(Images: Photographer; cc-nc-sa-3.0)
(Images: Photographer; cc-nc-sa-3.0)
(Images: Photographer; cc-nc-sa-3.0)
http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/2013/07/9-abandoned-schools-universities/
http://fusion.net/story/181901/we-took-a-tour-o
the-abandoned-college-campuses-of-second-l
Reblogs

Stephen Downes’ OLDaily:
http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?post=64388
& Downes (2007)

eLearning Meanderings:
https://blogs.monash.edu/elearnaccfin/2015/08/20/ghos
t-tour-of-second-life-campuses/
Downes (2007)

80% of Internet users will have a ‘Second Life’ by
2011 (Gartner, cited in Downes, 2007)

In 2013, it was reported that although the company
claimed 1 million monthly users, close to half were
new sign-ups who never returned, and 70% of users
failed to explore (https://gigaom.com/2013/06/23/secondlife-turns-10-what-it-did-wrong-and-why-it-will-have-its-ownsecond-life/)

“It’s all so familiar…” – Downes (2007) on the
closed nature of many Second Life initiatives (special
permission, select groups, special access)

“It’s all so derivative…” – Downes (2007) on the
reproduction of existing structures and spaces in SL
"universities are not only
undergoing a technological
transformation. Beneath that
change, and camouflaged by it,
lies another: the commercialization
of higher education".
– David Noble
www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue3_1/noble/
(Cited in Downes, 2007)
Questions




Why do towns become ghost towns, in real or virtual
world environments and what constitutes “decay”
or “the elements” in a digital environment?
What parallels might exist with the imperilled bricksand-mortar campus? And how lively should we
expect a campus (online or otherwise) to be?
While the possibility for digital presence to enhance
reputation is widely recognised, are there
detrimental effects when this presence begins to
“decay”?
Has or will the university campus gone the way of
the motel or mall? Is it important that we conceal or
preserve examples of early virtual architecture?

“A ghost town is an abandoned village,
town or city, usually one which contains
substantial visible remains.

A town often becomes a ghost town
because the economic activity that
supported it has failed, or due to natural
or human-caused disasters such as
floods, government actions, uncontrolled
lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters.”
(Wikipedia)
Why do towns become Ghost Towns?
Definition & Causes
of Ghost Towns:
Two types of Real World
Ghost Towns

Unused (new, empty, as-yet-unused places)

Abandoned (no longer used deserted places)
China’s famous
Ghost Cities

Brand new cities

“Build it, and
they will come”?

Some of these
cities are now
coming alive
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-november-9-20151.3310323/china-s-deserted-ghost-cities-appeal-to-new-residents-1.3310388
The Popularity of Real World Decay:
“UrbEx” and Ghost towns
 “Off
Limits”
 “Urban
Explorers”
 Dead
Motel Series
 Dead
Mall Series
 The
Proper People
 The
Art of Reality Crew
https://www.youtube.com/user/moviedan/videos
https://instagram.com/thisisdanbell/
Two types of
Digital Decay:

Designed (ghostly empty-looking places as an
aesthetic)

Abandoned (unused or no longer used places)
Designed Digital Decay:
Post-Apocalyptic Games
 Defiance
 S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
 The
Division
Designed Digital Decay:
Second Life

The Junkyard

Everwinter
Abandoned Digital Decay:
Broken scripts & Broken promises
http://fusion.net/story/181901/we-took-a-tour-of-theabandoned-college-campuses-of-second-life/
Bots – the “Ghosts” of Second Life Ghost Towns?
Defining “Ghost Towns”…
Absence of people
Depreciation of surrounds
Lack of activity
What types of virtual
worlds are at risk of
becoming ghost towns?
 Specially
Designed
Pedagogical
Environments
 Replicated
Environments
What parallels might exist with the brick campus?
Types of virtual worlds
in education
Why build “slightly lame versions of
existing campuses” (spaces)?

To orient students to real campuses (see
http://www.3dvirtualcampustours.com/)

To provide a campus experience for students who
cannot attend classes in person due to
remoteness, family responsibilities, health, mobility,
etc. (c.f. the Freedom Project
http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/strollthrough-a-perth-university-campus-withoutleaving-your-chair-20150917-gjp1dw.html)

To familiarise students with the virtual environment
via a reproduction of a familiar environment
Examples of Replicated Environments in
Virtual Educational Tourism


Historical locations and events,
e.g. the Acropolis, allowing
experiences of other nations and
cultures - even those which no longer
exist.
Dangerous locations and events,
e.g. war zones, disputed territory
Blascovich and Bailenson (2011)

Distant locations, e.g. China or Italy for
language learning
SAMR Model
http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/archives/2014/
08/20/SAMR_AModelTeachingLearning_Day1.pdf
The Importance of Tasks
 What
can an empty
university classroom tell us
about the types of learning
activities and effectiveness
of teaching that takes
place within those four
walls? Very little!
Encouraging (forcing?)
Activity

Time is needed:

Macro (over a semester or longer) To grow
activities, for students to get used to the
environment

Micro (over a lesson) For students (and native
speakers) to actually be co-present in the
environment
The Importance of Caseby-Case Analysis

Virtual “Ghost towns” are not a solely SL phenomena:

“The 'virtual ghost town': One-third of users of Google's Plus
social network post once - and then NEVER post again”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article2145277/Google-plus-virtual-ghost-town-One-users-postNEVER-again.html

The article also uses the word “decay”:


The RJM report states: ‘The decay rate here is very
concerning. ‘Users are less and less likely to make additional
posts, even a few months after initially joining. ‘At the end of
the day, Google+ simply does not show the same level of
ravenous user adoption and engagement that we've seen in
other social networks.’
Is your membership forum a virtual ghost town? Is your
forum going like gangbusters or a virtual ghost town?

http://www.wildapricot.com/blogs/newsblog/2014/05/22/isyour-membership-forum-a-virtual-ghost-town-
What if…?

Virtual spaces were shared by institutions in
different time zones?

Redevelopment of abandoned RL and SL sites

“A few ghost towns get a second life, often due
to heritage tourism generating a new economy
able to support residents.” (Wikipedia)

Virtual heritage listing? Virtual archaeology?

What lessons have we learned from SL that can
be applied to VR?
A new life for virtual campuses?