VWBPE14 Conference 9-12 April

1. Exploration of creativity within
immersive teaching experience
Ridvan Atolia in SL
Ridvan Ata
The University of
Sheffield
School of Education
Slides copyright Ridvan Ata; sources for pictures listed on the final slide VWBPE14 11 April

2. Outline
• Who I am
• Ridvan’s SL journey
• Context of the study
• The Four C Model
• Examples
• My reflections on the concept of creativity in
SL
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3. Where Ridvan comes from
Language: Turkish
Climate: Hot, dry summers with mild, winter; harsh, snowy
Population: 77 million
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4. Ridvan’s journey into Second Life
Born as Ridvan Atolia in 2009
My home in SL
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5. My Study
• Research Area: How do educators implement teaching into
SL/f2f situations?
Methodology: Case Study
Information Literacy module
Inf104
• Observations
• Interviews with module tutors
• Interviews with educators from different countries
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6. Characteristics of Participants
Interviews with Participants
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7. The context
• Information School, University of Sheffield (small UG
programme, larger Masters programme + PhDs)
• Core module in BSc Information Management
programmes + a few other students (e.g. Hong Kong
exchange)
• Inquiry-based approach
for key classes; for all
classes assessment mostly
coursework (not exams)
Images: University of Sheffield
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8. Inf104 module: Information Literacy
• Information Literacy core level 1 module: aims
– to progress students' information literacy in key areas
(working towards being an information literate citizen)
– to develop their understanding of information literacy &
information behaviour theories and practice
• 43 students , 22 from outside UK; 19 female
• Using face to face, Blackboard, web resources
• Mostly students used SL together in lab with
Ridvan and Sheila
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9. Infolit iSchool
Taken by Sheila Webber/ Sheila Yoshikawa 9

10. Infolit Island
• Sheila actively involved in SL for both personal interest and educational aims
• The nature of the class is in the blended form
• The environment is recognised by others
• It has already been identified as worth investigating by other several academic
studies (Alarifi, 2008; 3DVLE, 2010; Webber, 2010)
• Accessibility of it for the study
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11. SL Activities
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12. The of Creativity
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Avatar7: I think it has probably pushed me to be more creative
about how I use space and activities/resources in a classroom.
Avatar12: Having the experience of being able to be truly
creative has "raised the bar" for my real life practice.
Sub RQ: Does teaching in SL give educators insight to
improve their f2f pedagogy?

13. Avatar2, her teaching in SL “was important in a liberation from
assumptions associated with traditional schooling”.
Avatar9: I think it has been one of the things that have kept
me reflecting and learning about teaching.
Avatar19: I think it helped me understand a bit more about my
own assumptions and approaches and challenge with them.
• Reflective Teaching
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14. The Four C Model
• Ward and Sonneborn (2011) conceptualize creativity with the
unique aspects of VWs as places where creativity might be
expressed, by employing the Four C model proposed by
Kaufman & Beghetto (2009)
Four C
Mini-c Little-c Pro-c Big-C
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Creative expression in virtual worlds: Imitation, imagination, and individualized
collaboration.
Ward, Thomas B.; Sonneborn, Marcene S.
Psychology of Popular Media Culture, Vol 1(S), Aug 2011, 32-47

15. The Four C Model
Kaufman & Beghetto (2009)
• Mini-c is nascent form of creativity and about personal understanding of
the world.
• Little-c is about everyday creativity and can be observed through
acquisition of skills.
• Pro-c is creative endeavors by experts in a given domain. Such as adopting
the professional identity
• Big-C is about eminent contributions, ideas that revolutionalise the world.
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16. Ward & Sonneborn (2011)
• Personalisation of the avatar ( Mini-c)
• 3D Builds such as cathedrals, monuments or
other structures (little-c and Pro-c)
Sistene Chapel on the Vassar campus in SL
Van Gogh’s famous Starry Night painting at the
Virtual Starry Night Sim ( Pro-c)
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17. Sheila Yoshikawa
Mini-c Examples ( Personalisation of the avatar)
Early Days in SL in 2007
Taken by Sheila Webber/ Sheila Yoshikawa in 2007
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18. Mini-c Examples
Taken by Sheila Webber/ Sheila Yoshikawa in 2008-2014
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19. Mini-c Examples
Taken by Sheila Webber/ Sheila Yoshikawa in 2013-2014 19
Professionally dressed avatar

20. Little-c Examples
Taken by Sheila Webber/ Sheila Yoshikawa 20

21. Pro-c Examples
VWBPE12
SL Journal Club
VWER
• Webber S (2013) Blended Information Behaviour in Second Life. Journal of Information Science.
• Webber S (2010) Investigating modes of student inquiry in Second Life as part of a blended approach.
International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments, 1(3), 55-70.
• Webber, S. (2010) 3D virtual learning case study. University of South Australia.
http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/3DVLE/siteassets/docs/3DVirtual_Case_Study_BScIM.pdf
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Taken by Sheila Webber/ Sheila Yoshikawa in 2012-13

22. http://infolitjournalclub.blogspot.co.uk/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/23396182@N00
http://adventuresofyoshikawa.blogspot.co.uk/
Pro-c Examples
Taken by Sheila Webber/ Sheila Yoshikawa 22

23. http://adventuresofyoshikawa.blogspot.co.uk/
The blog of Sheila Yoshikawa on her adventures in Second Life since 2007, over
400 entities
Adventures of Yoshikawa
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24. http://infolitjournalclub.blogspot.co.uk/
Infolit SL Journal Club
An online discussion group focusing on information literacy and other
aspects of user education since 2012, over 20 entities
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25. Sheila Yoshikawa
Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/23396182@N00
Over 4,750 images
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26. My Reflections
• Reflective Practice
- Personalisation of experience
- Self-expression
• Internationalization
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27. Ridvan Ata
r.ata@shef.ac.uk
Ridvan Atolia in SL
Twitter:RidvanAta
http://www.slideshare.net/RdvanAta
http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Ridvan/Ata
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What is the value of User Created/Generated Content
within the sustainability of creativity?

28. Image sources
Pictures & Photos by Sheila Webber
https://www.flickr.com/photos/23396182@N00
& Ridvan Ata except the following
1. Cappadocia http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions/turkey-tr.htm
2. Turkey Map of Turkey http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-turkey-map-image6838510
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