Sunday, June 28, 2020

DFS Week 6: Reflection




In your DFS experience this past week, how many hours did you complete? (1 sentence)
I spent over 7 hour working on my DFS.

What did you do in your DFS experience this past week? (2-3 sentences)
I attended an online conference, the  iLRN 2020: 6th International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network.

I was blown away at how many presenters there were, how interesting the topics and how well the conference worked. It was conducted in a variety of Virtual Environments, Virbela, AltVR and OpenSim. I connected with a great many other educators and researchers that are studying VR, AR and XR - so many that I am going to have to do a spreadsheet to keep track of their names and areas of expertise. This is such a new area of research that everyone is very open and friendly, we are fellow pioneers.

Saturday, June 27, 2020

DFS Week 6: Resources and Activities

In 4 Worlds at Once! Attending the 

iLRN 2020: 6th International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network

6.22.2010:00 - 10:30What works in 3D environments? Karl Kapphttps://ilrn2020.sched.com/event/ceO2
11:00 - 11:30Ground Truthing and Virtual Field Tripshttps://ilrn2020.sched.com/event/ceO8/workshop-ground-truthing-and-virtual-field-trips
6.23.201;00 - 2:00The State of XR and Immersive Learninghttps://ilrn2020.sched.com/event/ceO5/the-state-of-xr-and-immersive-learning-outlook-report-2020-soft-launch
2;00 - 3:00Exhibit Hallhttps://ilrn2020.sched.com/event/cePF/exhibitions-posters-and-showcase-session-i
6.25.2010;00 - 11:00Our future with XR and AI Storytelling and Creativity in the Age of Experiencehttps://ilrn2020.sched.com/event/ceQS/featured-plenary-presentation-our-future-with-xr-and-ai-storyliving-and-creativity-in-the-age-of-experience
10:00 - 11:00 PMEmbodied Learninghttps://ilrn2020.sched.com/event/ceRZ/embodied-learning
6.25.202;00 - 3:00Paricipatory Cultures Beyond Limits Criteria for Creative Potential of Social VR in Art Educationhttps://ilrn2020.sched.com/event/ceS9/workshop-participatory-cultures-beyond-limits-criteria-for-creative-potential-of-socialvr-in-art-educational-contexts
6.27.209:00 - 11:30Meeting at the Non-Profit Commons. Harcum has been awarded a virtual office! Also 2nd half of the Hero's Journey with Zinnia Zaub of Peninsula College

Sunday, June 21, 2020

DFS Week 5 - Reflections


In your DFS experience this past week, how many hours did you complete? (1 sentence)


I completed 5.5 hours




What did you do in your DFS experience this past week? (2-3 sentences)

I met with Dr. Stokrocki and Dr. Julian for a gallery tour. We discussed how to make the show clearer, and talked about methods of communication that are unique to Virtual Learning Environments. (VLE's) On Friday I attended the weekly meeting at Non-Profit Commons. We viewed a presentation on the Virtual World Library. I connected with educators Zinnia Zaub, Vallibrarian Greg and Becky Beale, who suggested that I apply for an office space at the Non-Profit Commons. I worked on the Climate Change Tartan video and applied the suggested changes to project.





Write a reflection in which you discuss your thoughts about your development of new leadership skills and/or your observation of skills that you might choose to incorporate into your leadership skills repertoire.


I'm finding this Directed Field Study to be incredibly exciting and absorbing. I'm learning skills in creating collaborative spaces in VLE's, and thinking about how to incorporate them into our program in the fall. This is the kind of connection that will be very valuable if we're sent back to online learning due to the virus. One of the richest part of the experience is connecting with so many educators from all around the country - indeed, from all around the world. It's ironic that I am meeting more new, interesting colleagues now that I'm housebound than I did when I was going to the college every day. I'm very excited by the opportunity to attend the Ilrn 2020 conference this week. With everything else that I have to do it may be difficult, but I intend to squeeze as many seminars and speakers into my schedule as possible.

DFS Week 5 - Activities and Resources



6/15/20
1:00 - 2:00Meeting with Dr. Stokrocki and Dr. Julian for gallery tour. Discussed how to make the show clearer, and methods of communication that are unique to VLE's
6/20/2011:30 - 1:30Meeting at Non-Profit Commons, presentation of Virtual World Library. Connected with educators Zinnia Zaub, Vallibrarian Greg and Becky
6/20/208:00 - 8:30Emailing and applying for office space in SL
6/21/207:30 - 10:001. Housekeeping connections, applying for NPC office.


Meeting at Non-Profit Commons: 
Presentation on Digital Libraries





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Saturday, June 13, 2020

DFS Week 4: Reflection


In your DFS experience this past week, how many hours did you complete? (1 sentence)


I spent 7.5 hours on my DFS Project.


What did you do in your DFS experience this past week? (2-3 sentences)


I finished mounting the exhibition: A Tartan Unraveling: Climate Change in the Outer Hebrides. I also added a site specific sculptural piece to explain the connection between data on climate change and the tartan pattern. I attended an event at Etopia Island to see the Digital Storytelling installation made by Peninsula College Students.




Write a reflection in which you discuss your thoughts about your development of new leadership skills and/or your observation of skills that you might choose to incorporate into your leadership skills repertoire.


I spent far longer than I had intended working on the exhibition project, but it was so engaging that I lost track of time. It's really come together nicely. Dr. Julian is very pleased, and I'll be touring it with Dr. Stokrocki this week. We'll need to plan an opening for the end of the semester, and plan to invite the people that I've met at Non-Profit Commons and the Educators in VR group. Of course, my fellow students from ASU will be welcome as well. I was more than impressed by the amazing installation on Etopia Island - it was fascinating to see the depth, meaning and creativity that Renee Brock's classes had brought to this virtual world environment. She has been teaching the class for four year, and the space, which follows Campbell's Hero's Journey has evolved and gotten richer - it's almost an archaeological process to experience it.


The level of commitment and sense of community I have found in these educators is really exciting. I have spent most of my time thus far in Second Life and Open Sim, but intend to now turn to exploring AltVR. I will also be attending the Immersive Learning Network 2020 Conference from June 21 - 25! This should be a fabulous way to learn and meet people.


https://immersivelrn.org/ilrn2020/

DFS Week 4 Activities and Resources

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6/8/2011:00- 3;30Work in SL mounting exhibition: Teaching about Climate Change with Digital Tartan.
6/9/207;00 - 10:00Worked on SL Project, finished hanging work.
6/12/2011:30 - 1:00Meeting at Non-Profits Commons in SL. Field Trip of Peninsula College Digital Storytelling Installation on Etopia Island


Field Trip to Peninsula College Digital Storytelling Installation on Etopia Island.









Link to Transcript


Work almost finished on SL Art Installation Project!







Tuesday, June 9, 2020

DFS Week 3: Reflections


1. In your DFS experience this past week, how many hours did you complete?
I completed about 3.5 hours.


2. What did you do in your DFS experience this past week?
I met with June Julian to discuss the exhibition of her climate change show, and began to work out the dynamics. Dr. Julian, Dr. Stokrocki and I attended the weekly meeting at the Non-Profits Common, and participated in a virtual relay for life to benefit cancer research.


3. Write a reflection in which you discuss your thoughts about your development of new leadership skills and/or your observation of skills that you might choose to incorporate into your leadership skills repertoire. (1-2 paragraphs) Or even if you did not have hours this week, based on the readings you did this week, write a reflection on skills that you might choose to incorporate into your leadership skill repertoire. (1-2 paragraphs)


Again, I was impressed with the number of people that attended the Non-Profit Commons meeting. The primary speaker was Lyr Lobo a.k.a Cynthia Calongne, a professor at Colorado Technical University who had organized the project. The event is expected to raise several thousand dollars to benefit the American Cancer Society. The sheer amount of work that it took to but this even together is truly impressive, and her passion was inspiring! Later in the weekend, I began to work through the logistics of the show that I'm planning to mount in Virtual Reality. Dr. Stokrocki approved of the idea, liked the proposal and had some suggestions. Once the show is complete, I intend to introduce it at one of the Non-Profit Commons meetings, as a show opening.


DFS Week 3 - Activities and Resources




ORGANIZER: Lyr Lobo
    • Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States
  • Professor
  • Education
  • ctusoftware.blogspot.com
  • Lyr Lobo in Second Life Teaching computer science, software engineering, usability and interaction, robotics and systems engineering using the virtual world of Second Life.










WORK IN PROGRESS ON GALLERY SHOW:



Schedule:

5:31:2012:00 - 2:00Meeting in SL to discuss space and exhibition needs. I will send a proposal to Mary for feedback.
6/5/2011:30 -1:00Meeting at Non-Profits Commons in SL with Drs. Julian and Stokrocki. Discussion on upcoming events and prepared for Relay for Life, cancer fundraiser beginning 6/7/20

Monday, June 1, 2020

DFS Week 2: Reflections


In your DFS experience this past week, how many hours did you complete?

    I worked on activities related to my DFS for 11 hours this week.

What did you do in your DFS experience this past week? 

    In the past week, I met with my advisor twice to talk about the learning plan. She introduced me to several resources and people that could be helpful to me in my work in exploring virtual worlds for education. I also met with an artist and educator with whom I am planning a collaborative exhibition as a final project for the DFS. Much of my time was spent in constructing a virtual educational space in which to build the exhibition.

Write a reflection in which you discuss your thoughts about your development of new leadership skills and/or your observation of skills that you might choose to incorporate into your leadership skills repertoire.
    I am realizing that there are two distinct but related paths that Virtual Reality offers for education: the creative possibilities and the relational. I had initially been attracted to the creative, exploring the wide range of expressive tools that immersive VR had to offer. This is still an exciting avenue for engaging art and design students and the number of tools, from painting to sculpting to 3D animation are abundant. What my explorations this week showed me was that the relational element - the sense of co-presence with other people in the visual space - is just as powerful.


Particularly in this time of isolating and social distancing, it was refreshing to meet with other researchers and educators, to exchange ideas and to feel that we were all in a shared space. As we move forward through this quarantine, I can see the applications for keeping students engaged and connected. In addition, I was pleasantly surprised to see just how many other educators are exploring these ideas. It's invigorating to collaborate and share thoughts and inspiration. This pleasant surprise was a delightful addition to my exploration, and I am thrilled have access to this vital and thriving community of thinkers.

DFS Week 2 - Activities and Resources



Art Ark - Dr. Mary Stokrocki's Virtual World Educational Space

5/26/20 - 12:00 - 1:00, 3:00 - 4:00
Meeting with Dr. Stokrocki - We discussed my learning plan and talked about her work in Second Life) SL. We visited her memorial gallery dedicated to disenfranchised Arizona artists and her educational spaces where she continues to mentor students in 3D modeling and construction. We visited the gallery of Zinnia Zui, a fabric artist and creator of the Non-Profit Commons in SL. As she works in textiles and virtual world, Dr. Stokrocki would like to introduce us to one another. We will be meeting again on Friday at 9am for the weekly meeting of Non-Profit commons, where I can meet other educators and researchers in virtual learning environments. (VLR) 


Virtual Gallery Show for Harcum College Fashion Students

5/27/30 - 5:00 - 8:00 : I created a virtual gallery exhibit using the Exhibbit app to showcase 2D work by the graduating seniors in the Fashion Design Program



Virtual Exhibition Space for Project in SL: Viridian Gallery



5/27/20 - 6:00 - 10:00: Worked on building an exhibition space for the upcoming project - educational space in a virtual world environment that will explore work by artists in Real Life, Second Life and Immersive VR


Meeting at the Non-Profit Commons



Meeting at Non-Profit Commons in Second Life

5/29/20 - 12:00 - 1:00: Dr. Stokrocki and I attended a meeting of Non-profit Commons in Second Life. There 30 or 40 people in attendance representing a wide range of non-profits and educational environments. This meeting introduced the opening of the Virtual Music Library. There is a strong and vital educator and non-profit presence in Second Life, and weekly meetings with different topics every Friday.



Viridian Gallery Grounds


Viridian Gallery Meeting Space

Meeting with Dr. June Julian to Discuss Collaborative Project

5/30/20 - 12:00 - 2:00: I had a call with Dr. June Julian about the project in Second Life. The concept is to create a show at the gallery space that I created, to explore presence, layers of reality, and relational aesthetic experience in a virtual world. The show was originally planned for NYC before coronavirus. It explores the visualization of data on climate change in the outer Hebrides in Scotland as a growing and evolving tartan pattern. The data was gathered and coded to create a continuously growing digital tartan fabric. As an educational resource, this will explore opportunities to use visual means to help students understand data in a more comprehensive way was discussed.

6/1/20 - 12;00 - 2;00 Meeting in SL to discuss space and exhibition needs. Will send the proposal to Dr. Stokrocki for feedback




Climate Change Digital Tartan












PROJECT PROPOSAL: Digital Climate Crisis Tartan: An Educational Data Visualization in Second Life

Digital Climate Crisis Tartan 
An Educational Data Visualization Project in Second Life 
Dr. June Julian 
Julian Crooks, Rodrick B. MacLennan 
The Climate Crisis Tartan will debut online as an educational pilot project in Second Life in collaboration with Julian Crooks. The objective of the project is to visually present the Climate Crisis research data that was collected by June Julian and Rodrick B. MacLennan, and to create an educational data visualization model for students using Tartan patterns. Combining art and archaeology, the researchers were awarded the prestigious Explorers Club Flag in 2015 and 2017, where they recorded the current status of archaeological sites on the Isles of Vallay and North Uist, Scotland, as impacted by climate change. 

The project will be virtually displayed as a large-scale computer projection in The Viridian Gallery in Second Life, as created by Julian Crooks. The crisscrossed horizontal and vertical bands in the Tartan pattern refer to the erosion impact status upon the archaeology sites using the variables of sea erosion, wind erosion, intertidal status and entirely gone, as vertical and horizontal bar graphs as warp and weft. The distribution of the Tartan’s colored bands in the design will quantitatively reference the qualitative analysis made from the field observations in the researchers’ published reports. The digital tartan will be projected on a virtual large hanging woven fabric (60” by 162”) in the style of The Great Kilt. The project will provide immediate awareness of the threats to worldwide coastal heritage in a non-verbal way and provide a data visualization method for students using Tartans. 
Double Diamond Archaeology http://www.doublediamondarchaeology.org/ 

Introduction

My name is Julian Crooks, and I live just west of Philadelphia.  I received my BFA from Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. ...