Dimitri - Article Review One

Second Life for Digital Photography: An Exploratory Study

Ming Nie, Paula Roush, Matthew Wheeler

An exploratory pilot study of first hand experience of art students and their use of Second Life as a means of art education and creation.


Aim

1. What can SL offer to the subject of Digital Photography?
2. What can SL offer to enable collaborative learning?
3. What do participants think of the identities that are established through avatars?

Method

Six undergraduate students in art education were selected to participate in three class sessions using Second Life. Each of these sessions was dedicated to an activity focused on collaborative tasks to scaffold students' learning and group work.

Activity One: 'Snapshot tools in SL'

Students were introduced to SL and the camera tool. They were instructed to first 'snap' their way around University of Leicester's Media Zoo sim, before exploring other SL sims. They were encouraged to use the in-world chat for interclass discussion regarding their thoughts on SL and further opportunities. They were expected to have 6-12 digital snapshots related to subcultures.


Activity Two: 'Story Cubes'

Students were taught how to build a cube in-world, as well as adjust size and texture. Each student then produced a story cube photo narrative using six of their digital images from the first task. This was followed by a class discussion.

Snapshot 1. The individuals’ virtual story cubes. This snapshot illustrates a student avatar explaining to the group about her individual story cube in SL.

Activity Three: 'Explorations'

Students explored further in SL and debated the wider potential of SL for digital media and photography regarding youth cultures and subcultures. They also created a group story cube made of individuals' cubes.

Snapshot 2. The group’s virtual story cubes. This snapshot illustrates student avatars  

Following the completion of these three activities, each student was individually interviewed before a focus group was held. Chat logs of the students in-world chats were also recorded.


Results

Overall, the students reacted positively to Second Life as an approach to art education. Their comments including observations that a virtual world is advantageous for networking, displaying and exhibiting work, as they are able to interact with people from all over the world. They also noted that it made it easier to research subcultures and that collaborative work in Second Life was both intuitive and enjoyable. There were also comments regarding ethical views, particularly in relation to taking photos of people. In the real world, permission would have to be explicitly sought, whereas in Second Life, it is possible to take photos of other avatars from a distance without imposing on a stranger's personal space.

In regard to the avatars, the students felt they were disconnected due to lack of body language and tones, and that the anonymity didn't offer many benefits. However, they also acknowledged that for the sessions that involved SL, they were in the same room together. They also knew each other well in the real world and thus had a face to put to the name. There was also an apparent reluctance to experiment with avatars that were not ordinary due to knowing each other and being in the same room. Another student acknowledged that this reluctance may also have come from the sessions being set up as studying and research sessions, rather than an opportunity for 'fun'.



The exploration into virtual worlds as an education medium is not a new one. There has been plenty of research surrounding the use of virtual worlds for language teaching, for example. However, there is less regarding art and art education, and this study acts for a good pilot study, highlighting both a good base method as well as directions to take in the future.

Even with the limitations, however, it highlights Second Life and other virtual words for their abilities in becoming more than just a social media platform. The discovery that it can be used by many people regardless of what they're looking for (such as an artist looking to explore visual concepts or conduct research) makes it a more accessible world than what it can be initially seen as (that is, as something purely social).


Nie, M., Roush, P., & Wheeler, M. (2010). Second Life for digital photography: An exploratory study. Contemporary Educational Technology, 1(3), 267-280.