MeetingoftheMinds

PRESENTERS:

StarrZackerly
NatalyaLore(AubreyJeppson)
BlueMyanamotu(YenVerhoeven)

InformalLearningin
InformalVirtualSpaces

Abstract

MeetingoftheMinds(MOMs)isadiscussiongroupinSecondLifewithover500members.Describedasaplace
forhavingpolitediscussionsaboutimpolitetopics,peoplefromallwalksoflife,educationallevelsandbackgrounds
areinvitedtotalk,learnanddebateonavarietyofdifferentsubjects,rangingfromfeminismtopolitics,scienceand
philosophy.Thisasocialcommunity,witheventssuchaslectures,livemusic,andfacilitatorledgroupdiscussions.In
thispanel,membersofMOMswillsharetheirinsightsregardingthecreationofMOMs,anddiscusssomeofthe
challengesandrewardsfromrunningandnurturingthiscommunity.WewillalsosharestoriesabouthowMOMs
facilitatescommunitylededucation.Theobjectivesofthispaneldiscussioninclude:

1)
AttendeeswillhaveanunderstandingaboutthedevelopmentoftheMOMsvenue,anduniqueformsofeducation
canhappenininformalspaces.
2)
Attendeeswillhaveanideaofsomeofthebestpracticesandinsightsregardingthemanagementofsuchalarge
andactivediscussionvenuethroughamemberspointofviewandalecturerspointofview.

Whoarewe?

StarrZackerly
FounderandCreatorofMeetingoftheMinds
NatalyaLore
(AubreyJeppson)MoMsEventsPlannerandSeniorAdministrator
BlueMyanamotu
(YenVerhoeven)EducatorandLecturer

Ourstaffalsoconsistsofseveralothereducators,seniorandjunioradministrators,aswellasITassistantsand
security.ThereareseveralpeoplethathelpoutinthedailytasksrequiredtorunMeetingoftheMinds.

WhatisMeetingoftheMinds?

MeetingoftheMindsakaMoMsisadiscussiongroupinSecondLifewithover500members.We
meetonprivate,protectedlandonaformalandinformalbasistotalkanddebateaboutvarious
subjectslikescience,religion,currentevents,socialissues,etc

ThelandthathostsMeetingoftheMindsisprotectedbyafeetojointheMeetingoftheMinds
Communitygroup.Thefeeisonly100Lindens,butitservesasadeterrentforgriefersandalsoshows
thatthepeoplewhowanttobeatMeetingoftheMindscareenoughtoinvestalittlebitofmoneyinto
thevenue.

Jeppson,A.,Verhoeven,Y.,ZackerlyS.
TheMeetingoftheMindsinSecondlife
VirtualWorldsBestPracticesinEducationConference,March2015

OurQueueBoard
Duringthepresentation,ifyouhaveaquestion,
pleaseutilizethe
QueueBoard
.
Ifyoupressthe
QueueButtonwewillknowthatyouwouldliketoasksomething,andwhenapointcomesthatweare
abletopauseforquestions,wewillbesuretogettoyou.TheQueueBoardwilllineupeachperson
thatwishestoaskaquestion,sowecanmakesurewegettoeveryone.

AtMeetingoftheMinds,weusetheQueueBoardinavarietyofways.OnthePorch,weuseitto
moderatediscussions.Itfunctionslikeatalkingstick,anditallowseachpersontohaveasetamount
oftimetotalk.

WhatwastheoriginalplanforMoMs?
Whatdidyouwantthevenuetobewhenyoustarted?

Strivingforpoliteconversationaboutimpolitetopics.
Wehopedtodiscusstopicsthatperhapsyouarenotsupposedtoaskquestionsaboutin
politecompany,buthowdoyoulearnifyoudonotask?

Buildasafecommunityandraisingthebarfordiscussion.
Thiscommunitywasbuiltonthefoundationofhavingasafeplacetodiscussandoffer
ideas.
Wehopedtoraisethebar
onthekindofchatareasthatexistedonthegrid,
whereconversationsoftendescendintounproductiveterritoryorarguments.Ourhope
wastosetabetterexample,andwehopedthatwouldbecomecontagious.Themore
peoplelistentoeachother,themoretheywilllearn.

LearningfromOtherVenues

StudytheMarket
Starrtookinspirationfromothervenues.Evenifthevenuespurposeisdifferent,theway
theyrunmayworkinavarietyofsettings.

Onevenuewasmostlygovernedbypeer
pressureandprideincommunity,andthatwassomethingthatStarrwantedMoMstohave
aswell,soshedidherbesttofollowtheirexample.

Seewhatworkswithnurturingacommunity.
Watchhowothershavebuiltandcontinuetobuildasuccessfulcommunity.

WhatWeretheFirstFewMonthsLike?
Youwillhavepeopleleavingtheircomfortzonestocheckoutthenewvenue.
Youmayonlyhaveoneshotatmakingitaplacetheywanttoreturnto.Bemindfulofthat
fact.Youwillalsoexperiencelotsofgrowingpains,anditisbesttorealizethatthesesorts
ofthingsdonothappenovernight.

Createawelcomingenvironmentandencouragememberstobringtheirfriends.

Jeppson,A.,Verhoeven,Y.,ZackerlyS.
TheMeetingoftheMindsinSecondlife
VirtualWorldsBestPracticesinEducationConference,March2015

 Wordofmouthiswhatbuildsacommunity
Whenapersonlandsonyourvenue,youwant
themtofeellikeitsaplacetheywouldliketobeat.Makesuretheenvironmentis
welcomingatyourlandingpoint.Also,invitepeopleinyourcommunitybringfriends,and
theninvitethemtobringtheirfriends.

TROLLSWaititout,bepatientanddoyourbestnottogetexcitedaboutit.
Themoreexcitedyouget,themorelikelyatrollistowanttostayandplaywithyou.They
arelookingforareaction,andifyougiveittothem,itcanencouragethemtostickaround
andcontinuetotryformorereactions.Itsalsogoodtodiscouragethoseinyourcommunity
fromengagingwiththemforthesamereason.
Theretendstobeadifferencebetweenatrollandagriever,agrieverismorelikelytohave
apersonalissue,butatrolljustwantsattention.Dontgivethemthatattention.

Ittakesabout1yeartobuildacommunity
Thefirstfewmonthstendtobethehardest.
Youwillhavegrowingpains.

TheCentralAreasofMoMs
ThePorch
Aspaceforinformaldiscussionanddebates.
Aplacetocomebyanddiscusswhateveris
onyourmind.Itprovidesanopenopportunityforcommunitymemberstoshareideasand
differentpointsofview.Manymemberscomeheretohangoutandtalkwitheachotherat
varioustimesoftheday.

TheConferenceArea
TheConferenceRoom
Hereweholdformallecturesandformallystructureddebates.
Mostofthelecturesaregivenbyeitherexpertsintheirfieldsormembersofthecommunity
thathavedoneextensiveresearchandhaveagoodamountofexperienceonaparticular
subject.Oftenwhatistaughthereisinfluencedbycurrenthottopicsincultureandmedia.
TheCommunityCenter
Aplacetohangout,study,orhaveadiscussion.Thereare
coucheshereaswellasdesksforthosethatmightenjoytheviewastheydosomework.
TheGamesRoom
Thisareaoffersavarietyofdifferentgamesthatmemberscanplay.
Oftenpeoplecomeheretorelaxandbondwiththeirfellowmembers.Itsagoodwaytoget
toknowsomeofthepeopleyoudiscusswithinamorecasualsetting.

TheResourceCenter
Therearecommunitypromotionalboardsinthisarea.

Memberscansharetheircontact
information,shareinformationabouttheirbusinessesororganizationsthattheyrun.
Itgives
achanceforMoMstobeahubforalargercommunity.

Otherareasforsocialactivities
.
TheBuskerStreetStage,CampfireandFishingarea,allplaceswherethecommunitycan
bondandconnectwitheachother,inamorecasualsetting.Hereyouwillfindbothplaces
tohangoutandenjoythescenery,aswellasotheractivitieslikemusicalperformancesand
karaoke.

Jeppson,A.,Verhoeven,Y.,ZackerlyS.
TheMeetingoftheMindsinSecondlife
VirtualWorldsBestPracticesinEducationConference,March2015

FosteringtheCommunity
StayingPower(commitmentforayear).
Commitmentisimportantandittakestimetobuildatruecommunity.Itisimportanttobuild
trustwiththatcommunitybybeingconsistent.

Buildcommunitytrustbyconsistency.
Peoplearemorelikelytostickwithavenuethathasprovenstability.Youmustbe
consistentinyourdealingsasaleaderwithinthecommunity.

Givepowertothecommunity.
ThePanicButton
MembersofthevenuecanusethePanicButtontoinitiateavoteto
ejectadisruptiveordisrespectfulmember.Thisgivespowertothecommunitybymakingit
sotheyarenotheldhostagetosomeonebehavingpoorly,theycandosomethingaboutit.
QueueBoard
Thistoolisoftenusedtoorganizeadiscussionordebate,andmakesure
everyonegetsamomenttospeaktheirminds.AllapersonhastodoishittheQueue
buttonandtheywillbeputinlinetospeak.Eachspeakerisallottedatimetogettheirpoint
across,andwhenthetimeisfinished,iftheywishtosharemore,theycanhitthebutton
againandwaituntilitistheirturnagain.Itensuresthateveryonegetstosharetheir
thoughtsandideas.
Fosteringcommunitybondingandownership
Thecommunitytakespartinboth
buildingthecommunityandcontrollingthebehaviorofthecommunity.Thoughthe
administrationmaydictategeneralexpectations,thecommunityisinvitedandexpectedto
takepartinmaintainingboththeexpectationsandthesafespacewithinthecommunity.
Empoweringcommunitymemberstobecomemoreactive
AtMeetingoftheMinds,we
haveworkedtoempowerthecommunitybygivingthemthetoolsandeducationneededto
dothingslikecreatetheirownlecture.Wealsoprovideongoingsupportforthosethatwish
toholdadiscussionorputtogetherapresentation.
Volunteersprovidesupport
OuradministrativeteamatMeetingoftheMindsismadeup
solelyofvolunteersfromthecommunity.Theybothhelpinthedaytodaytasksrequiredin
runningMeetingoftheMindsandtheyprovidesupporttothosethatwishtobecomemore
activeinthecommunity.

CommunicationisKey
TakeadvantageofthetoolsinSecondLife.
Weemploytheuseofavarietyoftoolstomake
surethecommunityknowsaboutupcomingeventsanddiscussions.
Notices
Sentoutthedaybeforetheeventandthenalsoanhourorsobeforetheevent.
Itsbesttoattachalandmarksopeoplecaneasilyfindthelocationofthevent.
Groupchat
Invitepeopleingroupchatabout5minutesbeforethelectureoreventstarts,
alsoofferthemateleport.
Attachments
Takeadvantageofbeingabletoattachnotecardsandlandmarkstoa
notice.ThisishowIshareourweeklyschedulewiththecommunity,byattachinga
notecardwithalltheeventsfortheweektoanoticeSundaynight.

Jeppson,A.,Verhoeven,Y.,ZackerlyS.
TheMeetingoftheMindsinSecondlife
VirtualWorldsBestPracticesinEducationConference,March2015

 SLEventsCalendar
GototheSecondLifewebsiteandlistyourlecturesandeventsin
theireventscalendar.Thisisprobablythebestwaytoattractpeoplewhomaynotfindyour
venueotherwise.
Displayboardsatthevenue
WehavedisplayboardsatMeetingoftheMindsthatshow
upcominglectures,eventsanddiscussions.
Alwaysstartnoticesorinvitationswith
adate,timeandlocation
.Thatwaypeople
canfindtheinformationeasilyandtheyaremuchmorelikelytoattend.

Worksinprogress:Wepresence
WecurrentlyhaveaFacebookpageandYoutubechannel,whichweareworkingtobuild
morecontentfor.WearealsohopingtocreateawebsiteandGooglecalendarinthefuture.

Consistentroutine!
Manyofourlectures,eventsanddiscussionsare
heldonaweeklybasis
.Itmakesiteasier
forpeopletoplantoattendaneventiftheyknowthateachweekitisgoingtoconsistently
happen.Humansarecreaturesofhabitandestablishingaweekly,repeatedscheduleisa
greatwaytogetpeopletoplanforyourevents.

InformalEducationatMeetingoftheMinds
CommunityDriven
ManyofthosethatpresentatMeetingoftheMindsareactivemembersofthecommunity.
Wealsoenjoylecturesandinformationfromthoseoutsideofourcommunity.

Expertise
Weenjoyhavingexpertsinallsortsoffieldssharetheirthoughtsandinsightswithus.We
alsoexpectthatthosewhopresentatlectureatMoMshavesomesortofexpertiseinthe
areatheyarespeakingon,whetheritbeformaleducationoryearsofexperience.

ReferencedMaterial
Lecturersareexpectedtohavereferencematerialsthatbackuptheconclusionsand
informationtheysharewiththecommunity.

Followedbyquestionsanddiscussion
TheQueueboardisusedtoallowpeopletoaskquestionsimmediatelyafterpresentation.
Fromthere,generallythereisadiscussionofthepresentedtopic.Byprovidingthe
discussionpiece,thetopicisdrivebyinterest.ThereisalotofpowerinGee,Ilearned
morefromthistalkthanIdidfromaformalclassItook.PeopleatMeetingoftheMindsare
learning,becausetheydevotetheirtimeandenergytoattendingthesepresentations.Even
afterthelectures,peoplewillreferencebacktotheinformationandwilluseitinlater
discussions.Theselecturesprovidebackgroundinformationthatpeoplecanapplytotheir
ownexperiencesanddiscussionsatalaterpoint.Peoplemayhavehadthoughtsorideas
before,butthelecturesanddiscussionsprovidethemwiththetechnicallanguageforthem
toexpressthemselvesmoreeloquently.
LearningasaformofsocialparticipationMoreonthatinFromtheorytopractice.

Jeppson,A.,Verhoeven,Y.,ZackerlyS.
TheMeetingoftheMindsinSecondlife
VirtualWorldsBestPracticesinEducationConference,March2015

InformalDiscussions
Strivingforpoliteconversationinasafe,protected,informalenvironment.
MeetingoftheMindsisprotectedgroupland,andthereisafeeattachedtothegroupto
deterthosethatmightupsetthesafetyoftheenvironment.
Peoplearefreetoexpressthemselvesinproductivediscussions.
Critiquesofideas,notpeopleThesediscussionsmustbecenteredonsharingideasabout
aparticularsubject,notsharingpersonalattacks.
ListeningtoallsidesthataresharingEachpersonislisteningaswellassharing,and
allowingotherstospeakandsharetheirthoughts.Everyoneisgivenboththechanceto
participateandlisten,sothatthoughtsarebeingsharedandeachpersonhasthe
opportunitytoprocesstheinformationbeingshared.
Designatedspacesforthistypeofdiscussion.
ThePorchandothermoreinformalareasareusedforthesekindsofdiscussions.Thereis
adifferentexpectationofconductanddiscussionbetweenareasliketheConferenceRoom
andthePorch.ThePorchisamuchmoreinformallearningarea,andthereforethe
expectationofconductisslightlymorelaxinthisarea.

FromTheorytoPractice
MeetingoftheMindsrepresentsawhatWengercallsacommunityofpractice.
In
communitiesofpractice,whicharecommonlyfoundininformalspaces,memberswithinthe
communityengageinpracticestosharecollectiveknowledge.ForMoMs,thesepracticesinvolve
whatyouhaveheardhere:
Formaldiscussionintermsofaudiencedrivelectures.
InformaldiscussionsintermsofthePorch,discussionsafterlecture,andalsodiscussionin
groupchat.
PracticesofbelongingSuchasmeetandgreets,karaoke,andDJswherepeoplegetto
knowthepeopleinthecommunity.
MultipleopportunitiesforthesharingofexpertknowledgeInotherwords,participantsat
MoMsareinvitedtoleaddiscussions,lectures,eventsandotherthings.

Wengerscommunityofpracticemodelbringstogetherthesepracticesinasharedspaceof
belonginginacommunityinashareddomain,orvirtualphysicalspaceofthesim,andinvirtual
groupspaceofcommongroupchatthroughIM.

Furthermore,Wengertalksabouttechnologystewardsorpeoplethattakeresponsibilityforthe
applicationoftechnologytowardstheeducationalspace.Inthiscase,MOMshasbeenheavily
shapedbyStarrandthegroupadministrators.Webelievethisisanecessarythingtokeepa
venuelikeMOMsfromdriftingawayfromitsintendedmission.Someofthedutiesthatthese
technologystewardstakeoninSecondLifeincludemakingsurethevenueisaccessible,that
lecturershavethepresentationresourcesthattheyneed,informationgetsdisseminated,andthe
communityisprotectedfromgriefing.Griefing,inSecondLife,describeshowcertainindividuals
willtrytoenterMOMsinordertosabotageitsactivities.Therefore,administratorsmonitorMOMs
activitiestomakesurethatitisasafeandwelcomingspaceforparticipants.

Jeppson,A.,Verhoeven,Y.,ZackerlyS.
TheMeetingoftheMindsinSecondlife
VirtualWorldsBestPracticesinEducationConference,March2015

 Formoreinformationoncommunitiesofpractices,youcangotothelinksonourresources
notecard.

NetworkwithUs

SchedulingEvents
Spaceforholdingclasses
GuestLectures
GroupMeetings
OpenMicDiscussion

ContactStarrZackerlyformoreinformation.

Jeppson,A.,Verhoeven,Y.,ZackerlyS.
TheMeetingoftheMindsinSecondlife
VirtualWorldsBestPracticesinEducationConference,March2015