NMC Campus Observer

IvyGate The Movie

CDB Barkley (aka Alan Levine) : Sep 8, 2006 08:44pm

It’s not really breaking news by now that Harvard’s Charles Nesson is teaching a law class in Second Life. In this YouTube video, he rolls onto RL Harvard on his motorcycle to explain his class, and somewhere in betwen, the video morphs him to his SL persona. Learn more about CyberOne: Law in the Court of Public Opinion

But ask yourself, what is the compelling feature of SL shown here for teaching? They meet in Second Life to watch video lectures and hold discussions. And they can fly. And….

So, yes, Harvard is perhaps pushing the edge of convention, but is this revolutionary? Watch the video for yourself. Tell us what you think at the next NMC Teacher’s Buzz on September 18.

Story filed under: Audio / Video,Teaching and Learning

See all stories by CDB Barkley (aka Alan Levine)

3 Comments Add your own

1. Peter Hess | September 24th, 2006 at 5:09 pm

Hi Alan,

I’m taking Nesson’s class, and am interested in hearing more about your views concerning its use of SL. I’m new to SL (as I think is the teaching staff for the class) and I don’t have a sense of what would constitute a revolutionary use of SL.

What I’m intrigued by (and the limit of my vision at present) is using SL and other social software to create more engaged (constructivist) relationships between canonical sources (lectures, texts) and learners. If the sage on the stage is not going away, I’d like to see learners empowered and encouraged to have running dialogues with the received wisdom.

One thing prof Nesson has done already that I think is on the right track is to ask students to have a Wiki of the class lecture notes open as they watch the video of the lecture and to elaborate, annotate, and put links in the Wiki as they watch.

By the way, I’d like to go to the NMC Campus in SL, but I don’t seem to have privs to do it (“you are not allowed into the destination”). Could you get me in?

Thanks,

-Peter
2. Peter Hess | September 24th, 2006 at 5:35 pm

Hi Again,
I got myself onto the NMC campus, so you can ignore my request about that. Still interested in your take on Nesson’s class tho.

-Peter
3. CDB Barkley (aka Alan Levine) | September 25th, 2006 at 8:13 am

Hi Peter,

Thanks for the report. My original post above was base dmostly on the video clip, and the class materials that were part of the initial announcement (the wiki was empty when I looked).

I share your interests– it’s what we have been discussiing internally as ways of building rich context around either events, art work in Second Life etc. A wiki is but one way this might happen.

Thanks for checking in! Keep us posted on how the class progresses.

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