Transcript of

SL in Conservative Societies: Considerations from the Middle East

Presentation at SLanguages 2008 Conference

www.slanguages.net

[6:18] Buy Short: Sorry about that...

[6:19] Buy Short: Is Gavin around?
[6:19] Christopher Flow: I haven't seen him.
[6:19] Buy Short: Hi Chris! 8-)
[6:19] Christopher Flow: Hi Mr. Short!
[6:20] Buy Short: Hi there!
[6:20] Dudeney Ge: You called?
[6:20] Buy Short: my connection died.
[6:20] Dudeney Ge: Ah
[6:20] Dudeney Ge: But alright now?
[6:20] Buy Short: I wondered if you had told people about the voice issue.
[6:20] Dudeney Ge: Just about to
[6:20] Buy Short: Should be.
[6:20] Dudeney Ge: I was just checking on Baldric
[6:20] Buy Short: I am competing with my kids for band width. 8-)
[6:21] Dudeney Ge: This is a text session only, as Buy will also explain
[6:21] Dudeney Ge: Please use text chat for questions and comments also
[6:22] Dudeney Ge: Buy - thanks for this repeat session - I'll leave you to it
[6:22] Buy Short: Thanks
[6:22] Buy Short: I will be presenting ppt slides with text that goes with it.
[6:22] Buy Short: I will also add some points on the fly.
[6:22] Buy Short: Hello. My name is Mark Karstad and I would like to share with you our experiences in using
Second Life as a teaching tool in Dubai Women’s College, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
[6:23] Buy Short: One of the themes of my presentation is the challenges that we face in the UAE. BTW, you
are experiencing one of them now. 8-) I can not use the Voice Chat tool because VOIP is blocked here.
[6:23] Buy Short: Actually, this morning one of the sessions I got the audio
[6:23] Buy Short: But I believe that from what I have read
[6:23] Buy Short: that the government has installed some intelligence monitoring
[6:24] Buy Short: that looks at the patterns of data going in and out of the country and they block voice
[6:24] Buy Short: More about this later
[6:24] Buy Short: Or at least it is not dependable -- as soon as the communication is identified by its digital
pattern, it gets cut. VOIP is illegal in the UAE.
[6:24] Buy Short: I will also not be able to hear you if you use voice chat. Please use text chat if you want to ask
a question.
[6:24] Buy Short: Dubai’s cultural history could be summed up with the following:
[6:24] Buy Short: Dubai is one of seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE is bordered on the
West by Saudi Arabia, Oman to the South and the Arabian Gulf to the North.
[6:25] Buy Short: When we left Canada to come to the UAE everyone thought we were moving to Saudi Arabia
[6:25] Buy Short: Now everyone knows where Dubai is, but not the UAE. 8-)
[6:25] Buy Short: Culture is a mix of Bedouin (Arabic for ‘apart’) who were/are camel and goat herders,
fishermen and pearl divers. These groups have their roots in either: Iran, other Gulf countries, India, Pakistan or
the East African Coast region.
[6:26] Buy Short: Most recently, the population is made up of laborers for Dubai’s rapid growth and tourists from
all over the world.
[6:26] Buy Short: Dubai is unique. Hyper-growth is the norm now. 20 or so years ago there was open sand
desert; today, skyscrapers. 20 years ago the local citizens were a people predominantly living a simple agrarian
or fishery-based life;
[6:27] Buy Short: If you think of history in that 20 years is old, and you compare to China or Europe or else
where... Dubai is a flash in the pan
[6:27] Buy Short: today they are experiencing urban crime and heavily congested super highways.
[6:27] Buy Short: Look at the circled buildings. That was 20 or so years ago.
[6:27] Buy Short: 2003 was when I moved to the UAE
[6:27] Buy Short: MUCH has changed since then even!
[6:28] Buy Short: In the globe’s newest hyper-city, the local citizens make up only 5-8% of the total population,
and in general, are still very conservative.
[6:28] Buy Short: Like most educational institutions mirroring their societies’, Dubai Women’s College is a
microcosm of the society it represents. It is surrounded by walls, has security gates, and the women within
these walls are covered.
[6:28] Buy Short: Where DWC deviates, is in how it exposes its students to the outside world through cutting
edge technology, preparing them for their global economy.
[6:29] Buy Short: Dubai’s building boom.
[6:29] Buy Short: DWC, always wanting to try new ideas out, purchased an island in 2L. Over a period of 2
weeks we planed and built the main components of the island, which include a public area with mosque, majalis,
welcoming area, abra (water taxi),
[6:29] Buy Short: palm island and college gate. And the private college space including the library, five
classrooms and we are progressing with designated department parcels.
[6:29] Buy Short: I am probably the only employee of HCT that has a building on the palm island
[6:30] Buy Short: But mine is in 2L...
[6:30] Buy Short: This is an image of one of our student in her Emirati abaya (National Dress) next to the
mosque.
[6:30] Buy Short: The island is split in two with
[6:30] Buy Short: one part being private for the students and teachers and the other part open to the public
[6:30] Buy Short: This is part of the public area.
[6:30] Buy Short: The college takes on the role of loco-parentis for the Emirati families in sheltering and valuing
their women as they would be in their own homes.
[6:31] Buy Short: Here is an image showing two DWC students exploring 2L.
[6:31] Buy Short: You will see that they are covered
[6:31] Buy Short: This is an interesting point that I touch on later
[6:31] Buy Short: The college system has free open access to the Internet but chooses to screen student access
according to cultural values. Outside the college, the UAE Ministry of Telecommunications screens all
commercial use of the Internet.
[6:32] Buy Short: HCT, and in particular, DWC encourages pushing the boundaries of the use of technology. In
general, if something new comes along and faculty can see a possible used for education, the institution
supports them to demonstrate its
[6:32] Buy Short: value through a pilot project. The purchase of the DWC island was such a venture.
[6:32] Buy Short: We work within the constraints of our institution. Because our Internet traffic flows through a
single IP, we have had to ask many of our new 2L users to create their accounts at home before training
sessions.
[6:33] Buy Short: We realize that our training needs were more than our internal Educational Technology team
could handle so we used the Train the Trainer approach to maximize our impact. We trained students who in turn
were able to train other students.
[6:33] Jack Garfunkel: sei ancora online?
[6:34] Buy Short: The 25 accounts per IP is why we ask students to create accounts at home
[6:34] Buy Short: The results of this small task were quite telling. We can only ask ourselves if this choice
represents their most important near-future aspirations.
[6:34] Buy Short: Another surprise was how adamant the students were in choosing their clothing and NOT
being covered.
[6:35] Christopher Flow: LOL
[6:35] Buy Short: When the classes who took part in our training were exposed to 2L, the teachers had to
accommodate cultural values.
[6:35] Majella Fitzpatrick: Sorry to interrupt, but is there sound here?
[6:35] Dudeney Ge: No - this is text chat only
[6:36] Dudeney Ge: Buy has no access to SL voice where he lives and works
[6:36] Buy Short: During the training sessions, I took students to what I thought was a safe location –
IslamOnline. There was another avatar there that approached us. One of the students was demonstrating how
to move and use 2L. This other avatar made it quite plain
[6:36] Buy Short: The student responded quite politely and moved away – and we left shortly after.
[6:36] Buy Short: Global awareness is one of our college system’s graduate outcomes. Students are required to
either travel internationally or participate in virtual international exchanges during their tenure at college.
[6:37] Buy Short: Chris Flow who is here in the crowd was part of these events
[6:37] Buy Short: He is from Korea and our students met with his
[6:37] Buy Short: Since purchasing the DWC island, we have had three international exchanges.
[6:37] Buy Short: *** If your college is interested in participating in an exchange with our college, please contact
us.
[6:37] Buy Short: The avatar in the foreground does not have her head covered. Generally, women who ware
an abaya (black body cape) also cover their heads with a sheila (head scarf).
[6:38] Buy Short: As a man, when I come to a classroom I have to knock on the door before I go in.
[6:38] Buy Short: This gives the students enough time to cover their heads.
[6:38] Buy Short: Women teachers do not have this issue.
[6:38] Buy Short: Men on the DWC ‘real-world’ campus would NOT see a student uncovered, and if we ever did,
we would think twice about the area we had just wondered into...
[6:39] Buy Short: It was interesting to observe very shy and conservative students being quite free in how they
were willing to represent themselves through their avatar.
[6:39] Buy Short: It is understood that we can only ‘protect’ our students while they are on the DWC Island or
while in the presents of a teacher.
[6:39] Buy Short: Providing an opt-out option undermines a teacher’s ability to assign an evaluated task that
involves 2L.
[6:40] Buy Short: We expect interest to accelerate regarding use of 2L, and are also hoping that the currency
exchange idea will assist the uptake by creating student-use pressure upon teachers to incorporate aspects of
2L into their teaching.
[6:40] Buy Short: That's it! Any questions?
[6:40] Christopher Flow: I have a question.
[6:40] Luke Lax: This is very very interesting.
[6:40] Buy Short: Go ahead!
[6:40] Howie Yoshikawa is Offline
[6:40] Goodday Tomorrow: why do you call it 2L?
[6:41] Christopher Flow: In Korea, the young women choose what would appear to be sexy
[6:41] Christopher Flow: fashion without always understanding this.
[6:41] Christopher Flow: They find it fashionable.
[6:41] Christopher Flow: Is there the same sort of thinking in Dubai?
[6:41] Buy Short: The women here FEED on high fashion.
[6:42] Buy Short: This is what they want and how they dress under their abayas
[6:42] Luke Lax: If websites are screened/blocked, how do authorities regard SL with its mature content?
[6:42] Buy Short: This is where the college has put faith in what we can do with 2L.
[6:43] Buy Short: We read the riot act to the students again and again and they get the point.
[6:43] Buy Short: We can not protect them when they get home if they use it.
[6:43] Buy Short: They sign an agreement when they register but I often wonder what they understand when
they actually have a working language of less than 200 words...
[6:44] Kael Belar: excuse me, I’m interested on what you said about colleges that want to join the events, how
this works?
[6:45] Evus Alter: I female students visit the college should they wear an abaya?
[6:45] Buy Short: If your college has a class of students who are interested in having a cultural exchange, we
could talk. 8-)
[6:45] Kael Belar: hmmm
[6:45] Buy Short: No female students just come as they are.
[6:45] Christopher Flow: Did you feel a professional risk as a facilitator of this project?
[6:46] Evus Alter: I meant visiting?
[6:46] Buy Short: The only reason why those of ours that were covered, was because the corrosponding group
wanted to come dressed in costume.
[6:46] Buy Short: You bet we did!
[6:46] Christopher Flow: Can you elaborate?
[6:46] Buy Short: We did not know what we were getting into and still do not.
[6:47] Christopher Flow: I respect what you did.
[6:47] Kael Belar: Buy, i wanted to ask something else, do you allow people to visit the community freely or with
someone that belongs to the group, or only college groups?
[6:47] Buy Short: We beleive that we need to expose our students to global issues and this is an excellent way
of doing it.
[6:48] Buy Short: We would invite other people to come to the public area any time.
[6:48] Aitor Navarathna: Gavin, is Buy able to read or answer questions (if you're there)?
[6:48] Buy Short: To have you come as a lecturer on a subject would be great!
[6:48] Dudeney Ge: He can read the text chat - and is answering question there currently
[6:48] Buy Short: But there would need to be some purpose for a visit as the teacher would need to organize it
for some outcome.
[6:49] Kael Belar: i see
[6:49] Kael Belar: being myself a student interested on learning about other cultures wouldn't be possible them
[6:49] Buy Short: We would love to have talks on women's issues or global issues or even just what it is like
where you live.
[6:49] Kael Belar: i see
[6:50] Buy Short: We have a GREAT range of abilities
[6:50] Buy Short: Our students are from 200 words to masters level
[6:50] Kael Belar: got it :) very interesting, thanks!
[6:50] Buy Short: we have a college of about 2200 students
[6:50] Buy Short: in one campus and this is one of 16 campuses in the UAE that belong to the Higher Colleges
of Technology.
[6:51] Buy Short: Mind you most of the rest are smaller.
[6:51] Buy Short: Any other questions?
[6:51] Aitor Navarathna: can you repeat slide 18?
[6:52] Buy Short: OK, just a sec
[6:52] Kael Belar: just wanted to say what you're doing is very impressive :)
[6:52] Graham Mills agrees -- this is a great use for SL
[6:52] Aitor Navarathna: thank you
[6:52] Evus Alter: ty
[6:52] Christopher Flow: Well done, Buy!
[6:52] Zeta Svenska: thanks Buy, nice work
[6:53] Buy Short: You are welcome! 8-)
[6:53] Kael Belar: very true, one of the best uses i've seen
[6:53] Kael Belar: thats an interesting slide
[6:53] Buy Short: The story behind it
[6:54] Buy Short: was that I felt that there would be one place that would be a guaranteed safe place
[6:54] Buy Short: hehehe so I took them there
[6:54] Kael Belar: hmmm
[6:54] Buy Short: but in the back of my mind I wondered if we were treading on holy ground
[6:55] Buy Short: The class of students came along and just walked right in
[6:55] Buy Short: Then this lady appeared and got quite upset with the student that I had asked to demonstrate
a pose ball that was for prayer.
[6:55] Buy Short: 8-)
[6:55] Buy Short: I was not going to do it...
[6:55] Kael Belar: xD
[6:55] Howie Yoshikawa is Online
[6:56] Buy Short: There was nothing wrong with them doing the praying, but the cloths were an issue.
[6:56] Kael Belar: i see
[6:56] Kael Belar: i found it interesting because, being SL used with avatars and rich of details it reflects our
culture inside of it as well
[6:57] Buy Short: Gavin the HUD is taken off...
[6:57] Buy Short: right!
[6:57] Flight Band: All Go
[6:57] Dudeney Ge: Thanks Buy - I've just been making some changes to the script so this won't happen again -
got it cracked now
[6:57] Kael Belar: thanks a lot Buy :)
[6:57] Kael Belar: although I got just part of your presentation i really enjoyed it
[6:57] Buy Short: My pleasure for sure!
[6:58] Kael Belar: :D
[6:58] Dudeney Ge: Thanks for doing the talk twice Buy
[6:58] Dudeney Ge: I think it was an important topic and very interesting
[6:58] Buy Short: I was able to catch different angles for each
[6:58] Christopher Flow: Our students interactions with your incredible young women at DWC in 2L was the
highlight of their term!
[6:59] Christopher Flow: I recommend it to anyone. :-)
[6:59] Dudeney Ge: International and intercultural is usually a good mix, I find
[6:59] Dudeney Ge: I've had some really interesting projects over the years
[6:59] Buy Short: I am pleased to hear that. I believe that the video exchange and the posted boxes of small
items were fantastic
[7:00] Buy Short: Chris, were you able to describe all the components of the exchange?
[7:00] Christopher Flow: Most of them, i think.
[7:00] Buy Short: Great.
[7:00] Christopher Flow: I hope it gets repeated many times!
[7:01] Buy Short: For sure.
[7:01] Kael Belar: Hey Buy, can we get access to these slides somewhere?
[7:01] Buy Short: Yes,
[7:01] Pell Juran: oh yes please if possible?
[7:01] Kael Belar: Please tell me how :)
[7:01] Buy Short: Gavin, are you collecting the ppts?
[7:02] Dudeney Ge: Yes - I'll be in touch early next week
[7:02] Buy Short: Great
[7:02] Dudeney Ge: And they will go on www.slanguages.net
[7:03] Kael Belar: I see
[7:03] Kael Belar: thanks! :)
[7:03] Buy Short: If anyone wants to contact me you can email mkarstad@gmail.com
[7:03] Buy Short: or mkarstad@hct.ac.ae
[7:03] Kael Belar: got it :)
[7:03] marya Luik: hi!
[7:03] Buy Short: My HCT address will be active till end of July as I am returning home to Canada.
[7:04] Buy Short: But I will be in contact with DWC because I am the most experienced they have with 2L...

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