In the second summer of the I Dig Science Program, Global Kids and the Field Museum of Chicago ran the I Dig Zambia virtual summer camp. As with I Dig Tanzania, I Dig Zambia was a "virtual fossil dig" that brought together teens in Chicago and New York to learn about paleontology, scientific field research and Zambian culture using the virtual world of Teen Second Life, along with other digital media tools. At the same time, these youth followed in real time a scientific fossil expedition in Zambia using satellite phones, videos and photos sent from the field. In addition the youth had their own virtual fossil dig activities to engage in, including preparing a museum exhibit of their own findings.
The MacArthur Foundation's Spotlight blog recently featured a video story on the "I Dig Science" program conducted by Global Kids and the Field Museum of Chicago this past summer. Produced by Benjamin Wolff.
See the complete video on the MacArthur Spotlight Blog.
One of the other recent MacArthur Foundation Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning posts, highlights a video about the I Dig Science Programs that Global Kids ran in partnership with the Field Museum in Chicago.
You can watch the video below or view the original post here.
I Dig from Spotlight on Vimeo.
Teens in Chicago and New York went digging for fossils in Zambia this summer, without leaving home, thanks to a technology enhanced science camp run by Chicago’s Field Museum in partnership with Global Kids. Watch the video produced by Ben Wolff.
Last Friday was the conclusion of the "I Dig Zambia" virtual summer camp, co-organized by the Field Museum and Global Kids. I Dig Zambia was a two-week camp that brought together 19 teens from Chicago and New York to learn about paleontology, biology, and Zambian culture and politics in the virtual world of Teen Second Life.
Now that our teens have solidified their Second Life skills and learned how to work with their teams across cities during the first week, we ramped up our activities to be more intensive and collaborative. It was by no means an easy week for our virtual campers, but I think it was engaging, surprising, and often fun.
This blog entry follows up on my previous post about Week One of IDZ. What follows is a recap of some of the main activities during Week Two of I Dig Zambia and an overall summary of IDZ. Read on...
I came on as the Chicago facilitator for I Dig Zambia after hearing so much about the I Dig Tanzania program. When I first heard about I Dig Tanzania I was elated. Kids that get to virtually dig for fossils while interacting with paleontologists on an actual dig?!? Why wasn’t this happening when I was a kid! Looking at it through my educator glasses I could instantly see that the possibilities to engage kids with science were endless. I was more than excited to facilitate for this program.
The science activities for I Dig Zambia were similar to those used in I Dig Tanzania. In addition we were able to add more cultural activities. We planned to work with a school/students in Zambia as a way for our teens to learn more about Zambian life and culture. This was an excellent opportunity for our teens to learn about the country they were virtually working in and see that science is never done in a bubble. On a personal note, I am always very frustrated with Americans’ general lack of knowledge with the rest of the world, and any opportunity to learn about another country is an opportunity that should not be passed up. I felt that we had a very robust curriculum planned, and was excited for camp to start. I had little to no experience in 2nd Life and that did worry me a bit, but I felt confident that we could over come any difficulties.
When starting I Dig Zambia (IDZ), I had no idea what to expect. I did not feel confident in my ability to facilitate on a virtual world to which I had only just been introduced. However, when students arrived, I was inspired by how excited our students were about IDZ however perplexed at how little they knew about it.
I never really knew much about fossils. I was able to get familiar with some of the animal names and the types of animals there are. Also, I learned about how the Field Museum prepares fossils. I never knew that it required so many man hours to just prepare a single fossil. The third thing I learned was that fossil diggers sometimes have a doctor with them. It never really occurred to me that paleontologists could get severely hurt on digs.
My favorite experience was the skits and plays we did. It was fun to act out on the spot with very little time to prepare. I think it really united us as a group because we had to work together to get our message across. In second life I enjoyed the fossil digging as I learned how tedious of a task it was to dig up fossils.
A new skill I learned over the past two weeks was to use Second Life as a tool to unite two "classrooms". I didn't think it was possible to successfully accomplish the task but it was done with rather ease, despite the internet connectivity issues. In the future I could see actual schools using Second Life in order to get a teacher's message across more easily and to unite different classrooms around the world.
Second Life allows for activities to be done that are not normally done in a classroom. For example the fossil digging. For a normal classroom it would probably be impossible for the students to go out and just dig fossils outside. With Second Life we were able to dig up fossils and not have to worry about the real life issues that come along with it. A bad thing about Second Life is that it can sometimes be rather difficult to learn. The program has a rather steep learning curve. Learning how to build takes time and patience, something most classrooms don't always have.
Since I have always been extremely interested the field of paleontology, I have obtained a great deal of knowledge of the subject prior to my participation here in “I Dig Zambia” this summer, but I did learn more exclusively about the early Permian and some of the specific therapsids in which our scientists are recovering from Zambia from that period. Looking back over these past two weeks in BioSync, I would still have to say my favorite experience here has to have been going behind the scenes and observing first hand what goes into making the museum and all its expeditions work.
Personally, I deeply believe that every ounce of knowledge is of value and I know that everything I have picked up while attending this camp will be of further use to me at some point in my life, possibly even in the near future, whether that be the computer skills from Second Life, or the scientific information that motivated me to come back for more in the first place. I would definitely say that learning on Second Life is- by far- one of the most interesting ways I've had the chance to study the fields of science and paleontology, even when compared to the many other learning experiences I have been involved with in the Field Museum.
The way I see it, the only con to having learned this way is that I will miss being here with everyone I have met, (both years), and having worked so closely with everyone. My entire time here has been an absolute pleasure and in general has been a unique and unforgettable learning experience. :)
~Jessica
I learned that fossils are useless without their information, that it doesn't matter if a fossil breaks because you can just glue it back together, and that it takes a very long time to prepare fossils and remove the rock that they are sometimes incased in.
I really enjoyed the behind the scenes tour of the museum, because there were so many interesting things to observe and learn about that you normally wouldn't have the opportunity to see.
I learned how to use Second Life! I don't know yet if this will be useful to me in the future, but I had a good time using it.
It's good that people dressed up like The Joker can't barge into your classroom!
I think one of the pros is being able to interact with people all over the world in real time. One of the cons is that sometimes it almost feels like there's a language barrier, even though you're both speaking the same language.
I learned that scientists don't completely take out their fossils in the field. I learned that it takes hundreds, if not thousands of hours to prepare a fossil. The final thing I learned was about the culture of the Zambian people, and that it ha been influenced by the British from when they imperialized Zambia in the 1900s.
My favorite experience in IDZ in SL had to be the dressing up to suit a specific environment. I thought that everyone would enjoy the snow man that I originally wanted to be, and they did. I also liked the dancing in SL as well.
Other than building in Second Life, I learned more on how to think from someone else's perspective. For example, if I said something to someone, I would try to imagine myself in their shoes, with someone saying that to me. It gets complicated, but it'll get better.
Communication is one of the worst parts of SL, and it is really the only part. If all the students in the future could use Voice instead of typing, it would dramatically increase productivity. For example, when I was building and I wanted to IM someone or talk to them, I had to stop what I was doing and type it out. If I could say it over IM or just to my group, it would've been much easier. Also, when i wanted to talk to my whole entire group, I had to individually IM each and every one of them. The main positive thing is that we were able to connect with people in a different city, and conference with them, and work together to create and exhibit that would work and present to other people around the world. I'll be honest: I loved it
Three things I learned about paleontology: the process it takes to uncover a fossil, where to look for a fossil, how to piece together a fossil.
My favorite experience in IDZ was the plays; I will never forget how funny and awkward they were.
Over these two weeks I learned how to use a Mac better, before I had never used one, or even been in the same room as one!
It was much more fun and effective learning with Second Life compared to listening to a lecture at a school. However, using Second Life has its disadvantages; it can take a while to get to know how to use the controls, ie looking at a virtual fossil while trying to piece it together, and can get a little frustrating.
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