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eLearning for Virtual Worlds
 
 
What is SLOODLE?
SLOODLE (Simulation Linked Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment)is a suite of tools which enhances eLearning support for teaching and learningin Second Life®. SLOODLE is provided as a free plug-in for the popular OpenSource web-based virtual learning environment ‘Moodle’ (http://www.moodle.org), and which integrates Moodle and Second Life.Or alternatively... SLOODLE is a free plug-in for the popular 3D virtual world, ‘Second Life’ (http://www.secondlife.com), which enhances the existingsupport for learning and teaching through integration with the Open SourceMoodle learning environment.
What does SLOODLE do?
Like other learning technologies, it is ultimately up to tutors and students todecide how tools should be used in class – but hopefully a list of some of thekey features will give you some idea of the possibilities.
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Web-intercom. A chat-room that brings Moodle chatroom and SecondLife chats together. Students can participate in chats in Second Lifeusing the accessible Moodle chatroom. Discussions can be archivedsecurely in a Moodle database.
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Registration booth. Identity management for Second Life and Moodle.Link students’ avatars to their Moodle user accounts.
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Quiz tool and 3D Drop Box. Assess in Second Life – grade in Moodle. Setquizzes or 3D modelling tasks in an engaging 3D environment. Reviewgrades quickly and easily in the standard Moodle gradebook.
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Choice tool. Allow students to vote (and see results) in Second Life aswell as in Moodle.
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Multi-function SLOODLE Toolbar. Enhances the Second Life userinterface. Use a range of classroom gestures, quickly get a list of theMoodle user names of the avatars around or write notes directly into toyour Moodle blog from Second Life.
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Presenter. Quickly author Second Life presentations mixing slides, web-pages and video on Moodle. Present in Second Life without having gothrough lengthy processes to convert or upload images, while enablingweb-based access to the same materials via Moodle.A recent user-contribution extends this to enable one-click publishing of PDF documents to Second Life.... and more. More tools are being prototyped on a regular basis, with rapidand regular feedback from the user community.
 
Installing and Setting up SLOODLE
The SLOODLE plug-in is available at http://www.sloodle.org/, and should bedownloaded and installed by your system administrator. The plug-in comprises anumber of elements – including a Moodle ‘block’ and a new assignment type forMoodle. Installation on a typical Moodle site should only take a few minutes tocomplete.To use SLOODLE in Second Life, a course tutor needs to add a ‘SLOODLE Controller’ activity to their Moodle course and use the Second Life in-world ‘SLOODLE Set’. TheSLOODLE Set is freely available inside Second Life, from SLOODLE island. A numberof online guides and video tutorials are available and can be found via the projecthome page.
Using SLOODLE
SLOODLE is being used by a growing number of educators around the world,teaching a wide variety of subjects. A published case-study details how ChrisSurridge (Christopher Flow in Second Life), at KAIST in South Korea, used Moodle,Second Life and SLOODLE to support an international cultural exchange programmewith students in Korea and Dubai as part of an ESL (English as a Second Language)course. Chris has since used the model with further classes – and more recently hasbeen using the tools to support the development of virtual quests in Second Life.At Ohio State University, Dr. Sharon Collingwood (Ellie Brewster in Second Life) hasbeen using SLOODLE to support her online Women’s Studies classes held in SecondLife. As Dr. Collingwood explains: “SLOODLE fits seamlessly with my own in-houseLearning Management System. I was worried that my students would find all thistechnology confusing, but it's really simplifying things. There's the in-house LMS,which I am required to use, for real names, readings, assessment, then there'sSLOODLE, which is for avatar names, group work, blogs… BRAVO guys, this isturning out to be easier than I thought!” 
SLOODLE on OpenSim
Community members recently began the process of porting SLOODLE to OpenSim –an open source virtual world platform that is compatible with the existing Second Lifeclient viewer. The majority of SLOODLE tools have been ported successfully, and thefirst classes taught with SLOODLE took place in March 2009. SLOODLE is currentlyavailable on the OpenSim OSGrid and ReactionGrid worlds.
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