictures, etc...) plays media on demand
  

Stickam.com Cons:

• Site is mostly used by teens at the moment
• Profile page features are limited
• Channel only page must be created elsewhere (see my live page at http://www.anthonyfontana.com/livebroadcast.aspx)
  

BlogTV.com


BlogTV demo for my blog - Broadcast your self LIVE

http://www.blogtv.com/People/AnthonyFontana

BlogTV Pros:

• Co-hosting - records/shows up to two people in live video screen
  
• Profile page modification tools are average (better than Stickam not as good as UStream)

BlogTV Cons:

• Too many ads - show up on profile page AND in embedded player!
• Video quality seems a bit lower than other sites
• Video cuts off bottom of screen (notice the ticker is cut in half!)
  

UStream.tv

Video clips at Ustream

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/anthony-fontana-live

UStream.TV Pros:

• Lots of options and features!
  
• Profile AND Channel pages that are highly modifiable
• Text overlays (not shown in video)
• Can port videos straight over to YouTube, Google, Vimeo and more
• Better for making a TV-like show
• Allows for co-hosting (I haven't tested this yet)
  

UStream.TV Cons:

• Higher learning curve (as is the case whenever there are more features)
• Non-intuitive user interface - I didn't like this one at first
• Not as social (seemingly)
  

Mogulus.com

http://www.mogulus.com/anthonyfontana

To play demo video:

1. Click to turn player on (I have it set to off so that it doesn't start every time the blog is loaded into a browser window)
2. Wait for player to fully initialize (On Demand button will not show up immediately)
   
3. Click on "On Demand" button on bottom of player
4. Click on "new VOD Folder"
5. Click on "Live Show Aug 1 2008"

Mogulus.com Pros:

• High quality production features built-in (ticker, splash pages, etc...)
• Auto-Pilot playlist for videos, photos, and pre-recorded shows (not enabled in above player)
  
• Graphical interface (GUI) is very easy to use, very intuitive
• Dynamic player allows for "Video on Demand" for viewers to peruse playlist
• Imports easily from YouTube (player can show other videos I've set to play including my machinima and even the UStream.tv piece from above.
  

Mogulus.com Cons:

• Not social - chat confined to viewers, but not creator (not in studio window at least)
  
• Ads - will come across bottom of screen (not as bad as BlogTV)

Please feel free to comment on this post. I'm very interested in hearing opinoins about live broadcasting.

Permalink:
http://themultichronicclassroom.blogspot.com/2008/08/live-broadcasting-20.html

BGNEWS: New Univ. blogging system means new route of communication

New Univ. blogging system means new route of communication - Campus

By: Angie Burdge

The new system, which uses the WordPress Multi-User platform, was developed by Terence Armentano from the Center for Online and Blended Learning.

However, for some faculty members, blogging is nothing new.

The Center of Teaching and Learning has been discussing the "significance to teaching, learning and the integration of technology in the classroom" in their blog since November 2006, said graduate assistant Matthew Caire.

Caire said the purpose of the center's blog is to promote dialogue on teaching and learning issues in higher education among University faculty, staff and graduate students.

This includes facilitating discussions on the latest research and developments, as well as informing University faculty of current workshops, learning community activities and other related events.

Anthony Fontana, an art instructor who has been blogging since 2001, maintains several educational and personal blogs.

New "Browser-Based Virtual Worlds"

There has recently been an outcropping of virtual world platforms that run in your browser. Some seem to hold some promise and others seem a bit lackluster. Only time will tell what survives.

Small Worlds - PC & Mac
A Flash based virtual world with minimal camera movement, API for widgets, and the possibility of opening the world to allow Flash game developers to create content.



Happy Features:

• Easy widget interface to stream/showcase YouTube videos, Flickr pictures, and Last.fm music.
  
• Avatars are a bit cartoony, although they are LESS cartoony than the current champ of browser based virtual worlds: Gaia Online (the less cartoony feature is the happy part)¹
  
• Easy to use and well designed interface (however, within a browser there is only so much screen real estate - unless you have a large monitor)
• No download required (unless you don' t have Flash player installed for your browser, in which case you have your own issues).
  

Downside:

• Limited camera movement: Constant 45 degree angle with rotations at 90, 180, 270, & 360.
• Avatar options are limited, very similar to the Wii's Mii creations.
• Economy based on XP and gold gained from missions, not from user created interplay
• Missions are not nearly as fun as the children's vw Build-A-Bearville (seriously)
• Using Amazon S3 and therefore susceptible to outages... I experienced this yesterday actually.

¹ Gaia Online is ranked 6th according to GigaOM among MMOs, but seemingly #1 among 3d social spaces for adults. It doesn't look like its for adults but there are plenty there. I blogged about their YouTube and Sony Pictures features way back in January.


Lively by Google - PC only
A recent contender by a big name. I really have no idea what they are thinking.



Happy Features:

• Embeddable 3d room onto your website (I don't think it works in a blog, at least not yet - I tried to post it here).
• Facebook plugin
• Meet people in your private or public rooms, animations allow you to body slam them silly
• Widgets for YouTube, Flickr photos (no longer working), and soon to be more.
• Pop-out window with full controls
• Easily search for other people/spaces (come on... it's Google)
  

Downside:

• Horrid interface:
• - camera jerks around, , looses the viewer in the environment, clunky to use
• - even placing furniture is a drag for a more experienced SL user, jumping from wall to wall not exactly ending up where you want it.
  
• Limited character creation options. Although there is enough diversity to recreate an episode of Drawn Together
  
• Not available for Mac. What?
• Download required (plugin). Creates a desktop icon that does NOT launch Lively
• Free objects/economy (at this moment in Beta)
  
• Facebook plugin takes you through set-up everytime (a bug, I hope)
• Animations promote griefing (as if the interface wasn't bad enough, sometimes all you can do is watch yourself get pummeled by other users)
  
• No integration with anything Google except GTalk (which I can't even get to work)

**Update: Even Gartner thinks Lively isn't that exciting. Their advice: wait and watch. Read here: http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?doc_cd=159757**

Just Leap In - PC & (supposedly) Mac
The newest of the new - built by digital artists and promising better graphic quality for 3D worlds (if your computer can hack it...)



Happy Features:

• Interface is slightly above average. Better than Lively worse than Small Worlds
• Upload your own videos or pictures (music coming soon) to share with friends
• Embeddable 3d room onto your website OR blog (check it out below)
• Pop out to larger window (see downside for the same)
• Excellent graphics! Again, only if your computer can handle them. My PC at home needs a new graphics card but I was able to boost the graphics to check out the lighting features and water in an outdoor environment. To move around without much lag I had to push the graphic quality down to the 1st setting.
• Portals connect you to friends rooms
  

Downside:

• Could not get it to run on my MacBook Pro. The people at JLI told me it was due to:
  

We suspect that your MacBook Pro with the 8600M GT @ 128 MB VRAM is running into a recently announced NVIDIA graphics board fault (http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=2172 and http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/10/all-nvidia-8400m-8600m-chips-faulty/). We understand that new drivers will be released shortly by OEMs that would minimize the problem. We're also working on some workarounds for our next Player update in a week's time so that we can keep the issue - and full utilization of the card - from affecting our users.

• Using Amazon S3 and therefore susceptible to outages
• No economy. No stores, no gold, no xp. Everything is in your inventory and everything is free.
• Popout window controls are limited to camera movement. This is bad because you have to work in an even smaller window (again with the screen real estate issues) when decorating.
• NO AVATARS! Ok, I know it's beta but really? It is on the list for upcoming additions. For now however, you can put one of the avatars in your 3d space so they can stand their and scratch their heads (they do!).
• System to search for other spaces/people is quite ugly.
  

Final Notes:
There was a really great rant by __ the other day I picked off Twitter. He complained that all of these companies were promoting 3d vw's that claimed to allow you to really be you... but that the simplicity of the graphics for each character were unable to really capture you. Studying what a virtual self really is through art is one thing I've been working on for the last year. How much farther from the self you believe yourself to be will these worlds take us? Will we find immersion in ways we find it in SL?

Also, the development of these economies will be of key interest. Some of them have no economy and some have game like ones. Where SL seems to stive is in its user created content and the economy that it creates. Will the economy for these worlds become one only for the widget, flash, plug-in developers? And how will the economy of space work out? If these worlds are giving everyone a 3d space and Linden Labs wants to continue making money on selling space how will this affect the user base? I think it's great everyone can have/share a room on a website, but if the diversity of those spaces is limited because of the content 'given' vs. content created then there really won't be much out there as far as interesting environments.

One more thing. Here's a ss of me imaginining a day when I'm in SL with several browsers in front of me jumping between several other browser based virtual worlds:

The End Of The Beginning

It has been several months since I presented on the Multichronic Classroom at the College Art Association National Conference, however I have finally managed to get the Slidecast/Podcast of the presentation together.

As outlined in the presentation, the term 'Polychronic Classroom' no longer sums up the ideal intentions of my research. So, I went and invented a new term: Multichronic. This new term is intended to accommodate both the polychronic and monochronic students. With it comes a new blog at The Multichronic Classroom.blogspot.com.

After a little hiatus from blogging about technology, web 2.0, and virtual worlds in pedagogy, I will now resume blogging at this new address. Please change your RSS accordingly.

The Multichronic Classroom

view presentation (tags: art education web2.0 elearning)

Test from mobile

This is a test post using the Blog It app in facebook from my BB.

Testing the BLOG IT app on Facebook

Six Apart, the makers of LJ and Vox have recently created a one stop blog-app for FB called 'Blog It'. This app is also available for the iPhone (I have a BB). From this one app I can post to all of my blogs on VOX, Blogger, WordPress and more. No more logging in to separate accounts.

The next test will be to post from my BB using the mini Opera browser.

Welcome!

For information visit:

The Polychronic Classroom