(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?