Avatar Languages: Learn Foreign Languages in Second Life

Google Lively

Howard — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:11:52 +0000

Google has launched a 3D virtual world – or rather, a 3D chat space. I’ve been playing around with it to see what potential there is for language learning. It’s way too early to say what can or cannot be done, especially as it is quite buggy (there are already plenty of complaints on the blogosphere about how it can crash). However, what interests me is that it is browser based – a kind of combination of Second Life (a world where you can create your own content) and Exit Reality (a plugin to allow you to walk around MySpace and Facebook pages).

I think it is this ability to go 3D from within your browser that is going to make 3D internet widespread. I can well imagine that the current plugins (for Lively or Exit Reality) could become standard components of browsers – in which case we’re witnessing the web truly go 3D.

Lively can be embedded into web pages and blogs, just like YouTube videos. You can see an example “room” in Google Lively below (I will try to customize my own room, but I am having difficulties – perhaps because I haven’t worked out how or perhaps because a bug is getting in my way).

The obvious drawback for language learning is that there is no voice. However, it could be used with Skype alongside and I would be surprised if voice wasn’t added later. Something to keep an eye on…

Exit Reality – 3D Virtual Experiences for Everyone

Howard — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 17:28:28 +0000

Over the last few weeks I’ve been looking at the new 3D virtual environment “Exit Reality” and seeing how it can be used to enhance language learning.

Exit Reality is one of a few new similar services that are not virtual worlds as such, but instead offer a 3D virtual experience for visiting normal web pages. It is a small add-on program that turns your browser (Firefox or Explorer) into a 3D browser, complete with avatar that can walk around the pages you are viewing in your browser.

It’s an ingenious little tool that allows you to meet and socialize with others who are visiting the same page you are (at that very moment). Exit Reality is designed to work best with social networking pages such as MySpace or Facebook and maps out a MySpace page into a 3D room. So, videos on the MySpace page will always appear on the television set that is in this room. Likewise any audios will be available on the jukebox and images are in painting frames.

Although it is intended for surfing the conventional (2D web) it is possible to also surf 3D spaces that have a simple URL (web page address), such as this jungle scene that I got to walk around recently.

Tools like Exit Reality have the potential to radically change the way we interact with the web, perhaps even to a far greater extent than 3D virtual worlds such as Second Life. It has several advantages, such as there being no need for special graphics cards, a very small download and an interface that integrates with normal web browsers. And best of all, we can visit regular 2D content with a third dimension added.

Avatar Languages is already looking for ways to create 3D, social spaces for language learning. Stay tuned…

Move Your Second Life Avatar with Your Body

Howard — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:28:37 +0000

Two months ago I wrote about a couple of projects to move avatars using hand and body guestures. Well, now Second Life avatars can be controlled by just moving your body and hands. As this YouTube video below shows, the 3D webcam from 3DV Systems has been connected to the 3D virtual world Second Life so that your avatar’s movements are made purely by moving your body (no need for mouse and keyboard).

This is still in its early stages of development and the 3D webcams won’t be available until later this year. However, it’s definitely on its way now and it will help language learning feel even more immersive when in virtual worlds.

Simple English Wikipedia in Language Lessons

Howard — Sat, 31 May 2008 14:42:10 +0000

At Avatar Languages we have started to encourage students to add to Wikipedia articles. We have chosen Simple English Wikipedia, which is a version of the online encyclopaedia that is written in a simplified style of English for non-native speakers.

The project has developed out of our students creating podcasts and slideshow presentations about topics that interest them. Often students research for their presentations using Wikipedia and so it was an obvious next step that they should then complete the circle and add to Wikipedia itself. In fact the students are using the normal Wikipedia to find information (as well as many other sources on the web and even through interviews in Second Life), whereas they are adding to the Simple English version of Wikipedia.

Some initial findings are…

Students find this extremely motivating. Although slideshare presentations and podcasts open up student work to the whole world and some of their presentations have been seen hundreds of times by the general (web-surfing) public, the students seem to be motivated even more by the prospect of not just creating interesting information, but useful content.
Students are often reluctant to start! It seems to be quite a responsibility and there is a fear of making mistakes (although their teacher will be helping them to correct the text).
Texts need more correction than with the slideshares and podcasts (which are not so heavily corrected and therefore still contain some small gramatical mistakes when published on the web). Writing in Wikipedia is setting the bar higher.

So far we have not made public who is actually making these additions to Wikipedia - perhaps we will do so in the future. This may help create a sense of achievement for the students and help generate interest in this type of task-based language learning.

We’re not the first to talk about this approach to language learning - AskOlli blog has posted a few articles about it over the last few months - and AskOlli suggests various ways to use Wikipedia in language lessons. However, it does seem to be a very new approach that is gaining interest among language educators.

SLanguages 2008 - Online Archive

Howard — Fri, 30 May 2008 22:16:42 +0000

There were 350 visitors from 28 countries (native speakers of 29 languages) who attended SLanguages 2008 last weekend. For those of you who missed the event, or perhaps some parts of it (it was 24 hours long!), the archive page of the conference website (www.slanguages.net/archive.php) now has most of the presentation available (with audios). I’ve included a couple here to get you interested…

| View | Upload your own

We are already starting to prepare for SLanguages 2009, when I’m sure there will be many more presenters (and very many more attendees). In the meantime there will be smaller events, workshops, presentations and activities at the EduNation island in Second Life. These events will be advertised on www.slanguages.net (News and Events section). I hope to see you there!

SLanguages 2008 - Tomorrow!

Howard — Thu, 22 May 2008 22:40:11 +0000

The SLanguages 2008 conference on virtual worlds in language education starts tomorrow. Further details at the website www.slanguages.net. I’m including here the program to help you plan your visits…

SLanguages 2008 - Program - Upload a doc

SLanguages 2008 Timetable The Conference for Language Education in Virtual Worlds A version is also available in-world. Both versions (website and Second Life) have teleport links to the relevant event location. Further information about the conference is available at www.slanguages.net PST PDT – 1 10.00 (am) PDT (SL) PST + 1 PDT + 0 11.00 (am) UTC/GMT PST + 8 PDT + 7 18.00 London (BST) PST + 9 PST + 8 19.00 Paris (CET) PST + 10 PST + 9 20.00 NOTE: Current time in SL is PDT ********************** MAY 23RD - BLOCK 0 *********************** 11:00 – 12:00 PDT – Conference Opening & Social Gathering [DJ Dudeney Ge] [10:00 - 11:00 PST |18:00 – 19:00 UTC|20:00 – 21:00 CET] Come along and meet participants and presenters, the organizers and a few lost souls. DJ Dudeney Ge entertains with an eclectic mix from 1930 to yesterday… EduNation II – The Club *************************************************************** ********************** MAY 23RD - BLOCK 1 *********************** 12:00 – 13:00 PDT – Plenary I – Iffaf Khan (SL: Iffaf Ling) [11:00 - 12:00 PST|19:00 – 20:00 UTC|21:00 – 22:00 CET] Teacher Training in SL: Lessons Learnt EduNation III – Conference Crossover Space ______________________________________________________________ 13:15 – 14:15 PDT – Simultaneous Sessions I [12:15 - 13:15 PST|20:15 – 21:15 UTC|22:15 – 23:15 CET] Session 1.1 – Gavin Dudeney (SL: Dudeney Ge) Teaching Tools for Second Life EduNation II – Seminar Space Session 1.2 – Ton Koenraad (SL: Koen Antonioni) The Making of the ViTAAL project EduNation III – Conference Crossover Space ______________________________________________________________ 14:30 – 15:30 PDT – Simultaneous Sessions II [13:30 - 14:30 PST|21:30 – 22:30 UTC|23:30 – 00:30 CET] Session 2.1 – Št?pánka J?nová (SL: Stefi Kohime) Applying different language teaching methods in Second life EduNation II – Seminar Space Session 2.2 – Graham Stanley (SL: Baldric Commons) The Sword in the Stone- Language Learning Quests (part I) EduNation III – Conference Crossover Space ______________________________________________________________ 15:30 – 16:00 PDT – Break - Exhibition, Poster Presentations SLanguages 2008 Timetable The Conference for Language Education in Virtual Worlds A version is also available in-world. Both versions (website and Second Life) have teleport links to the relevant event location. Further information about the conference is available at www.slanguages.net [14:30 - 15:00 PST |22:30 – 23:00 UTC|00:30 – 01:00 CET] EduNation II – Sandbox *************************************************************** ********************** MAY 23RD - BLOCK 2 *********************** 16:00 – 17:00 PDT – Plenary II – Howard Vickers (SL: Howie Yoshikawa) [15:00 - 16:00 PST |23:00 – 00:00 UTC|01:00 – 02:00 CET] Blended Learning - Combining Virtual Worlds with Web 2.0 Tools EduNation III – Conference Crossover Space ______________________________________________________________ 17:15 – 18:15 PDT – Simultaneous Sessions III [16:15 - 17:15 PST |00:15 – 01:15 UTC|02:15 – 03:15 CET] Session 3.1 – Kip Boahn (SL: Kip Yellowjacket) What is Second Life English? : Current project status and future aspirations. EduNation II – Seminar Space Session 3.2 - James Abraham (SL: Calisto Encinal) Mi casa es su casa: A Simulated House for Spanish EduNation III – Conference Crossover Space ______________________________________________________________ 18:30 – 19:30 PDT – Simultaneous Sessions IV [17:30 - 18:30 PST |01:30 – 01:30 UTC|03:30 – 04:30 CET] Session 4.1 – Kane Naylor (SL: Basho Singh) Welcome to CHACHAT! EduNation II – Seminar Space Session 4.2 – Dafne Gonzalez (SL: Daf Smirnov) Teaching Training: Second Life vs. Online / Blended Courses: Implications EduNation III – Conference Crossover Space ______________________________________________________________ 19:30 – 20:00 PDT – Field Trip with Howard Vickers (SL: Howie Yoshikawa) [18:30 - 19:00 PST |02:30 – 03:00 UTC|04:30 – 05:00 CET] Real Cities and Themed Locations in Second Life EduNation II – Seminar Space *************************************************************** *********************** MAY 23RD - BLOCK 3 ********************** 20:00 – 21:00 PDT – Simultaneous Sessions V [19:00 - 20:00 PST |03:00 – 04:00 UTC|05:00 – 06:00 CET] Session 5.1 - Gloria Jeanne Bodtorf Clark (SL: Flora Almendros) Coordinating the Physical Classroom and Teaching from My Virtual Hot Tub: Hybrid Spanish Classes in Practice EduNation II – Seminar Space SLanguages 2008 Timetable The Conference for Language Education in Virtual Worlds A version is also available in-world. Both versions (website and Second Life) have teleport links to the relevant event location. Further information about the conference is available at www.slanguages.net Session 5.2 – Kip Boahn (SL: Kip Yellowjacket) What is Second Life English? : Current project status and future aspirations. EduNation III – Conference Crossover Space ______________________________________________________________ 21:15 – 22:15 PDT – Simultaneous Sessions VI [20:15 - 21:15 PST |04:15 – 05:15 UTC|06:15 – 07:15 CET] Session 6.1 – Paul Preibisch (SL: Fire Centaur) Bots for educators! EduNation II – Seminar Space Session 6.2 – James Abraham (SL: Calisto Encinal) Mi casa es su casa: A Simulated House for Spanish EduNation III – Conference Crossover Space ______________________________________________________________ 22:30 – 23:30 PDT – Plenary III – Chris Surridge (SL: Christopher Flow) [21:30 - 22:30 PST |05:30 – 06:30 UTC|07:30 – 08:30 CET] Motivated Interactions in Second Life EduNation III – Conference Crossover Space ______________________________________________________________ 23:30 – 00:00 PDT – Break - Exhibition, Poster Presentations [22:30 - 23:00 PST |06:30 – 07:00 UTC|08:30 – 09:00 CET] EduNation II – Sandbox ______________________________________________________________ 00:00 – 01:00 PDT – Field Trip with Heike Philp (SL: Gwen Gwasi) [23:00 - 00:00 PST |07:00 – 08:00 UTC|09:00 – 10:00 CET] Sightseeing tour to language learning sites EduNation II – Seminar Space *************************************************************** ********************** MAY 24TH - BLOCK 1 *********************** 01:00 – 02:00 PDT – Mid-Conference Building Basics – Gavin Dudeney (SL: Dudeney Ge) [00:00 - 01:00 PST|08:00 – 09:00 UTC|10:00 – 11:00 CET] If you’ve always wondered what the ‘Build’ button in SL does, come along to the Sandbox and get started with building. We’ll cover the basics and put it all together to make a scripted gadget that actually does something. This is a very basic session, so if you’ve done any building already you may want to use this hour to get some sleep… EduNation II – Sandbox ______________________________________________________________ 02:15 – 03:15 PDT – Simultaneous Sessions VII [01:15 - 02:15 PST|09:15 – 10:15 UTC|11:15 – 12:15 CET] Session 7.1 - Kyle Mawer (SL: Frank Spearmann) Robin Hood - Language Learning Quests (part II) EduNation II – Seminar Space Session 7.2 - Mark Karstad (SL: Buy Short) Second Life in Conservative Societies, Considerations from the Middle East SLanguages 2008 Timetable The Conference for Language Education in Virtual Worlds A version is also available in-world. Both versions (website and Second Life) have teleport links to the relevant event location. Further information about the conference is available at www.slanguages.net EduNation III – Conference Crossover Space ______________________________________________________________ 03:30 – 04:30 PDT – Simultaneous Sessions VIII [02:30 - 03:30 PST|10:30 – 11:30 UTC|12:30 – 13:30 CET] Session 8.1 – Dongping Zheng (SL: MinnSU Koga) Quest Design in SL Chinese School EduNation II – Seminar Space Session 8.2 – Gavin Dudeney (SL: Dudeney Ge) Teaching Tools for Second Life EduNation III – Conference Crossover Space ______________________________________________________________ 04:30 – 05:00 PDT – Field Trip with Gavin Dudeney (SL: Dudeney Ge) [03:30 - 04:00 PST|11:30 – 12:00 UTC|13:30 – 14:00 CET] Multiple Intelligences in SL… EduNation II – Seminar Space *************************************************************** ********************** MAY 24TH - BLOCK 2 *********************** 05:00 – 06:00 PDT – Plenary IV - Paul Sweeney (SL: Head Teacher) [04:00 - 05:00 PST|12:00 – 13:00 UTC|14:00 – 15:00 CET] What is the ‘right’ kind of innovation? EduNation III – Conference Crossover Space ______________________________________________________________ 06:15 – 0715 PDT – Simultaneous Sessions IX [05:15 - 06:15 PST|13:15 – 14:15 UTC|15:15 – 16:15 CET] Session 9.1 – Graham Stanley (SL: Baldric Commons) and Kyle Mawer (SL: Frank Spearmann) Language Learning Quests (part III) - Discussion / Workshop EduNation II – Seminar Space Session 9.2 - Mark Karstad (SL: Buy Short) Second Life in Conservative Societies, Considerations from the Middle East EduNation III – Conference Crossover Space ______________________________________________________________ 07:30 – 08:30 PDT – Simultaneous Sessions X [06:30 - 07:30 PST |14:30 – 15:30 UTC|16:30 – 17:30 CET] Session 10.1 - Dafne Gonzalez (SL: Daf Smirnov) and (SL: Christina Papp) Teaching Spanish to Beginners in SL EduNation II – Seminar Space Session 10.2 - Heike Philp (SL: Gwen Gwasi) Sightseeing tour to language learning sites EduNation III – Conference Crossover Space SLanguages 2008 Timetable The Conference for Language Education in Virtual Worlds A version is also available in-world. Both versions (website and Second Life) have teleport links to the relevant event location. Further information about the conference is available at www.slanguages.net ______________________________________________________________ 08:30 – 09:00 PDT – Presentation moved to 03:30 – 04:30 PDT, Saturday [07:30 - 08:00 PST|15:30 – 16:00 UTC|17:30 – 18:00 CET ] *************************************************************** ********************** MAY 24TH - BLOCK 3 *********************** 09:00 – 10:00 PDT – Closing Roundup – All [08:00 - 09:00 PST|16:00 – 17:00 UTC|18:00 – 19:00 CET ] A chance for everyone to reflect on – and discuss – the conference itself. Moderated by Gavin Dudeney (SL: Dudeney Ge) EduNation III – Conference Crossover Space ______________________________________________________________ 10:00 – 11:00 PDT – Conference Closing Party [DJ Dudeney Ge] [09:00 - 10:00 PST|17:00 – 18:00 UTC|19:00 – 20:00 CET] Come along and meet participants and presenters, the organizers and a few lost souls. DJ Dudeney Ge entertains with an eclectic mix from 1930 to yesterday… EduNation II – The Club **************************************************************

Google Docs Becomes Virtual Learning Environment

Howard — Tue, 20 May 2008 18:18:04 +0000

Avatar Languages isn’t the only school to use Google Docs - The Guardian newspaper reports today that many UK schools and universities are starting to use free services from Google to enable virtual learning.

Google Docs is a simple way for teachers and students to colaborate on a document at the same time. We have found it just great for jointly correcting student work or for student lessons. Google Docs isn’t quite as immediately responsive as online whiteboards like WhiteBoard Meeting, so we use it where structure (of text) is more important. We use it in combination with online whiteboards, Skype and, of course, Second Life.

This video below (from Google themselves) explains how Google Docs works…

I’m sure many other educational institutions will follow!

Second Life for Policing Simulation

Howard — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:34:58 +0000

Virtual worlds make excellent tools for simulations, such as policing international borders. This YouTube video shows training for the Canadian border control making use of Second Life.

Aside from the reduced costs of a simulation (in comparison to a real life simulation), it also allows for easy videoing of the events, so that students can analyse their actions. Of course, another advantage is the ability to conduct simulations with geographically dispersed participants, either internationally or within a country.

What do avatars do when we’re not watching?

Howard — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:33:36 +0000

Avatars Copy Our Own Movements

Howard — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 16:41:56 +0000

Avatars can now reflect our own movements – Telekom has developed a program that allows avatars to be controlled by the actions of our own body. It even allows for facial expressions.

A similar project (Zcam from 3DV) was showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) earlier this year that uses a webcam with infrared that uses distance (not colour) to react to what it is looking at. Zcam shows how you can practice golf or boxing virtually. In a sense it’s not so different to the Wii, but the difference is that there is no Wii remote – just you moving in front of the camera. Zcam says it will release its package by the end of 2008 for less than $100. It will certainly bring virtual words to life in a very real way and it will add to the opportunities for a more immersive and interactive learning online.

This YouTube video explains the Zcam in some more detail…