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Vince LoTempio
Seamus McCarville
Marc Rinow
08 09
Project
Summary
Atomic Bomb Museum Simulation in
Second Life
1. General Overview of the Proposed
Project:
___ Since technology is advancing so
fast in the 21st Century, and our students come to us
with more advanced skills in that area every year as “digital
natives,” it is important for teachers not only to be aware of the
new technology, but also be able to employ it in their classrooms as
effective teaching tools. We must change the way we present
material, especially in the social studies, in order to capitalize
on the use of the technology and skill sets that we are presented
with now (and in the future).
To take the first steps in
this direction, the three-man team from Lancaster Middle School has
devised a debate format simulation to be run entirely in the virtual
world, Second Life. The topic is the atomic bomb as used relating to
WWII, and a proposed museum dedicated to all things concerning
nuclear weapons, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Manhattan Project, and
the legacy of the development of these weapons. The idea is to have
a role-play with multiple points of view on the bomb debating what
should be included in the museum and how it should be presented in a
sensitive, tasteful manner.
2. Clear Purpose and Objective:
There are two purposes to this project:
(1) to learn how to adapt a very
powerful tool for educational purposes, namely virtual reality
simulations (MUVES, or multi-user virtual environments).
(2) to demonstrate to teachers how
MUVES can be used with their own students, as well as how to design
and execute lesson plans in the virtual world. The hope is to take
the anxiety out of the process for teachers so they can engage the
latest technology fluidly and effectively.
3. Stakeholders: grade level, who will
benefit, who will participate in this project.
The Stakeholders are (a) the
teachers who will be exposed to a sort of “virtual simulation
training” as active participants, and (b) the students that these
teachers have in the future who will benefit from the implementation
of this type of technology use in the classroom.
4. U.S. History Content Area
The areas of content that will
be addressed are WWII (the atomic bomb, Manhattan Project and the
science of nuclear power, Hiroshima/Nagasaki and the use of nuclear
weapons, ramifications for the Cold War, the idea of Mutually
Assured Destruction (MAD), and the ethics of nuclear weapons.
5. Outline Describing Content
I. Set up:
numerous objects will be created right in Second Life by the
Lancaster team, such as
·
A conference table and
nameplates for all the character parts will be created/built in
second life.
·
“Boxes” for each participant
which contain note cards outlining their role, as well as any
costumes for their part (created/built in Second Life).
·
Note cards will also be
included in the boxes that outline the purpose of the SIM and how
the debate will be conducted.
·
Special chairs will be
created in Second Life with programming script that allow
participants’ avatars to raise their hands to ask the moderator to
speak (helping to keep order).
II. SIM
execution:
·
The person playing the part
of the museum curator will be the moderator. Using guiding
questions, they will keep the debate/discussion going. The ultimate
goal is to let the participants debate the use of atomic weapons in
WWII. The moderator will periodically bring them back to the
“purpose” of the at times to ask another leading question.
·
Leading questions will be
addressed to all participants, moving around the conference table in
a clock-wise fashion. Initial remarks and introductions first, then
items to be included or excluded.
·
In the end, the participants
will have to agree to disagree
6. Software to be used, internet
materials, contacts, etc.
The entire atomic bomb museum
simulation will take place on line at Second Life. Any educator
taking part will already have registered for an avatar (on line
virtual personality). There are no costs to the participants, just a
few incidental costs to the Lancaster teachers in order to provide
“costumes” for a few of the various parts (like military uniforms,
Japanese clothing for Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors, and the
upload of a few graphics for objects to be constructed by the team).
Contacts are numerous through
a network that the Lancaster Middle School teachers have developed.
Andrew Wheelock from Erie 1 BOCES is our contact for use of space in
Second Life to set up and run the simulation. He also is the
director of the Virtual Pioneers, a group dedicated to using MUVES
in just the way that we are proposing in this TAH project. The
Virtual Pioneers web site and “home base” in Second Life will be
used to sign up active participants and advertise the simulation.
We also have made arrangements
with other educators in Second Life to act as technical support to
help resolve any issues that may crop up during the simulation. They
have agreed to do this so that the Lancaster crew can focus on the
SIM even if issues arise.
7. Level of Student Involvement
We envision student involvement in the not too distant future. We
plan to run this SIM and use the results to present to our local
school board in order to obtain a “green light” to bring this type
of technology into our school district. The atomic bomb SIM will be
one of many pieces we use to convince them that MUVES are a viable
and powerful tool with almost limitless possibilities for
educational use.
8. Evaluation process (include students
when possible)
The evaluation process will
involve:
·
A “post-mortem” discussion with participants
immediately after the SIM to get their first impressions.
·
Examination by the Lancaster MS teachers on any
holes in the presentation and running of the SIM. What could be
improved? What went well, what went wrong? How could we adapt this
better for students?
·
Feedback from participants (peer review). The use
of on-line messaging such as Twitter and a discussion board at the
Virtual Pioneers web site are the two main places that participants
can offer constructive criticism and advice after they have had some
time to think about what they went through at Second Life.
9. Timeline: how you envision the
project being carried out between start up and conclusion
The timeline
for this project is December 2008 through February 2009. The actual
simulation will take place at 8 PM eastern standard time on February
8, 2009.
 TAH
Project:
Reflection and Evaluation
Marc Rinow, 7th
Grade U.S. History
Seamus McCarville,
7th Grade U.S. History
Vince LoTempio, 8th
Grade U.S. History
Lancaster Middle
School
Second Life: Atomic
Bomb Museum (“Meeting of the Minds”)
December through
February 10, 2009
February 16, 2009
The set
up for the Second Life “Meeting of the Minds” was more involved that
we first thought. We had to construct the conference table and name
plates for the various participants. This is where networking came
in to save the day. Marc Rinow is the master at networking on Second
Life, and has brought both Seamus and Vince a long way in that
regard. With help from a few friends at Second Life, we learned how
to build objects. The real lesson was that this kind of help
accelerates a person around the learning curve. It was not too
difficult to build an object, but to build it well and save it
correctly to pass on to others is tricky unless you have someone
give you the little tips and shortcuts.
Once we
had the site items done, we had to put together a package for each
participant. We decided on creating boxes for each person with a
note card and costume. The note card gave some background info on
their character, as well as an outline on their character’s point of
view regarding the atomic bomb. Seamus did the research for the
cards and created them. Vince created another card describing the
purpose of the simulation and the ground rules for the debate. This
was to be in each box, but we were one meeting short on Second Life,
so we did not get the opportunity to include that card (a function
of whoever creates an object controls that object).
Then we
had to advertise this event. Andy Wheelock from BOCES, and the
director of the Virtual Pioneers, sponsored the event at Lighthouse
Island, Second Life. He also put us on the web site list of events
and got the word out so we could round up not only participants but
observers as well. We hoped to show in some small way the potential
for virtual simulations with students. The Lancaster team also put
the word out and recruited a few of the key players to ensure that
the SIM would be lively.
The
plan was simple. The “Meeting of the Minds” was intended to spark
debate on the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. Our cover was to engage all participants in debating what
should be included in a museum dedicated to the atomic bomb, and
what items should or should not be included. Also, the participants
were to discuss how the bomb and all artifacts should be presented
to the public.
On Februarly 8th
everything was going according to plan. We had a large crowd of
participants and observers. Marc Rinow got everyone settled by
handing out the boxes to participants, Vince (as museum curator) got
the proceeding off to a good start, and Seamus led off perfectly,
setting the example for other participants. Then the sound
capabilities crashed on Second Life just six minutes into the
simulation. After a chaotic few minutes, it was decided to
reschedule for Tuesday, February 10. Even though many participants
wanted to try and continue, we realized that voice capability was
essential for this SIM.
On February 10, we
were able to get through the SIM. The debate went well. Participants
veered off into the debate about dropping the bomb, and should it
have been dropped at all? After 46 minutes the SIM had to be ended
by the moderator (otherwise we could have gone on for hours).
Immediate feedback was very positive. All participants said they
really enjoyed it, and observers were telling us that is looks like
it would be a great idea for students. The use of Twitter also
helped with feedback.
The use of Second
Life for this SIM has really given us the desire to bring this
technology into our classrooms. It will have to be on Teen Grid, and
we will all have to go through whatever background checks there are,
but we feel that it is worth it. There are so many possibilities to
engage students in social studies subject matter, and the bonus is
that they will not mind doing the work (research if necessary). They
already have the mindset and many of the skills needed. They are the
digital natives growing up in a world with technology as part of
their everyday lives. What a huge carrot to have for student
motivation.
There were many
things that we learned by running this SIM. The fact that we used
educators and technology people as “guinea pigs” was a plus. Getting
feedback from any colleague’s point of view is like having more than
three sets of eyes looking at the live SIM. A few things that we
feel are essential to have success when using the virtual world as
an educational tool:
·
It is
far better to have a team working on this type of endeavor. There
were three of us dividing up the research, technology issues (like
learning how to build in Second Life), and making sure the logistics
were well thought out. Bouncing ideas off of each other helped us to
avoid some problems that a person working solo may have missed.
·
Networking!!! The amount of time we saved by getting help and advice
from fellow educators involved in Second Life made it possible to
run the SIM. They also helped by taking part, and then giving us
feedback.
·
Set
up anything you are going to use for a virtual world simulation and
do some sort of “dry run.” It took us a couple of hours to set up
the conference table, chairs, and name plates and test everything
out. It was time consuming until we got in a little practice at
rotating objects and lining thing up correctly. I am sure a second
time around would be much less time. It is just something that we
all will have to go through.
·
Have
a plan “B” ready if there is a problem. We did not. So when voice
went out on the Second Life server, we spent some time trying to
figure out what we should do. We finally agreed to reschedule, which
was the best idea. It would be a very good idea to have a “rain
date” set up in advance.
·
There
is a list of issues we have been discussing relating to having
students instead of educators taking part in the simulation. How do
you keep them from private texting? What will the evaluation look
like for students? How do you design a lesson in Second Life that
allows for all to be actively involved, and not just tourists?
·
Another discussion we are having is how do we bring this technology
into our school district? We will need to go to the school board, so
what is our ammunition, and what is the best way to present and
field all questions? Do we need to write a grant for hardware?
We hope to run one
more SIM on a little larger scale with educators before we decide to
cross the bridges with our school district.
Marc Rinow
Seamus McCarville
Vince LoTempio
Lancaster Middle
School
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