All Ahead Full for SL Study

Hi, all - I've been meeting with my Ph.D. student, Ms. Zahira Merchant.  She and I are conducting a study of student learning in my chemistry site for her dissertation.  The study will be conducted during Spring 2011.  Since I have two classes, so one will be learning molecular shapes in SL, and the other class will be learning the shapes using traditional 2-D approach.  She and I made a video tour of my site for an initial presentation.  Here it is:  http://www.chem.tamu.edu/class/fyp/keeney/secondlife/drwendy-in-SL.mp4

You can also watch it on my movie screen in SL and link to it from a sign at the entrance.  

One of the issues is getting students familiar enough with SL so as to not inhibit their learning during the actual study.  So, I'm going to be arranging a tiny scavenger hunt (5 stops) and at each one, the student will have to rez a molecule and answer a question about it - not on its shape, but on its composition or name or simple calculation, like % by mass.  This exercise will get students used to working with the tasks they will be expected to do during the learning module.  I'm using the scavenger hunt by Alice Klinger and Alli&Ali Designs called "A&A Networked Scavenger Hunt Kit."  It is expensive - about $50 = $L12,000, but it is very sophisticated and folks must answer a question before they can proceed to the next item.  I'll let you know when it is set up.