CAL model

Dear blog,

I met with one of my advisers yesterday and I would have to say that it went quite well. When I talked to him, I stated that I wanted to use K.P. Cross' Characteristics of Adult Learners (CAL) model as a theoretical framework. He said that the model is relatively new and he was not sure that it had been used in much research. However, if I am able to demonstrate that other researchers have extensively used it since it's creation in 1981. Then, I could possibly use it for my study. My adviser suggested that I use the "Social Science Citation Index" from 1982 and ask Susan Johnson, the education librarian at Hamilton.

If I do not find a lot of research regarding that model, he suggested using a similar model by Albert Bandura that goes a little like this environment --> behavior --> personality, but in a triangle looking format instead.

He also suggested that I look at the bigger picture of my study (what I am trying to find out --> how to effectively design a Second Life learning environment where University of Hawaii students and faculty can learn in) and how it connects to my dissertation (how the identity of UH students and faculty affect their learning).

Furthermore, he suggested that I mention the limitations of my study in regards to the type of education and economic status of the population I am look at.

I did change one my research questions as well. This time, #1 is "What do the affordances in Second Life provide to MUVE users?" I believe. I need to double check on that.

Finally, he states that I need to create a hypothesis in a sense. In other words, I predict that UH MUVE users are mainly local from various ethnic backgrounds within Hawaii, are both male and female, and are diverse regarding their ages from 18-50. Also that there is a 50/50 split of faculty verses students who use Second Life from UH. However, I am not sure of that, and I would like to test that out.

That's it from yesterday. I didn't work on my dissertation today, but I will tomorrow.

Aloha,
Rebecca

What I need to do for the summer

• I need to Google "Online learning and virtual identity"
• Look at the 605 list Peter gave me regarding which journal I should publish in.
• Choose journal I want to publish in.
• Consider IEEE transactions
• Come up with a theoretical framework (paragraph what the theory is about how the theory is linked with the research questions (what is, what should be, how to propose to bridge the gap and the reserach questions).
• See how the journals are theoretically driven
• Consider how much time do I spend on my dissertation? spend about a consistent amount of time on the dissertation, e.go, Monday-Friday 2 hours a day on dissertation --> Goals, or 4 hours a day - dissertation and 4 hours a day - GA job

Second Life island timeline

Dear blog,

I apologize for not writing for awhile. Don't know where the time flies. Anyway, here's what I need to do for my GA job.

1. May 10th -Create a proposal for the new COE island and send it to Peter.
2. May 17th - Finalize proposal (with island sketches, explanation, and timeline) and send it out to the 3 potential builders. Ask for quote by June 1st.
   
3. June 5 - Award contract to chosen builder.
4. Mid June to mid July - Builder works on College of Education island
5. End of August - Get approval from SL COE advisory board
6. September - Debut the new College of Education island.

Hope I can get it all done! My mom will be visiting me in the meantime. Plus, I need to get my proposal done. Sigh.

Aloha,
Rebecca