Larger-than-life solution

The IBM® System Storage® SAN Volume Controller (SVC) solution includes several hardware and software components. Traditional forms of e-learning have struggled with conveying how data flows through this complex system. In Second Life, we had an opportunity to do something that could never be done in real life—create a larger-than-life model of an SVC infrastructure so that learners could virtually walk along the data flow pathways.  

How did we do it?

First, the team created this model of an IT environment first. It included a pair of SVC devices, applications, a switch, fibre channel connections (tubes), and virtual and physical storage. Next, we designed the learner’s mission - to move a data package through the system, from an application to virtual storage. Then we designed a heads-up display (HUD) that shows a map of the infrastructure, the learning objective, an exit function, and messages that change based on the location of the avatar.

Users follow the path of data movement to understand how data flows through the system and to view the connections among the IT components. Learning takes place through exploration. The activity can be completed individually, or in groups, and is self-paced. To help measure learning effectiveness, users take a brief quiz when they have reached the end of the activity, which is indicated by depositing the data package into the virtual storage.

Making the virtual seem real

One of the most difficult SVC concepts for users to understand is storage virtualization. It involves creating virtual pools of storage out of real storage, to obtain higher utilization. For our second learning activity, the team thought that Second Life offered tremendous opportunities for visualizing concepts that are difficult to understand—and to envision—using traditional forms of learning.

The learning objective is for users to understand how physical storage can be pooled into customized virtual storage and the benefits of virtual storage.  The activity encourages learning through self-paced or team-based experimentation and simulation of a realistic IT environment.

The activity involves two phases. In phase 1, users learn that different types and brands of machines can be used with the SVC; and they select several systems.  In phase 2, users will be able to simulate what their real-life storage environment might ‘look like’ if it were virtualized. They learn that storage pools can be categorized according to performance (which is the most common way businesses do it). And they use utilization meters next to each system to understand how changes in utilization affect virtual storage pools. 

How did we do it?

·         The team created the simulated IT environment first. It uses a grid and each grid “tile” can be used for a storage system. Behind this grid are three virtual storage pools.

·         Scripting was used to link the actions of systems on the grid with corresponding storage pools. This linking was made visible to learners through color coding (for example, a red storage pool contained storage from all systems that have red tiles).

·         A “billboard” was used to guide learners through the two phases of the activity and to quiz them upon completion. Because this is an “open” activity, the billboard is visible to all avatars and all avatars can interact with it.

Lessons learned

As the team lead and instructional designer for this effort, I feel like it was an excellent learning experience for me. Here are some lessons I learned that you might find useful in creating your own Second Life learning adventures.

Think outside the classroom

Some instructional designers make the mistake of re-creating the same learning experience in a different media, simply for the novelty of it. For example, I have seen many Second Life replicas of real-world classrooms, lecture halls, and PowerPoint viewers. While lectures can work well in-person, or through the use of virtual classroom technologies (like Illuminate), it is not cost-efficient to re-create these experiences in a virtual world like Second Life.

Consider whether your self-paced learning could be just as effective in Flash animation or video formats, which do not have the barriers to entry that virtual worlds have. When you are designing learning experiences in Second Life, take advantage of the 3D format and do something that cannot be replicated well in another format.

Don’t replicate reality exactly

When teaching concepts related to hardware and software, you might be tempted to create very-realistic models in Second Life. While this might work well for some learning objectives (like service training), it can be frustrating for avatars to interact with detailed user interface screens or hardware models that are to scale. The Second Life controls often do not allow for certain actions (like pulling a lever or right-clicking a mouse) and novice users might not be adept at focusing and zooming on objects. Consider your learning objectives and user limitations when assessing the scale of 3D objects and presentation of user interfaces.

Provide learner assistance for self-paced activities

Usability testing of both SVC learning activities revealed that users preferred to receive instructions that are persistent and incremental. This was done using a HUD for one activity and a billboard for the other. The HUD is individual and provided feedback based on location; while the billboard was shared and provided feedback based on the actions that avatars performed with the objects.

Ask for feedback and provide incentives

Continuous improvement and user feedback is important, but Second Life users must be motivated to complete post-activity surveys. We used avatar t-shirts and other giveaways as “bait.”

Begin with a learning objective

Enthusiastic developers and managers can embrace an activity design because it is novel, but can easily lose sight of the learner and the learning objectives in the process. We made this mistake and it cost us time and money in rework efforts. Be sure to begin with a well-defined learning objective and ask “Are we meeting the learning objective?” often during the design and development process.

Conduct user testing

We found user testing was extremely valuable. Select users who have different levels of comfort with the Second Life environment. We found that observing someone while they gave verbal feedback was an effective way to collect information.

Advertise well

Content in Second Life is not easily searchable. Unlike the internet, it’s difficult to find education or information related to a specific product or company. If you want people to use your learning activity, you have to advertise to your audience early and often. The phrase “f you build it, they will come” does not apply here. Some suggestions for advertising include holding events on the same island (to drive traffic), including pointers on related web sites, and promoting your educational activities at real-world conferences.

Check for quality issues

Be sure to visit your own creations periodically. In our experience, upgrades to Second Life code and unexplained events have led to missing objects, malfunctioning scripts and other issues.

See it yourself

The IBM team plans to continue to expand, improve and market the Virtual Education Center. If you are already a Second Life user, visit us at http://slurl.com/secondlife/IBM Systems EduCenter/165/148/31