Valibrarian

Virtual worlds may not have taken off at the rapid pace predicted in the Gartner Report 2007, but they continue to provide creative spaces for educators and librarians to create and share content.

For example, a professor of library and information science at San Jose State University led a project in the virtual world of Inworldz to share sci-fi resources. The exhibit includes interactive sci-fi objects and experiences, such as a worm hole and spaceships.  Science fiction movies, television shows and over 50 sci-fi books inspired the content which can be explored on several levels.  Details are included on the Community Library blog.

Photos from the grand opening on May 4, 2013 can be viewed in my Animoto slideshow.

What triggers the human brain to reminisce about our past experiences in life? Smells, I am told, are critical to our memories. But, this week, for the first time, I ran across an old machinima that I shot in 2008 and (believe it or not) I found myself virtually reminiscing. Physical space, such as our houses or the streets and shady parks we remember from our youth, cause us to recall personal memories.

Perhaps I am one of the first to discover a personal “pang” of reminiscence in a virtual world. The spaces we live in are moving from physical to virtual. Whether or not we have an avatar is of little consequence.

A colleague sent an email expressing concern over posts criticizing librarians for “still being involved in Second Life“.

I replied by email and she suggested I share.

I wrote:

“The ability to “fly” in virtual worlds? That’s nothing! A generation of video gamers now considers gaming a literary genre (and many are cinematic and well-researched). Virtual worlds are not video games- but this evolution of literacy changes everything. The argument that the majority of mainstream culture uses Facebook is ridiculous. The majority of mainstream culture also values convenience over quality, triviality over authority or accuracy, and self-absorbed “packaging” of our personal lives over anything meaningful.

This conversation is not about Second Life, but about virtual worlds….and they are not going away. My physical library is only half of what I do. We all have both physical and virtual lives (after the digital revolution and the toppling of the information hierarchy). The question is whether to spend my virtual life in a flat, narcissistic, space where popular culture and cute photos are streamed nonstop or seek out interesting, intelligent people on a global scale who can help me move toward a better future for this post-physical world. You all understand that…..and that is enough for me.”

Yes, I also read Roy Tennant’s blogpost when ALA closed an island in Second Life. I did not reply, mainly out of respect for this esteemed colleague. I have credited Roy Tennant as the first library professional that I heard state that in our information world today, “convenience trumps quality”. His statement was a turning point for me. I began to see a different kind of information-seeking behavior in my physical library. I began to actively explore digital literacy and changing formats.

I understand that SL is not the “be all end all” of education or libraries. Virtual worlds are just one piece of information literacy. I am humbled by the amazing colleagues I have worked with in virtual worlds and I am proud of the huge amount of effort it took to earn a PhD on the topic (not to boast because I understand I am just one small person contributing one tiny piece of the research on the future of information literacy). I have worked very hard to understand how to separate my “personal” perspective from my professional contribution to my field. My experience includes organizing five virtual world exhibits, numerous presentations, discussions, learning machinima, and networking on a global scale. I could not have accomplished any of those experiences in my physical library- even through using webinars and other distance learning tools (of which I am familiar). Second Life is only one company, which happened to provide a great array of tools for early adopters of virtual worlds. Having explored many other virtual worlds, for many other purposes (business, military, medicine, and so on), I certainly am not attached to one in particular. Slamming Second Life is not offensive to me, but putting down librarians?! Whew…don’t get me started.

For more information on my dissertation topic, I will be presenting an overview on Nov. 18th in Second Life. For information on other virtual worlds, contact me. Meanwhile, I return to my awesome physical library where I struggle to teach critical inquiry to students who want to play apps and interact on mobile devices.

When I organized the gridhop between two virtual worlds, I had this thought in the back of my mind that perhaps only a couple of participants would actually attend because of the difficult level of technology skills involved.  I was wrong!  An amazing group of librarians and educators from around the globe met the challenge and interacted in Jokaydia, an Australian based educational virtual world using the open-source code of Second Life.

As fifteen avatars began to gather in this new frontier, Barbara Janson (a doctoral student in library and information science) gave a tour of a 3D virtual world library she created.  Watch as these amazing technological pioneers “fly” through this library and demonstrate that information and media formats have been revolutionized and librarians are in the forefront of transliteracy.

Learning to maneuver in a virtual world is a daunting task for many people and the “steep learning curve” has been touted numerous times.  I am honored and humbled to be in the company of high-tech cutting edge librarians- who not only conquered this “steep learning curve” in one virtual world, but are gridhopping between worlds!

The ALA Association of College and Research Librarians Virtual World Interest Group organized an event on Jokaydia Grid, which is a virtual world based on open-source code (similar to Second Life).  Jokay, the owner of Jokaydia, graciously agreed to help our group and Barbara Janson, builder of the Lifelong Learning Library in 3D, led a virtual world tour.  Fifteen brave pioneers attended– juggling three worlds (the physical world on computers, Second Life as a starting point, and Jokaydia as a destination).

With current trends in social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, the rise in mobile apps, and an interest in augmented reality, keeping up with technology can be quite a challenge.  Virtual worlds, according to the Gartner Hype Cycle, are emerging from the trough of disillusionment!  Librarians were some of the earliest adopters and have persevered through that trough while juggling other emerging trends that impact information professions. 

The ALA Association of College & Research Libraries Virtual World Interest Group is sponsoring a gridhop. You are invited to join us! You may pass this invitation to other interested individuals.

WIIFM: “What’s in it for me?”

You may be familiar with the current discussion of virtual worlds beyond Second Life. Educators and librarians are exploring numerous virtual worlds as a platform for information delivery, immersive learning, global collaboration and professional development. Attending this event may help you expand your knowledge and skills in virtual worlds as well as network with other professionals. The goal of the ACLR Virtual World Interest Group is to explore and share virtual worlds with professionals in libraries, education, and other fields.

Here are the details…..

You are invited to our monthly ACRL Virtual Worlds Interest Group meeting which will be a gridhopping event to a different virtual world. Library builder, Barbara Janson (Avatar: Barbarathelibrarian Magic), will lead our tour.

Name of Event: GridHop to Lifelong Learning Library in Jokaydia ( a virtual world library visit)

Date: Sunday, Sept. 23 11am SLT

Where: Meet at the Community Virtual Library in Second Life
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Info%20Island/13/84/24

Before the meeting, it is suggested that you download the Imprudence Viewer to use for our trip to Jokaydia at
http://wiki.kokuaviewer.org/wiki/Imprudence:Downloads

You could also sign up and create your JokaydiaGrid avatar at

http://www.jokaydiagrid.com/

You may want to use the same name as your Second Life avatar, so you will be recognized! Further instructions accessing the grid in Imprudences are as follows:

Click on Grid Manager and choose “jokaydiagrid”.

(You can click on Add New Grid if needed.)
Grid info should look like the following:

• Login URI: http://jokaydia.metaverseworlds.com:8002/
• Login page: http://jokaydia.metaverseworlds.com/
• Helper URI: http://jokaydia.metaverseworlds.com:9000/
• Website: http://jokaydia.metaverseworlds.com/about/
• Support: http://jokaydia.metaverseworlds.com/help
• Account: http://jokaydia.metaverseworlds.com/register
• Password: http://jokaydia.metaverseworlds.com/password

Much of my blog has documented my virtual world experiences. Currently, as I explore new augmented reality apps and experience collaboration through the popular trend of MOOCs, I believe the future holds a combination of physical, virtual , and augmented experiences for learning, shopping, playing, and enjoying our lives.

Learning
I finished my role in the Summer in Berlin virtual world library exhibit with live tours. Dressed in clothes from the 1920s, I joined others from around the world to experience Berlin and shot a short machinima (below). No doubt students will explore history through virtual experience in the future, but a shared physical space will still be of great value. Any space (physical or virtual) can be misused or taken for granted. Appreciation of excellence in our learning experiences requires deep thinking and sharing with others in any space or format.

MOOCs
Massive Open Online Courses are the buzz on twitter among the edu crowd. I joined MOOC MOOC but had very little time to participate during back-to-school week. Then, I discovered an interesting mooc for younger students called the Anne Frank Mooc. The leader of the Virtual Pioneers in Second Life is a technology educator who specializes in historical immersive learning environments. Our paths have crossed numerous times at virtual world events.

MOOCs give participants an opportunity to create learning experiences on any topic across distance, much like virtual worlds (but without the high learning curve). Comparing a MOOC experience with immersive learning in virtual worlds will be interesting. I took these Animoto photos during “office hours” in the MOOC and I plan to take some machinima shots when the MOOC participants enter the Anne Frank museum virtually.

Shopping
I received an IKEA catalog in the mail this week which allows you to see furniture on your digital device through augmented reality. Obviously, augmented reality could be cost effective for companies selling products at some point in the future. For now, companies may have to invest in augmented reality applications, print materials, online shopping options, as well as physical outlets. Tough times for marketing!

Playing
I downloaded Minecraft, just to see what all the fuss was about! My students just love the game and I was curious about why chopping the ground to build out of square blocks could be so exciting. I discovered that there is pleasure in working hard to create something unique. A colleague gave me a new word for it– “playbor”! As our personal and professional lives become less separated and our home and work spaces overlap, so does our time spent on leisure activities. Playbor is a portmanteau combining play and labor.

Whew! This is a rambling post but the idea that ties it together is life experience. We learn through living— through experiences with others. That is how it has always been with human beings. I keep hearing about the exponential growth of changes due to technology. One thing has not changed. We are human beings. What a wonder….to experience.

After reading Beyond the Blogosphere: information and its Children by Aaron Barlow and Robert Leston, which I filled with post-it notes commenting on the digital revolution and how it has changed libraries, educations, and our lives, I thought it would be cool to ask the authors to discuss the book —virtually. Both authors quickly replied to my email agreeing to attend a virtual world discussion in Second Life, which would be sponsored by the Association of College and Research Libraries Virtual World Interest Group (which I am leading for 2012-2013).

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I continue to come across the idea of cyborg anthropology and the fact the we are all now cyborgs, whether we realize it or not. Our technological tools have become an extension of ourselves. We each have two selves- a physical self and a digital self. Anthropologist Amber Case’s Ted Talk is a gentle (or perhaps abrupt but well worth watching to the end) reminder of the importance of reflection in our lives. Some of my best moments of reflection have taken place while hiking, particularly on a trail in some beautiful place (like Big Bend National Park or the Olympic National Rain Forest). After you get into the zone of relaxation…simply placing one foot in front of the other as you continuously inhale and exhale…you sometimes glimpse beyond yourself into infinity. How often do we get to do that as we multi-task, follow, tweet, post, and check our electronic gadgets in between responsibilities?

I am going to take some time to today to reflect and just breathe.

Augmenty Reality and Virtual Reality are two hot topics which are featured in a video from the Virtual Worlds- Best Practices in Education website. Predicted trends for the next 2-5 years can be found in the Horizon Report 2011 which was recently released.