Learning through Playing: Design and Identify Formation in Second Life

1. Learning through Playing: Design and Identify Formation in Second Life Dongping Zheng,Ph. D. zhengdo@msu.edu Michigan State University SLRF Hawai’I 2008

2. Ecological and Social perspectives on • design and language learning (Gibson, • 19Young, 200479;Hodges, 2007; van Lier, 2004) • The essential properties of • language learning and • activity design in • virtual worlds should be • “physically grounded, and • biologically, socially • and culturally • determined joint (dialogical) • activity” • (Kravchenko, 2007). Embodied Experience

3. Meaning-making (Gee, 2004, 2007) • Content-based and activity-based, task-based language learning (Brown et al., 1989; Snow, 2004; Kasper, 2000, Ellis,2003; Nakahama,Tyler, & Van Lier,2001) • Embodied experiences (Hirose, 2003; Gee, 2003; Young, 2004, 2005) • The dual nature of perception and action is viewed as embodiment which focuses on the demonstration of how cognition is embodied in the physical, real body. • Literal understanding vs. Understanding and Meaning-making • “Play” that can give situation-specific meanings to the styles of language associated with that domain

4. Change • Change is the essential element, the essence of a dynamic system. Change (variance) and stability (invariance/patterns) provide the information to be detected (perception) by actors to be acted upon (Zheng, et al. in press) • Changes in the physical context result in changes in the nature and number of a particular word’s relationships with other phenomena constitutive of its environment (Kravchenko, 2007, p. 657) • New Designs Change the World for Interaction(Gaver, 1996)

5. Ecological Linguistics (Van Lier, 2004) • Language as relationship between people and the world, affordance signals an opportunity for action • Context defines language, meaning emerges in a context • Patterns, not rules but “patterns that connect” • Emergence, not linear, accumulation, of objects, but transformation, growth and reorganization • Value, Ethical and moral, embodying visions of self and identity • Activity, not object, but in the world; authorship, emotionally connected to action and speech, and to community

6. Ecological, Social and Cultural Perspectives • Caring(Hodges, 2007) • The larger context that makes social cooperation and coordination possible. • Perception and action are best understood as values-realizing activities. • Goals/Intentions (Kravchenko, 2007; Jacob & Michaels, 2007) • Language use is associated with intention as an act of a desire to enter communication as shared (and, therefore, value-laden) activity. • Intentions define task situations. • Identity (Hodges, 2007b; Gee, 1999; van Lier, 2004) • Identity can be realized only within interactions and within the symmetries that reflect the dynamics of the ecosystem as a whole. • Fluid and emergent; learners shape the world they lived in, but also are transcendented by the world.

7. Ecological Psychology +Design (Gibson, 1979; Young, 2004)

8. Method • Ethnography (Erickson, 1986; Hutchins, 1995) • Interviews and observations • Discourse Analysis (Gee, 1999) • When “little d” discourse (language in use) is melded integrally with non-language “stuff” to enact specific identities and activities, then I say that big “D” Discourse are involved” (p. 7)

9. “I sent you a picture that was written down sentences and trying to sort words kind of by categories, verbs, and adjectives, other words. And I wrote them on the list and posted them on the wall, there are in my bedroom or my office.” BEL

10. BEL • I love working in the second life environment because I mean it is a virtual world and you feel you really get into it. First, I thought it was kind of robotic way, but you really quickly, I mean probably was in a couple of weeks of the class, I felt it was really meaningful, completely walking around and discovering. • That the third quest at the end was really a different feeling quest but I found out so much fun. Because I felt like we were a group of foreigners in China and we were trying really figure things out without any help. And you know often how life is and you’ve got to communicate to survive or to get questions and answer. So I think I liked both quest, and in the last quest, I was much more comfortable and didn’t feel so nervous, but that might be just because it was the end of the course, and I felt I gradually know the classmates a little bit, and also I didn’t put so much pressure perhaps on myself to try to precise with the Chinese. I could feel more relax because they were both the Americans with me too. • Oh, my gosh. You know, after each of the courses, I would be so exhausted. Because you feel that mentor powers and looking for the words you are having fun. But part of it , I think, Dongping, is you tried hard fun. Because you know that in working together and that cooperation and that teamwork and you will be successful. So you can’t not work with your partners. It just won’t work. I mean you could as suppose on trying to get out of here on your own and read through the quest. Butdependingon, using the team to look into the parts to figure it out and then talking, backing and correcting each other that was so unofficial. It is fun but actually pushes you in your way you could argue hard of it. You know, it was not serving in a traditional classroom repeating sentences after a teacher. You have to use the language to solve the problem.

11. BEL

12. SEF “Definitely don’t miss the book, I don’t miss the cost of the book, I don’t miss the weight of the book.”

13. SEF

14. SEF • Yes, I think familiar experience, like the video games or quest, because during the game you know have five second real quick action and you tried to do things during the down time. … doing something else… the skill to craft notes, organizing something, so during down time, I am just organizing a lot. Trying to figure out what is coming up next. Not like, I do not have a logic mind. But like robot, just I have been doing it for a long time. • I think it’s a very individual learning. I think it’s probably the best way to learn a foreign language. I mean, I haven’t had learned two but it’s a really cool way to do it.

15. ZEU

16. ZEU “Yeah, I have a bad habit of not studying too much though. For most classes?”

17. ZEU • Dp: Yeah, let me open something. I'm curious. It's quite amazing for me to hear you in that performance. To hear you in questing. Do you feel like you enjoy that more, you learn more when we did the sort quest? • ZEU: I don’t know. It's kind of more confusing to me. • Dp: It's more confusing? Why? • ZEU: Because they, Cassandra and Tyler kept going faster than I so it was hard to catch up. So I don't know, I didn't learn it as well as other parts. • Dp: Right, like what other parts? • ZEU: I don' know. I guess like the reviewing the notes and going over the note cards individually. • Dp: Maybe other parts, tutoring with Jian? Do you feel like you learn more with Nai Yi more? • ZEU: Yeah.

18. Meaning-Making and Pattern Recognizing Bel: 三十岁左右. 他往哪儿跑了? Did he run? Sef: Well, you go over too far. Bel: I am sorry. Sef: 他看起来多大? Bel: 多大? Sef: 多 is like how many, is that right? No, never mind, I have the wrong tone, no, I don not. Bel: 他看,看…起… Sef: 看起来 is looks like. Bel: He looks like 多大? Isn’t 大 big? He looks big? Could that be it? Sef: 多 is ah , like a measure, like how Daniel is, like many. Bel: So how tall, maybe? Sef: Yeah, 大 is a question, literally, how, how Bel: What did he look like? What did he look like? 他看起来多大? Sef: 三十岁左右. So 三十岁 is, 岁? 岁? Bel: And 左右 is about. So he is about 三十. I would not think he is three feet tall, would that be a little wired? Sef: 岁 is a measure term. I don’t have my excel document, Bel, do you have your excel document? Bel: No, I haven’t got it yet. Zeu, do you know what that means? Zeu: Which one? Bel: 岁, 岁. Sef: we’ll just skip this one… (note: Min is the instructor)

19. At the Fish Market Sef: The same thing. 早上三点左右,你看见了什么? She saw a man, oh, he saw a man, that’s good. Bel: one man, 一个男人, 他的个子高吗? 挺高的, 挺高的. What is that? Sef: 挺高的? Bel: Zeu, are you good at this? 挺高的. We just did that. I can hear they are laughing, it scared me. Sef: That’s funny Min: No, Bel, this is so much fun to see you guys work together and learn things. I am happy, not laughing at you. Bel: No, I know that you are not laughing at us, but it is just so funny. You are laughing with us, cause we are all having fun. Min: Yeah. Sef: 高 is tall. Interplay of Caring, Goals, and Identity

20. Prolepsis: Assume the learners already have the abilities we and they wish to develop • “The quests force to think about languages and responses, you are almost forced to learn it. I never would have thought about what I was actually doing, just answer the questions in my French class” • “the sentence structure is so different, once I get over with that, I think my brain has adapted to something of different ways of thinking something”

21. Ending Remarks Learners act into the opportunities and problematics afforded by others and designed environments (Hodges 2007). Through the care the quest prompted, and developed for each other in the challenge, each learner acted out their identity and allowed the environment to shape their new identity so to create new possibilities that invite responsible action. Also through the caring interactions, learners adopted new goals after each discourse and new challenge. Conversations engaged are nurtured from good prospective acts of collaboration that realize values. SL and QA made all these good prospective acts available and accessible.

22. Thank You! 谢谢

23. “Learner’s identity are not ready-made ahead of time, but renegotiated, reconstructed and “updated” in every encounter”

24. “Improvisation is the fuel of autonomy in learning”

25. Learnersact into the opportunities and problematics afforded by others and designed environments (Hodges 2007). Through the care the quest prompted, and developed for each other in the challenge, each learner acted out their identity and allowed the environment to shape their new identity so to create new possibilities that invite responsible action. Also through the caring interactions, learners adopted new goals after each discourse and new challenge. Conversationsengaged are nurtured from good prospective acts of collaboration that realize values. Second Life made all these good prospective acts available and accessible. Interact

26. Ecological Psychology (Gibson, 1979; Young, 2004) Key Concepts: • Affordance/effectivity • Perception-action • Goals and intentions • Variance/invariance • Attunement • Heterarchical Values • Design for Embodied Experience • Learning as Activity-in-the-world • Negotiation for Action • Meaning-making • Emerging goals • Recognizing and picking up patterns • Opportunities for scaffolding (Attunement) • Multiple identities

27. Quest 3D Space Avatar Quester Homepage Chat Space

28. Proverb Quest You think you lost your horse? Who knows, he may bring a whole herd back to you someday. (Chinese Pinyin: Sai4 weng1 shi1 ma3, an1 zhi1 fei1 fu2) 塞翁失马、焉知非福 Graphics from: http://www.epochtimes.com/b5/2/8/16/c8528.htm

30. Problems • Mimi’s new teacher • “PG reports having observed another of the NS instructors intimidate a student who was unable to completely produce a line of dialog…. As soon as the student began his recitation, the teacher “snapped” at hime in Chinese “Buhao?” (Lantolf & Genung, 2002, p. 187) 50,000 Chinese learners in grades 7-12 compared to just 5,000 in 2000 (Washington post, April 20, 2006)

32. 2005年中国教育主要数据2005 Major Data of the Education System

33. How People Learn? • Second life type of environments resonate with the situated and socio-cultural camp of how people learn (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989; Greeno, 1997;Hutchins, 1993; Lave, 1993; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Roth & Bowen, 1995; Suchman, 1987; Van Lier, 2004) : • By being in the world (fromexploration to experiential learning, e.g., reading, colony of ants) • From incidental learning to intention and attention (problem-based, project-based) • By perception and action (pick up and use the language for authentic communication and actions) • By participation (from Legitimate Peripheral Participation to Central Parcipation) • Objectivist approach of learning • Teacher guided • hands-off observations • Repeated drills and practice • Exposed with large amount of input

34. Heterarchical Values-Realizing • LIZ: let's do the horse one first, do you want to start? 8:23:46 • BET: k. 8:24:12 • BET: do u have any idea? 8:25:41 • LIZ: How about this: if a girl won her basketball game, she would be able to go into the championship, but she lost?8:26:35 • LIZ: It turns out that if she won, the game would have been on her aunt's wedding, so in a way, the fact that she lost turned out to be good. 8:27:37 • LIZ: that just came right out of my head. 8:27:53 • LIZ: tell me if you think its weird. 8:28:13 • BET: if a girl won the game she can join the nation team. 8:29:49 • LIZ: good idea! 8:30:04 • BET: but if she join it she can't get education. 8:30:29 • LIZ: aounds good. 8:30:57 • LIZ: sounds. 8:31:08 • LIZ: better than the wedding idea. 8:31:34 • LIZ: Do you want to write down or copy that story so you don'. 8:32:06 • LIZ: lose it? 8:32:14 • BET: that's one is good too, should we give each one a story? 8:32:23