Observations of activities

Observations of activities indicated that the introductory session was far more fragmented than anticipated, due to the laptops crashing and requiring to be rebooted and the students to log on repeatedly. During the twenty minutes allocated to becoming accustomed to the interface the students independently learnt to:

 Use the text to communicate. The students found this quite simple to use, as it is very similar to MSN or other instant messaging and 70% of the students used instant messaging frequently.  Personalise their avatars. This bore out the observation that customised avatars are one of the

most popular features of virtual worlds (Cheng, Farnham and Stone, 2002; 99).  Animate their avatars and employ gestures.

 Move, manoeuvre and teleport. Manoeuvring proved particularly difficult, with students still struggling to manoeuvre their avatars during the exploration activity.

Although only one of the students had used Second Life before, the students’ animated level of communication and the difficulty in moving them on to the following part of the planned learning activity indicated that their engagement with the virtual worlds was high. However, the focus of the students on the learning objectives that had been set for them was limited. Observations and

128 recordings made of this activity indicate that there were a range of barriers and distractions that drew students’ focus away from these tasks, which are listed below:

 Technical difficulties. The students faced technical difficulties, due to either the processing power of the laptops, or bandwidth of the internet connection. A recording of the session contains the following comments; “Yeah it suddenly got really really slow” and “OK but it’s quite slow” indicating that lag was an element of frustration with the students. There were also glitches with the Second Life platform itself, with avatars appearing inside pillars and one student was heard to complain “Why are we in the floor?” because her avatar had sunk into the ground.

 Difficulties with interface. Distractions were also due to the time required to become fully conversant with how the software operates was less than the time allocated in the practice session. Conversations were those such as the following show confusion about how to move the avatar:

Student A: Go backstage.

Student B: (reading from screen) Where is everyone? Student B: Shall we go backstage from the stage?

Student A: Maybe jump in the pit see if we can play any instruments. You can turn round and maybe jump in it.

Student B: Ooh.

Student A: It’s a jump ... forward. Does it not jump forward? Student B: Oh we just jumped on the stage.

 Distracted by novelty. A further level of distraction was that caused by the desire to experiment with the possibilities of the software. Some students found this more of an issue than others, for example this exchange between students in which one student is focusing on the questions set, while the other’s avatar continually dances:

Student A: I’m going to try some dancing

Student B: (Reading from worksheet) What do you think the challenges for actors and designers would be in the real theatre this model represents? (pause) Stop dancing. Student A: Sorry

129 Figure 4.1: Dancing in the Caledon Gaiety

Other distractions were indicated by the following conversation in which two students have found an object which when attached to their avatar disrupts their viewer and as a result cease to focus on the activities set:

Student D: Are you? Are you in Dundee? What’s this? Is it magical toadstools? Me: Who’s got the magical toadstools?

Student D; We have! I think they are magical toadstools. Student E: Yes they are.

Student A: What the hell’s a magical toadstool?

Student D: I think we are actually getting high on ‘shrooms. Yes we are, we are. Student E laughs.

Student D; Look we’ve just eaten toadstools and we’re going crazy. Oh amazing. Awesome.

Student E: Do it again. Do it again.

Student D: OK let’s have another one. See what happens. Weeeee. Getting high while flying. That’s dose. Weeeeeee.

Me: Can we start move back to Theatron? If you’ve got a Theatron landmark can you join me back on the stage in Theatron?

 Processing multiple conversations. Other issues were the high degree of fragmentation of communication. Conversations were happening inworld between avatars, within pairs in real

130 life and across the room. It was therefore difficult to maintain a single focus of communication. For example, there is this conversation in which real life and Second Life conversations run in parallel then cross over from Second Life to real life.

Me (inworld text); What do you think of this place? Avatar 1 (inworld text); nice

Avatar 2 (inworld text): it’s nice

Student A: (reading) Rosa Goldrosen. What a strange name. Avatar B (inworld text): it’s really detailed

Student C: Oh do I have bad luck if I break a mirror here? Student A: It’s bad cyberluck.

Me (inworld text): Why do you think they might have wanted to make it so detailed? Student A: Yeah oh my god it’s amazing. Like you could break a mirror.

Student D: (reading) Why do you think they might have wanted to make it so detailed? Are we supposed to answer that?

Me: Yeah sorry. I’m trying to be intellectual. Student D: Hah hah I know but I’m confused. Me: OK something to think about for later then.

 Play as a stage in the development of embodiment. The final machinima recorded was of the inworld debrief about the experience (fig. 4.2, table 4.1). The discussion that took place inworld contains one comment concerning the subject matter, a reference to the difficulty with navigation, but this is swamped by discussions about one of the avatars dancing, the clothing of a second avatar and a third having teleported into a pillar. This sequence finishes with a plea from the lecturer to “at least talk about the subject” (the transcript in table 3.5 relates the two conversations taking place in parallel, one in the real world of the classroom, the other via text in the simulation of the Theatre of Epidavros). However, although discussions regarding the subject matter are absent, there is still learning occurring, but this is learning about the environment and the learners’ identity within it. Although the Rosa avatar is dancing constantly, the student operating the avatar reveals that s/he is doing this to explore the sense of being an avatar on the stage, and conducting him/herself accordingly.

 Disruption of traditional roles. Finally, the transcript in table 4.1 also reveals the change in division of roles within the environment. The lecturer and I repeatedly attempt to reinforce our roles as lecturers with only a limited success in the real world and no effect inworld. The

131 response of student B is one of amusement that we would even expect to be able to control the class.

Fig. 4.2: Distractions in the Theatre of Epidavros

Real world conversation

Student B: Ha that’s my favourite Student A: Theatron Turbo just fell out of the sky.

Lecturer: Still dancing Rosa. She’s like a mad person.

Student A: Dancing’s quite fun. Lecturer: She dances and dances. It’s like Saturday Night Fever

In background: Oh we’re stuck in the wall.

In background: where are you? Me: I’ll just give them a couple of minutes of this.

Lecturer: Yes they’re just fooling around now. All the avatars are changing.

Background: We’re stuck in a wall

Me: Oh yeah that looks

uncomfortable.

Virtual world conversation

Theatron Burner: why the hell are you dancing AGAIN? Menthu Minotaur: OK I’m recording ...

Theatron Burner: oops. Theatron Burner: sorry.

Theatron Burner: why on earth do you keep dancing Rosa? Menthu Minotaur: ok so how did that go?

Theatron Burner: pretty well

Theatron Burner: navigating is quite hard Menthu Minotaur: how about moving? Theatron Burner: Turbo we like your outfit Theatron Burner: A LOT

Theatron Burner: ...

Theatron Turbo: you look sexy

Menthu Minotaur: ok we should get back to rl now Theatron Burner: thanks , you too

Theatron Breen: you have such long legs turbo Rosa Goldrosen: well

Rosa Goldrosen: i like dancing Theatron Burner: awesome skirt

132 Lecturer: She’s so boring do

something else. You’re like the most self-obsessed person, you know? Doing her own thing all the time. Student A: It’s all part of the dance though you see.

Me: Can we quit now and reconvene and chat through what that was like as an experience?

Lecturer: But now everybody’s chatting.

Student B: Well what did you think was going to happen?

Lecturer: I thought we were going to explore theatre spaces.

Me: (Laughing) Maybe we just need to turn off the PCs.

Lecturer: At least talk about the subject.

Theatron Turbo: thnx Theatron Turbo: lol

Rosa Goldrosen: because we’re on the stage

Theatron Burner: it would look better on my bedroom floor Rosa Goldrosen: it feels right

Theatron Turbo: lmao Rosa Goldrosen: Could do

Rosa Goldrosen: How do I teleport back to rl?

Table 4.1 Simultaneous conversations in real life and Second Life

 Cultural familiarity. The conversation quoted on p.122 also highlights another barrier, in that the student responds with “I’m confused” when asked about the cultural context for the theatre design. Greater familiarity with the world of Second Life, with and the separate communities that exist within it, may have made the students more aware of the place of roleplay communities within the world. A shared cultural background with the creators of the roleplay areas, in this instance a familiarity with the steampunk genre, would also have aided a reading of the space.

 Immersion. Although having two students to an avatar was due to the constraints on room and equipment, it was also intended to enable students to share the learning experience with each other and so enable those students who may be less adept at learning the interface to be supported by those who were quicker. This may have had the result of some students becoming more immersed than others. In the group who were recorded, student B (who was moving the avatar) uses the word “we” and places them within the space, for example: “Oh we just jumped on the stage”. Student A however, refers to the avatar with an impersonal pronoun “Does it not jump forward?”

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