Transcript of the Virtual Worlds Education Roundtable: July 20, 2023
Topic: Belonging and Connectedness]
Photos by Beth Ghostraven
This week we discuss how we can foster feelings of Belonging and Connectedness in virtual worlds education – both for educators and for students.
Some readings:
Barker, V.E. (2016). Flow in Virtual Worlds: The Interplay of Community and Site Features as Predictors of Involvement. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, 9(3). https://jvwr-ojs-utexas.tdl.org/jvwr/article/view/7220
Irwin, P., & Coutts, R. (2021). Learning alone together: A qualitative investigation exploring virtual connectedness. International Journal on Innovations in Online Education, 4(4), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1615/IntJInnovOnlineEdu.2021036472 or https://researchoutput.csu.edu.au/en/publications/learning-alone-together-a-qualitative-investigation-exploring-vir
“With a focus on shared learning, a number of the students who were interviewed clearly valued SL over other forms of social media because of the sense of connectedness they felt. Telecommunications and Facebook were deemed less superior because SL offered groups a live discussion and presence” with the student quote “we’ve got Facebook but you can only write whereas in SL we can meet as a group and talk” and a conclusion that “There was evidence that learning connections were being forged and also augmented due to real-time virtual avatar interactions that were ultimately motivating to the learners”
Minocha, S. & Hardy, C. (2016). Navigation and wayfinding in learning spaces in 3D virtual worlds. In: S. Gregory et al. (eds.) Learning in Virtual Worlds: Research and Applications. (pp. 3–41.) Athabasca University Press. https://oro.open.ac.uk/46084/ [Includes discussion of how building and design that connect with existing mental models are helpful, also how wayfinding can be improved so people feel more comfortable finding their way round]
Coulson, M; Oskis, A; Spencer, R; Gould, R; (2019) Tourism, migration and the exodus to virtual worlds: Place attachment in massively multiplayer online gamers. Psychology of Popular Media Culture https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10072707/3/Gould%20migration%20to%20virtual%20worlds%20rev1.pdf
[This research was to do with games, rather than virtual worlds, but there were interesting results in some gamers identification and attachment to virtual homes in the game “Although the subsequent analyses of virtual homes were exploratory in nature and included a relatively small number of participants, we note that virtual homes may be unique and perceived as a greater part of self-identity than other virtual places. Indeed, identity-related questions of ‘who we are’ are often intimately related to questions of where we are’”]
Cruz, A. et al. (2021). Non-verbal aspects of collaboration in virtual worlds: a CSCW taxonomy-development proposal integrating the presence dimension. JUCS – Journal of Universal Computer Science 27(9): 913-954. http://hdl.handle.net/10400.2/11176 [CSCW = Computer Supported Collaborative Working]
“the avatar influences collaboration through:
•Appearance -revealing roles or attitudes…
•Gestures and sounds -showing how one wants to collaborate, or how the other elements of the group should collaborate ..;
•Look, direction of movement, and positioning-revealing what one is paying attention to, or what one wants others to pay attention to…;
•Interaction with specific objects -revealing those most important for collaboration….physical space influences collaboration through:
•Arrangement of objects -revealing their purpose for collaboration…;
•Transfer of objects -helping to define the team and roles…;
•Thematic environment (architecture, decoration, ambient music, etc.) adopted in the physical space -influencing the attitude of the participants”
[12:01] Sheila Yoshikawa: Hi everyone, and welcome to the Virtual Worlds Education Roundtable. VWER meets on Thursdays at 12 noon SLT for an hour, in the UK 8pm, 3pm EST. VWER is a forum to educate and inform the community about issues that are important and relevant to education in virtual worlds. This is a public meeting, so we will be keeping and publishing a transcript. The transcripts can be found at https://vwer.info/. The VWER continues to develop a community of educators from around the world. Please join the VWER group here in SL. If you are on Facebook please join our group there http://www.facebook.com/groups/159154226946/
[12:02] Sheila Yoshikawa: The topic for this week’s meeting will be: Belonging and Connectedness in virtual worlds education. If you click the box next to the table you will get a folder with a notecard. Let’s start as we normally do and introduce ourselves.
[12:01] Roddy MacLeod (rodachan): hello
[12:01] ღ Serenity ღ (serenkitty): Hello, Roddy
[12:03] Beth Ghostraven: Hi Roddy! Come on over and sit with us! Just type into text chat as much or as little as you want.
[12:03] Beth Ghostraven: Hi Aso! Welcome to VWER!
[12:03] PI (pi.illios): Hello everyone!
[12:03] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): Hello Aso
[12:04] Beth Ghostraven: I’m a retired teacher-librarian in RL and owner of Ghostraven Professional Attire and GPA Dinkies, classic clothing for educators in SL (http://bethghostraven.com). I also own the Book and Tankard Pub in Victoria City, Caledon, in SL.
My outreach and communications activities include:
Communications Chair for the VWBPE Conference http://vwbpe.org ;
Transcript editor for VWER http://vwer.info
Unofficial liaison between education groups in SL (AKA Spam Queen)
For information on events for the educational virtual world groups that I work with, see the Beth Ghostraven’s Picks Calendar at https://tinyurl.com/Beth-Ghostraven . If you see mistakes on that calendar please let me know!
I’ll be taking photos to publish with the transcript; if you have any objection, please IM me.
[12:04] Sheila Yoshikawa: I’m a faculty member in the Information School, University of Sheffield, England. I am leader of VWER and own Infolit iSchool which is dedicated to information literacy and learning. I blog at https://information-literacy.blogspot.com/
[12:04] ThinkererSelby Evans (thinkerer.melville): Selby Evans, Fort Worth, blogger, retired prof. of psychology and prompt engineer.
https://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/
[12:05] Roddy MacLeod (rodachan): HI Im a roddy . I came here not knowing anything about what it was about .. So hoping to find out something and take it from there .. IT professional
[12:05] Breila Jenvieve: I’m Rebecca Lyman, a secondary history teacher, writer, and researcher, currently working on sixteenth century historical exhibits in SL and open sim.
[12:05] Sheila Yoshikawa: Don’t know what happened there lol!
[12:06] PI (pi.illios): PI Illios Virtual Reference Medical Librarian & Library Website Content Developer & Administrator of the Conrado F. Asenjo Library in the University of Puerto Rico’s Medical Sciences Campus. Principal Investigator (PI) of the Saludverso Research Proyect with The Network of The National Library of Medicine (NNLM). You can find me in FB https://www.facebook.com/PicaraPI TWITTER @PI_illios FLICKR https://www.flickr.com/people/pi_illios
[12:06] Sheila Yoshikawa: Welcome again everyone. Just to repeat –
[12:06] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): Shi Emmons, I have an interest in building museum grade exhibits in Virtual Worlds, and how exhibits can be used for education (in SL). Background in displays, exhibits, museums, anthropology. I currently develop and work with Public Education at Virtech, as well as Estate and Events Manager / Hostess.
[12:07] Second Life: VWER 20 July 2023: belonging and connectedness in VWs owned by Sheila Yoshikawa gave you ‘VWER 20 July 2023: belonging and connectedness in VWs’ ( Infolit iSchool (232,21,21) ).
[12:07] Sheila Yoshikawa: The topic for this week’s meeting will be: Belonging and Connectedness in virtual worlds education. If you click the box next to the table you will get a folder with a notecard. It’s just got a few articles listed as a starting point
[12:07] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): Virtech (128,128,31)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Virtech/128/128/31
[12:08] Sheila Yoshikawa: We thought this week we could discuss how we can foster feelings of Belonging and Connectedness in virtual worlds education – both for educators and for students. I mean, reflecting on how educators can start to feel they belong and are connected, as well as thinking about how educators can help learners feel connected as that they belong. In the notecard, as I said , there are a few readings. Between them they mention a number of factors –
Some to do with the interaction and attitudes of people you are in the virtual world with
Some to do with the spaces in virtual worlds and how you find the way round them
Some to do with objects you might interact with and share with others
Some to do with whether the virtual world fits with your mental model of how things work (and so forth).
So the articles from that point of view are mostly identifying the things that DO help people feel they belong (and therefore be more motivated to stay and educate or stay and learn)
[12:12] Wisdomseeker (lissena): is Executive Director of the 501c3 Ageless Mind Project and its virtual arm, Whole Brain Health (located on Inspiration Island and Bay in SL) WBH is a center for Lifelong Learning in SL https://www.agelessmindproject.org/
[12:12] Sheila Yoshikawa: So I’ll start of the discussion by asking you who are here – do you feel like you belong and are connected in virtual worlds, and if so – what makes you feel that? (or if you don’t feel you belong – what has caused that do you think?)
[12:13] Wisdomseeker (lissena): the communities I belong to help a lot
[12:13] Sheila Yoshikawa: “Liss can you remember how you got connected to the communities?
[12:13] Aso Galicia: The inworld conversations and activities with my students
[12:14] ღ Serenity ღ (serenkitty): Hi, Honey!
[12:14] Sheila Yoshikawa: @Aso so being with your students connects you? Is it you that has brought in the students as well?
[12:14] Beth Ghostraven: Hi Honey! Welcome to VWER!
[12:14] Honey MacLeod (honeyharbor): Hi Serenity and everyone! I don’t want to interrupt:)
[12:15] Wisdomseeker (lissena): I want to add that when we have worked with the ISP students on building here, they felt much more that they belonged. In fact a number of the Turkish students kept coming back because of that
[12:15] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): i feel I belong because of… classes, learning events, conversations like we have here, global attendance, … the ability to build events / exhibits / and deeper conversations .
[12:15] Breila Jenvieve: I really had trouble connecting until I found VWEC, kind of accidentally, then found other related groups, then got to know individuals.
[12:15] Beth Ghostraven: You’re not interrupting, Honey, we’re fairly casual
[12:15] Sheila Yoshikawa: @Liss so the act of creating something together helped them feel they belonged?
[12:15] FionaFei: I absolutely feel as sense of belonging in virtual worlds, especially this one, because I feel it offers me a way to express myself artistically and in real time with people around the world. I love creating and being able to communicate my ideas and thoughts with people outside of my RL physical space.
[12:15] Wisdomseeker (lissena): and working with established residents like us
[12:16] Sheila Yoshikawa: @Honey so we are discussing in text chat – do you feel like you belong and are connected in virtual worlds
and if so – what makes you feel that?
[12:16] serra25: hello
[12:16] ღ Serenity ღ (serenkitty): Hello, Serra!
[12:17] ღ Serenity ღ (serenkitty): So sorry, RL call, I need to go. See everyone next week!
[12:17] Honey MacLeod (honeyharbor): You are discussing how to connect people in virtual worlds or how to educate people in virtual worlds? I’m Sorry! I’m behind 😉
[12:17] Sheila Yoshikawa: @Fiona that’s interesting – it sort of sounds like having the freedom to be creative makes you feel you belong?
[12:17] Beth Ghostraven: Honey, how to connect people in virtual worlds so we can help them learn
[12:17] FionaFei: yes, Sheila.
[12:18] Beth Ghostraven: tc Serenity!
[12:18] Sheila Yoshikawa: @Honey at the moment – what makes you yourself feel connected or that you belong (if you do feel that) in virtual worlds
[12:18] serra25: what is this??
[12:18] Honey MacLeod (honeyharbor): For most of my time in virtual worlds, I’ve been the one learning. But being friendly and open to letting people ask questions–taking the time even when it’s frustrating. That helps a lot.
[12:18] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): this is an education group, serra25
[12:18] Beth Ghostraven: I first felt connected when someone invited me to the Caledon group, then I bought a home there (my pub)
[12:19] serra25: what kind of education?
[12:19] Beth Ghostraven: That was over 10 years ago. Now I feel even more connected when I participate in events in the Tiny communities
[12:20] Sheila Yoshikawa: I think I felt I belonged in SL more or less straight away because it was rather odd and whimsical, and colourful, and it seemed like I could be myself and didn’t have to worry about being normal – it seemed rather open and exciting
[12:20] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): so, Lissi, do you think or suggest that students would be more engaged… if they build things? as part of their presentations… or do research and use SL as a platform for presentation?
[12:20] Beth Ghostraven: People like Roddy and Honey help me feel connected
[12:20] ThinkererSelby Evans (thinkerer.melville): BARD [an AI]: A sense of belonging and connectedness is important for all students, but it can be especially challenging to create in a virtual world. However, there are a number of things that educators can do to help students feel connected and supported in a virtual learning environment.
Here are some tips for creating a sense of belonging and connectedness in virtual worlds education:
Encourage students to create their own avatars. This can help students feel more invested in the virtual world and more connected to their peers.
Designate spaces for students to gather and socialize. This could include a virtual lounge, a classroom chat room, or a group project space.
Provide opportunities for students to collaborate on projects. This is a great way for students to get to know each other and work together to achieve a common goal.
Use active listening techniques to create inclusive workspaces. This means paying attention to everyone’s contributions, making sure everyone feels heard, and avoiding making assumptions about students’ backgrounds or experiences.
Prioritize communication. This means being clear about expectations, providing regular feedback, and making sure that students have a way to reach out if they need help.
Create a flexible work environment. This means allowing students to participate in class in a way that works for them, whether that’s through live video, recorded lectures, or asynchronous discussion forums.
By following these tips, educators can help create a virtual learning environment where students feel connected, supported, and like they belong.
In addition to these tips, there are a number of other things that can be done to create a sense of belonging and connectedness in virtual worlds education. These include:
Using technology to facilitate social interaction. There are a number of tools that can be used to help students connect with each other, such as video conferencing, chat rooms, and social media platforms.
Creating opportunities for students to share their experiences and perspectives. This can help students feel seen and heard, and it can also help them build relationships with their peers.
Celebrating student successes. This can help students feel valued and appreciated, and it can also help them feel more connected to the learning community.
By taking these steps, educators can help create a virtual learning environment where students feel like they belong and where they can thrive.
[12:21] Roddy MacLeod (rodachan): I found a lot of connectivity in the Dinkie world especially in shared event experiences like Fantasy Faire and RFL [Relay for Life], things like that .. something with a shared experience and in the later a shared goal too
[12:21] Wisdomseeker (lissena): @Shiloh–I think the more professors and others interact with students outside of class here, the more connected they will feel
[12:21] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): yes, but Selby, we have to provide the platform for that expression: either in student presentations, building, creativity…
[12:21] Honey MacLeod (honeyharbor): awww Beth :)) You are right about the tiny world–we’ve been welcomed by everyone and given so much help to have a great experience!
[12:21] Wisdomseeker (lissena): I think it still starts with personal connection
[12:22] Wisdomseeker (lissena): for people to want to stay
[12:22] Beth Ghostraven: Liss, I agree
[12:22] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): Caledon.. and Rockville university… and WBH have been the most successful with student engagement, … would you all agree?
[12:22] Honey MacLeod (honeyharbor): When I was a professor, I opted out of online classes. But I can see how having an avatar might enhance the learning experience and make it more personal.
[12:22] Roddy MacLeod (rodachan): tiny world rather perversely feels more connected and real than the world with “normal” sized people ..
[12:22] Beth Ghostraven: some kind of one-to-one interaction is needed, at the very least
[12:22] Sheila Yoshikawa: relating to the building – I think there was some research early on that showed that learners felt more @at home@ if they did have a home, especially if they were able to customise it
[12:23] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): ahhh, good point, Sheila
[12:23] Wisdomseeker (lissena): that makes sense, Sheila
[12:23] Sheila Yoshikawa: so I did give my students little homes they could customise on this island
[12:23] Breila Jenvieve: Nice idea
[12:23] Aso Galicia: When the experience can lead to assessment outcome, particularly if the work has a collaborative nature
[12:23] Beth Ghostraven: Roddy, yes; I wonder if maybe that’s because we have a kind of tiny language?
[12:23] Sheila Yoshikawa: there is an example over the other side of the island still
[12:24] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): i think Yan’s tours help show us the variety of domestic life in various cultures…
[12:24] Sheila Yoshikawa: @Aso linking the interaction or building to assessment certainly increases motivation!
[12:24] Honey MacLeod (honeyharbor): Beth, yes…there are customs the community shares, but they are so willing to take time to explain to new people. Love that.
[12:25] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): so… home space is = or equivalent to having connectedness (at least it is for me)…
[12:25] Aso Galicia: I agree yes and real-time inworld feedback from learning assets.
[12:25] Stranger Nightfire: Tinies do in fact have very much a community , a culture , and as Beth mentioned even their own dialect
[12:25] Wisdomseeker (lissena): joining groups helps too
[12:26] Wisdomseeker (lissena): I have made so many personal friends from being in some groups
[12:26] Beth Ghostraven: Dialect, yes – thank you Stranger
[12:26] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): you know @Lissi… groups with purpose help me…
[12:26] Stranger Nightfire: I can’t think of any other group of people in SL who are more cohesive
[12:26] Wisdomseeker (lissena): why do you think that is, Stranger?
[12:26] Breila Jenvieve: Roleplay groups tend to be cohesive once you get in.
[12:27] Beth Ghostraven: good point, Breila- I wonder if the Tinies do a kind of roleplay?
[12:27] FionaFei: I agree, Breila.
[12:27] Stranger Nightfire: I’m not sure Liss
[12:27] Breila Jenvieve: That makes sense @Beth
[12:28] Sheila Yoshikawa: also – um is it ok to say – I think that others don’t feel threatened by tinies – but do tinies feel threatened by others? With some other communities – like furries – there seem to be more ambiguity about how some people feel about the community
[12:28] FionaFei: One of the first groups I joined in SL was a RP group, and it led me to have my first friends here in SL.
[12:28] Stranger Nightfire: I have noted that what sort of avatar you wear ken seemed to have an effect on your behavior and personality
[12:28] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): however, I have found living situations (communities) cohesive… especially when there are planned social events..
[12:29] Beth Ghostraven: I’ve never felt threatened by other kinds of avatars, as a tiny – probably because if someone steps on me I don’t feel it, lol
[12:29] Sheila Yoshikawa: I’ve mentioned before that the experience that was particularly @connecting@ for me was the Educators’ Coop, where we had shared goals and worked together on projects, and it was a relatively small group
[12:29] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): awww, Beth
[12:29] Beth Ghostraven: I wear this sign sometimes
[12:30] Honey MacLeod (honeyharbor): I have spent time in a few SL communities and have made friends in each. Having a personal mentor who is available is a key thing–someone who teaches you both the mechanics and the nuance of the group culture. It’s also critical to give learners the tools to navigate and it builds over time.
[12:30] Roddy MacLeod (rodachan): Agreed Beth .. never threatened by anyway .. nothing can hurt you here .. apart from yourself
[12:30] Roddy MacLeod (rodachan): Really⁉️
[12:30] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): @Beth, you could always carry a sunflower or something to remind people to notice that tinies exist , so they do not step on you..
[12:30] Sheila Yoshikawa: Bye Liss!
[12:30] Roddy MacLeod (rodachan): Tinies are bigger than everyone else .. haha
[12:31] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): tc, Lissi
[12:31] Beth Ghostraven: Shiloh that would be good too
[12:31] Stranger Nightfire: Anyone else hearing an odd repetitive sound here?
[12:31] FionaFei: 🙂 Take care Liss
[12:31] Honey MacLeod (honeyharbor): (Sounds like a mechanical something)
[12:31] Roddy MacLeod (rodachan): yes I am .. llke a off mechanical sound, like a printer going off printing loads of stuff
[12:32] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): @Sheila, it is like when you plan a tour… however, we have an end goal: we talk about the exhibit… critique is very useful.
[12:32] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): We all learn something by sharing.
[12:32] Sheila Yoshikawa: Serra’s wheelchair ok ;-))
[12:32] PI (pi.illios): I derender her so I don’t hear it
[12:33] Roddy MacLeod (rodachan): aint that the truth Shiloh .. who learns more in an interaction .. the teacher or the person being taught
[12:33] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): both, I would hope
[12:33] Breila Jenvieve: Forgive me, I need to run. Take care all!
[12:33] Sheila Yoshikawa: Yes so I started by asking about our own experience, and some people have already talked about how that can be transferred to learners
[12:33] Sheila Yoshikawa: Bye Breila!
[12:34] FionaFei: Bye Breila 🙂
[12:34] Sheila Yoshikawa: Are there any more examples from learners?
[12:34] Sheila Yoshikawa: One thing that I was going to raise was that if it is the people (peers and teachers) that learners feel connected to – the feeling will disappear once the teaching is over?
[12:34] Roddy MacLeod (rodachan): I learn more but trying to tell others .. and having them not understand ( quite often the case !)
[12:35] Sheila Yoshikawa: @Roddy yes others who can’t understand the connection/belonging?
[12:36] Sheila Yoshikawa: just to continue from my point – there is the phenomenon of many students coming into a virtual world, seeming to feel connected, but then not coming back after the class is done
[12:36] FionaFei: Has anyone mentioned fun activities and events? One of the best communities I’ve encountered in SL is the Giant Snail Racing group. They do races every Saturday in literally GIANT snail costumes, and we run across an obstacle track with bouncing mushrooms and mazes!
[12:36] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): @Sheila… I don’t know if that is the case… to me a learning event is akin to attending a class… do we suddenly forget the day’s lesson and interaction, or do we retain part of it and add to our personal growth?
[12:36] Beth Ghostraven: Sheila, maybe they are only connected to the class, and not anything outside of it?
[12:36] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): I have done the snails, Fiona..
[12:37] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): BabyPea is a friend, and she used to hold those events..
[12:37] PI (pi.illios): @Fiona sounds fun
[12:37] Roddy MacLeod (rodachan): haha Fiona .. that’s a learning experience no question 🙂
[12:37] FionaFei: It’s wonderful 🙂
[12:38] Beth Ghostraven: (I wish it was something besides snails – I have a thing about snails and slugs)
[12:38] Sheila Yoshikawa: @FionaFei yes it’s that fun side I enjoy, I remember at the end of a “serious” meeting I happened to bring out a cat-rug and started bouncing on it, and then several people joined in, and it was a good feeling of belonging, of being fun together
[12:38] Beth Ghostraven: (but that’s just me, lol)
[12:38] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): I am in a community where there are games, bowling, movies, poetry reads, music events… and so on..
[12:38] FionaFei: In addition, there are places that are just support groups for RL problems such as addiction, mental health, and etc.
[12:38] Beth Ghostraven: Shiloh, which community?
[12:38] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): nods at Sheila
[12:39] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): Ipperwash, for one..
[12:39] Sheila Yoshikawa: “Shiloh I’m not sure this is the point you are making, but I suppose it is true that it is perfectly valid for learners to feel that they belong here for a while, learn from it, and move on
[12:39] Aso Galicia: I always run an end of project survey for my groups that includes questions on connectedness, they are all online at the main projects room of my sim, so please feel free Star Beach Island (192,188,22)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Star%20Beach%20Island/192/188/22
[12:39] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): but that is a collection of 9 or 10 sims where people live
[12:39] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): The Nature Collective has some events
[12:39] Aso Galicia: By the way I am an Alt of Skipper Abel 🙂
[12:39] Sheila Yoshikawa: @Aso that’s very interesting!
[12:39] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): but I also am in a boating events group…
[12:40] Tessitore di Sogni (amorhumanity): I’m asking LL to allow for us to eventually get the function to all for education to have option to use triggers to swap the viewer output into being alternative outputs, or for Firestorm to do so, then students could do coursework with SL acting as the desktop & gateway hub to metaverse extensions
[12:41] Tessitore di Sogni (amorhumanity): Working on the presentation right now
[12:41] Sheila Yoshikawa: @Tessitore and do you think that literal connection will help learners feel more at home here?
[12:41] Tessitore di Sogni (amorhumanity): I think people need to find their tribe
[12:41] Tessitore di Sogni (amorhumanity): It’s very hard with all the personal bias we each have
[12:42] Tessitore di Sogni (amorhumanity): If we wanted people to feel more connected I would consider having in world applications making use of http://spaceandtime.io
[12:42] Tessitore di Sogni (amorhumanity): In world scripts I mean
[12:42] Stranger Nightfire: well on the other hand I think tribalism can be a big problem
[12:43] Tessitore di Sogni (amorhumanity): Allowing for people to own their personal bias & find where people such as themselves congregate as output
[12:43] Tessitore di Sogni (amorhumanity): Without people being at risk of allowing personal emotions being exposed
[12:44] Tessitore di Sogni (amorhumanity): Then people would find others understand them more often, and give people a sense of being seen through the avatar
[12:44] Tessitore di Sogni (amorhumanity): Stranger I agree
[12:44] Sheila Yoshikawa: Without a mentor it can be a bit random as to whether you stumble across your tribe
[12:44] Tessitore di Sogni (amorhumanity): It’s open sources greatest weakness
[12:45] Tessitore di Sogni (amorhumanity): But there is lots of scary people in SL
[12:45] PI (pi.illios): @shi true specially shy people
[12:45] Sheila Yoshikawa: I had @tribes@ when I arrived in SL, in that I already was very involved professionally, and I recreated some of that here, but with an only slightly overlapping group of people
[12:45] FionaFei: There are scary people in RL too, though, Tessi
[12:46] FionaFei: I think we just have to know ways to protect ourselves as we do in RL and avoid putting ourselves in dangerous or vulnerable situations as best as we can.
[12:46] Tessitore di Sogni (amorhumanity): I mean tribes as in like minded people open to people like a person is, so they don’t do things like show up in the London City Sim to be insulted, abused, or run out of SL gagging
[12:46] Tessitore di Sogni (amorhumanity): I’ve been lead into dark corners of SL
[12:46] Roddy MacLeod (rodachan): Does anyone remember the halcyon days of Second Life when every corporate and institution had a presence in second life .. back in the early days ..
[12:47] Tessitore di Sogni (amorhumanity): By random strangers
[12:47] Tessitore di Sogni (amorhumanity): Enough to scare me permanently
[12:48] Tessitore di Sogni (amorhumanity): It allows people to avoid that type of scenario, & be around others who can truly express themselves with a strong sense of humanity
[12:48] Roddy MacLeod (rodachan): That wave was tidal in its surge at the time .. but it broke and rolled back out again to where we are not .. What did that happen and more importantly do we think it is possible to have it happen again easily .. once bitten and all that
[12:48] Sheila Yoshikawa: As someone who is not altogether social, I would also say that part of @belonging@ in a virtual world (or any virtual environment) is whether I feel I connect to its – um “look and feel” – if I can feel like me in a space, then I feel more comfortable connecting with others – and I was lucky in not having those dark experiences here
[12:50] Beth Ghostraven: Sheila, that reminds me – being able to customize avatar appearance makes a difference in how connected we feel too, I think
[12:50] Sheila Yoshikawa: @Roddy it seemed to me like many big companies couldn’t be bothered to find out what virtual worlds were about, and just assumed they could throw empty branding, like they might when advertising in a magazine, and that people would be amazed
[12:50] FionaFei: For me the dark experiences do not scare me as much, because I know I have the option to get out of all situations in SL by just logging off or TPing away.
[12:50] Roddy MacLeod (rodachan): now meta are trying to do what SL did 15 years ago .. with far greater initial success BTW .. and they are already failing miserably too .. not because of what they are doing but how its being perceived
[12:50] Sheila Yoshikawa: @FionaFei yes me too, but I know not everyone feels like that
[12:51] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): {whispers: I try to stay away from negative energy… negative is negative (and dark) whether it is RL or in SL}
[12:51] Sheila Yoshikawa: @Beth yes a good point – being able to customise – not so it looks like a copy of physical me, but so I have control of how I look, and feel happy about it
[12:51] Aso Galicia: I recall an educators meeting at Hyperboria, I was on holiday and took my family to a French restaurant, it was the only place I could find with WiFi back then 🙂
[12:52] FionaFei: yes, I know everyone has different levels of tolerance.
[12:52] Sheila Yoshikawa: ;-)) @Aso
[12:52] Roddy MacLeod (rodachan): Just today there was a moral outrage new item in the UK .. about someone running a performing acts class on VRCHAT .. they didn’t talk about that however they talked about how she got some sexual harassment and such like and how this would be toxic for children and the agenda was definitely one of we have to shut this immoral things down .
[12:52] Beth Ghostraven: been there, Aso, I love public libraries for their wifi (among other things)
[12:53] Beth Ghostraven: 7 minutes left
[12:53] Sheila Yoshikawa: Yes @Roddy, I was actually thinking today that I might not be allowed to bring students into SL now (as I did 10 or more years ago) because the university has become so obsessed with data security and confidentiality, I mean obviously that is important, but
[12:54] Aso Galicia: We are using Kitely, the network team seems happy enough to open the ports for us.
[12:54] Stranger Nightfire: I used to be better known than for just about anything else for my annual Halloween builds
[12:54] Roddy MacLeod (rodachan): yes VR has got painted with a brush .. I mean you would never get sexual harassment in RL like .. doesnt happen .. only in VR worlds right ..
[12:54] Sheila Yoshikawa: that’s good @Aso
[12:55] Stranger Nightfire: But I have gotten away from doing those in part because I really wondered how healthy it was for my psyche to immerse myself for weeks at a time in such dark and morbid environments
[12:55] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): exactly, Stranger !!
[12:55] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): which is why I said: dark is dark… whether it is in a virtual setting or a real life physical setting…
[12:55] Sheila Yoshikawa: @Stranger, yes one regular thing with my students was making a freebie trail for them so they could go and grab halloween freebies and decorate their houses with them
[12:56] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): {whispers: I do cute Halloween decor… not gruesome…}
[12:56] Sheila Yoshikawa: but I did avoid the really macabre ones
[12:56] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): and lots of candy
[12:56] Honey MacLeod (honeyharbor): (Winnie the Pooh in pumpkin suit is about my speed:))
[12:56] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): yep yep yep
[12:56] Beth Ghostraven: me too Honey!
[12:56] Sheila Yoshikawa: yes, there is a lot of pastel in SL halloween nowadays
[12:56] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): I had puppies in costume or little bears in costume
[12:56] FionaFei: This is why when I do Halloween builds for fun, I try to steer clear of doing anything that would be frightening.. but rather cute and fun
[12:57] Stranger Nightfire: Some Halloween bills in SL are down right sick
[12:57] Stranger Nightfire: bloody mutilated bodies hanging on hooks and the like
[12:57] Honey MacLeod (honeyharbor): Stranger, they are in RL too!
[12:57] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): i like puppies in bunnie outfits , too
[12:57] FionaFei: I can’t even do roller coasters in RL or watch scary movies
[12:57] Sheila Yoshikawa: OK nearly time to finish, so I will just refer people back to the notecard – just a small number of articles, but a reminder that there is lots more research about this topic!
[12:57] Beth Ghostraven: yeah, we were at a campground in RL in October last year, and it rivaled anything SL has
[12:58] Sheila Yoshikawa: also @Aso I will visit to look at the information you mentioned
[12:58] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): thank you for the notecard of reference ideas, Sheila
[12:58] Beth Ghostraven: Sheila, this was a great topic!
[12:58] Sheila Yoshikawa: Thanks everyone for your contributions today
[12:58] Sheila Yoshikawa: contributions
[12:58] Honey MacLeod (honeyharbor): Smiles 🙂
[12:58] Shiloh e. (shiloh.emmons): stay well everyone, .. be safe… and.. Namaste
[12:58] Beth Ghostraven: tc Shiloh
[12:58] Aso Galicia: Thank you all see ya next time 🙂
[12:58] FionaFei: thanks for the discussion
[12:58] Sheila Yoshikawa: Bye all!
[12:59] PI (pi.illios): take care everyone
[12:59] Ressani: goodbye
[12:59] FionaFei: Take care all
[12:59] FionaFei: 🙂
[12:59] Honey MacLeod (honeyharbor): bye bye
[12:59] Roddy MacLeod (rodachan): we have to go to a previous engagement .. So sorry was interesting .
[13:00] Beth Ghostraven: thank you for coming!
[13:00] Sheila Yoshikawa: Nice to see you
VWER - Virtual Worlds Education Roundtable 