Week 12: INTERACTIVITY 1B: VIRTUAL WORLD AS AN OLE
(Interactivity Question)
As an educator, what does or does not appeal to you about virtual worlds?
Posted in: General, Week 12:
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Eva Ziemsen
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ETEC 522 – September 2012
Ventures in Learning Technology
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kstackhouse 11:23 am on November 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
As someone that has not participated in Second Life or other virtual worlds I am not that interested in this type of environment. I see the benefits of collaboration, interaction, and user control as being great for certain users. I have found that most of my students (grades10-12) are resistant to using technology beyond FB and messaging. Most of them do not use or want to use Twitter and other features. I have successfully integrated Edmodo but I think virtual space would be a stretch for them. I do realize that many in the gaming world are already comfortable and use these environments. The issues of lag and technology device requirements seem to be big issues for me as well. I have many students that live in rural areas and they do not have access to high-speed connections when at home. This would create a divide between the ones that do have access and those that do not. Of course I could provide them with high-speed access at school but that still limits the amount of time that they would be able to participate.
Also, I am not sure how to establish environments and resources situated in the virtual environment. How does this work? How much time would be involved in creating resources and collaboration sites? I would want to evaluate this based on something like Bates & Poole (2003) SECTIONS model before moving ahead and implementing this resource for my students.
Here is a link to a UBC PDF that I was able to find by searching the SECTIONS model: http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CC8QFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwiki.ubc.ca%2Fimages%2F1%2F19%2FSECTIONS_Framework.pdf&ei=LXiqUN39DbK60AGJ_4E4&usg=AFQjCNFed6LkgRfIPJHeylq2sJR4i1HLGA&cad=rja
Bates,A.W. & Poole,G. (2003) Effective Teaching With Technology in Higher Education: Foundations For Success. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. 79-80
sophiabb 3:27 pm on November 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Ken,
You make some valid points and points that many teachers grapple with. I agree, teachers should assess technology to identify best fit re many factors including student readiness and ease of use. The Bates and Poole tool is an excellent one; one that I have used just recently in developing an evaluation instrument for an online pilot project. I have found this article: Creating a Virtual World Mindset: A Guide for First Time Second Life Teachers (http://www.jofde.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/696/1156) useful in answering some of the questions you posited. I hope that you will continue to explore with us and continue to provide your frank and insightful feedback.
Sophia
kstackhouse 5:15 pm on November 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for the guide. I am not opposed to the idea of the Virtual World approach…as I mentioned I just don’t know where to begin and how my students would buy into it. I am sure that this guide will answer some of those questions. Thanks for replying.
Peggy Lawson 8:12 pm on November 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
My thinking is much like yours Ken. While I see a small subset of students (my K12 world), I really don’t see most students as finding virtual worlds such as 2nd Life (which I’ve briefly experienced) a great bonus to learning, or even that engaging once the “cool” factor has worn off. Several of the videos pointed to how virtual worlds promote collaboration, but I would have to see research demonstrating this – having avatars flying around doesn’t offer any obvious benefits to me over other tools such as shared Google docs, wikis, blogs, synchronous webinars, skype. I actually found some of the avatar movement to be more distracting than useful.
However I can see some cases where virtual simulations would be ideal for learning – flying simulations for pilots and virtual dissections, trying out different musical instruments, and sports are a few easy examples.
So I see some real value in virtual world, as an everyday classroom experience or for basic collaboration – I’m not yet sold.
sophiabb 9:19 pm on November 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Peggy,
Thanks for sharing what appeals and does not appeal. Yes, virtual simulations are great for demonstrations or modelling.
Paula Poodwan 2:28 pm on November 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Peggy,
Last semester, I had an opportunity to pair up for a peer review in ETEC 532 with a fellow course mate who wrote a final project titled “The Question of an Educational Second Life” Through her experimental research and literature review, Crawford ( 2012) interestingly conclude that based on the articles within her review, it is difficult to consider utilizing Second Life in an educational setting with students below post-secondary age due to the difficulties in using the virtual world and the risks once within the world. Although benefits are visible, the risks seem to overwhelm the authors and researchers and leave those studying who follow to question whether the risks of the virtual world outweigh the chances to improve learning. However she suggested that with successful examples being pointed out and praised for their depth of engagement, social elements, and student-centered learning the desire to create such a dynamic learning environment remains, but, as this literature reveals, that desire must be tempered by caution, support and awareness throughout the process of development and use.
Personally I think Second Life in education is like any new technology that teachers are scared of; if there are fairly minor problems we’ll see it dropped instantly. I think if we can keep it around for a year or two then we can start taking a few more risks.
Peggy Lawson 5:03 pm on November 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Paula –
When I 1st heard of and tried 2nd Life probably 5 years ago I was pretty excited about the possiblilities. As you said, I thought that like any new technology it would take awhile to take off, but then have great potential. I remember there was a 2nd Life just for Teens – a very good idea. ISTE purchased their own island. But from my own admitedly minor experiences with it, I can’t see it as being any more than having a niche role for the super-geeky among us. I can see myself giving it a real trial – when I have lots of time to play – but I think it’s had enough time to prove itself that for general use – it’s not likely to ever be the next FaceBook.
Colin 6:05 pm on November 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I am presently in the process of introducing my own Virtual Worlds into my classrooms and so far the response I have seen has been very positive. Some students who were never engaged suddenly became very engaged at just the idea of using it. I don’t believe this will be the reaction of all students but I do think that a certain group of students do really relate well to a Virtual 3d world representation of the course material. Like with all technology it is a matter of how you use it that makes it effective or not. For me they will be designing their virtual stores for Entrepreneurship class and then designing displays for Marketing class and learning to create 3d objects individually and collaboratively for media arts. These are just a few of the ideas that I am working with at the moment. However I also want to integrate my Moodle together with the Virtual World where they go in the 3d world and answer quizzes, complete assignments, read virtual materials and much more. Eventually I can have a visual representation of most of the course material and they will have an option of going in world or using Moodle. What I like about virtual 3D worlds is that it is really only limited by your imagination and technical abilities.
I also noticed a growing trend to using these 3D worlds in business and scientific communities as it allows for collaboration of employees from many different locations. Even schools are adopting this idea with Forsyth County Schools which represents 38,000 students offering a 3-D virtual world environment to every classroom teacher.
http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2012/03/atlanta-puts-opensim-in-every-classroom/
Peggy Lawson 7:06 pm on November 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Colin – I’m interested in how you see virtual worlds enhancing communication over other tools such as skype, wikis, blogs, google docs, Adobe Connect – many of these allow video via webcam and/or screen sharing, synchronous and asynchronous communication. Do you feel that avatars interacting in a virtual world adds something that can’t be equally achieved through these other tools?
Colin 9:43 pm on November 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Peggy, yes I absolutely believe that virtual 3D worlds offer more promise than the other solutions you mentioned. I do admit that 3D worlds are still in the infancy stage but I do see this changing over the next 5 – 10 years as it gains more popularity.
The first key difference is the ability to create accurate simulations.
“Numerical simulations are playing an increasingly important role in solving complex engineering problems, and have the potential to revolutionize medical decision making and treatment design.” ( https://simtk.org/home/opensim_matlab). This is just one example, you can look at the US department of defense and their use of opensim (similar to Second Life) in training their soldiers or here is another example http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2012/09/asia-pharma-group-looks-to-protosphere-for-virtual-training/ . Virtual Worlds are being used by some major Fast Food business to train new employees or by nursing programs to train nurses. You can look at Universities that are recruiting students via 3D worlds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ehj9QVP_L8 . I can keep giving more examples and if you are interested you can look at my prezi for the first assignment http://prezi.com/f9v5qdzkoiq4/designing-digitally/ . It is on one specific company in that field but it does give additional videos and even a virtual 3D seminar. The point is that a 3D virtual world allows student to experience replications of the world without actually having to be there. In some cases being there might not be possible (like walking inside a replica of the human body), or unsafe, or just too far to travel (example: replication of the Eiffel Tower).
Second reason is that a 3D world allows for more people to interact at the same time and that is why they are often used for conferences and other company meetings.
Third it is more fun and intuitive walking around a Virtual World rather than looking for a command in a program. There is a sense of being able to explore and also having a physical sense of progress as a student goes through completing a course. They are working at integrating Kinect https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl2gLw-GJws with OpenSim to make it even easier to use.
Fourth – Online identity is an important part of online learning and Avatars allow for much more customization and expression than what is possible on those other programs.
Though all of the above is only possible with good content and design and without that I don’t see 3D worlds as a better option.
Hope this helps clarify my point of view. Thanks Peggy for the question.
Peggy Lawson 5:58 am on November 22, 2012 Permalink
Thanks Colin. I have no doubt that virtual worlds and simulations are very powerful tools that have many great applications and uses. I was more focused just on the often mentioned benefits such a world has on collaboration. Your 2nd reason, for example – do virtual worlds really allow many people to interact – effectively? – at the same time? Does seeing multiple avatars roaming about really provide a better collaboration? It’s this one small aspect of virtual worlds that seems to be oft-touted that I’m not sure of. It often seems that people simply toss in this benefit of enhanced collaboration without providing any proof or examples. Virtual training is not the same as collaboration. I don’t doubt there are some examples, however.
Peggy
Colin 7:09 pm on November 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Peggy, you bring up a valid point and I think that collaboration has more to do with the learner’s willingness to work with others instead of any kind of program or environment. I saw some research showing that scripted environments where students are made to work together does work better at improving collaboration. From my experience some students are more engaged in a virtual world and as a result they are more willing to collaborate. One article that had some interesting points on this subject is. http://chiproject.googlecode.com/files/sdarticle.pdf . I still would argue that virtual worlds are slightly more effective for some students than the programs you mentioned in promoting collaboration or at least on par.
teacherben 7:12 pm on November 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
If you are building your own virtual worlds using OpenSim, you can integrate them with Moodle using a project called SLoodle:
(http://www.sloodle.org/moodle/)
Your students experience the lessons in the virtual world, but you can grade everything from within Moodle. I never got a chance to test it out because I was running Moodle 2.0 and it wasn’t supported. I just noticed that the new beta version now does so it should be a fun project to try out. Are you blogging about your experience, or documenting it someplace? I am always interested in seeing how other teachers are using vworlds in their classes.
Colin 9:53 pm on November 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Ben, yes I am planning on using Sloodle to integrate OpenSim with my Moodle. Right now the server is up and running in the school and I am loading in several free oar’s to get started. I am trying to create or find a school appropriate skin template and install that over the stock picture. Then I will look at importing in inventory and items for each of the students to complete their assignment. This will be a real learning curve but once I feel that is working I will move on to adding more regions and integrate in Sloodle if it proves reliable. If that works then I will be looking at integrating Opensim and Joomla which handles the social media, forums, chats blogs and project management system. This will be a long process I am sure as I need to do most of the work at school as I can’t access it outside the school. I am not running a blog yet as I don’t have the time but I am considering it later.
teacherben 11:29 pm on November 20, 2012 Permalink
Fantastic project. At my previous school I had a similar, ambitious play to get a Moodle/SLoodle/Joomdle integration going but after too many arguments with the tech managers about server permissions and firewall stuff, the whole thing just sat on the shelf. I left at the end of the year and my current school won’t let me anywhere near the servers. Good luck to you. I would love to hear more about it as you go. Where are you teaching by the way? There aren’t a lot of schools out there will let a maverick teacher do his own thing like this. Good for you for getting them on board.
Funny about the skin. I remember setting up OpenSim for the first time and the default avatar is a naked woman (who is apparently called ‘Ruth’). Better idea to replace that before you get your kids in there.
Colin 10:15 pm on November 21, 2012 Permalink
I understand your frustration as I ran into those same problems. I wasn’t allowed anywhere near our school server so I was able to find a computer in our school that was damaged during a break-in and not being used. The damage was to the video port on the back which I didn’t need if I used remote access. I was going to build my own computer out of spare parts at home but I found out I can only use a district computer on the network. With an upgrade to the RAM to allow for Opensim I finally was able to get a working server. Really none of this wouldn’t have been possible if I wasn’t the tech facilitator and I had the help of a fellow staff member who was very knowledgeable about the system. Setting up hosting outside of the school is also not a possibility due to firewall restrictions.
We installed OpenSim in the Window’s environment and Moodle/Joomla using Xampp. Then I needed to load viewers on the student’s computers. The point is that I needed to come up with my own solution in order to make this happen so I am not surprised that you didn’t have any luck implementing this.
The biggest problem implementing new technology in the classroom has to be the district itself and their restrictions.
The courses I teach are Business Education as well as Planning 10 and Media Arts.
I am in the process of trying to get rid of Ruth for the very reason you mentioned.
I had one “test” student go in-world today to complete a quick assignment on how to create items in-world. Overall he quickly caught on and he was having a lot of fun creating different items.
sophiabb 12:02 am on November 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Colin,
Like Ben, I think this is a fantastic project. Kudos to you and your school for this. Great combination of OLE tools you are looking to integrate.
teacherben 7:07 pm on November 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I hate to be the devil’s advocate here, but you say “as someone who has not participated…you are not that interested…” Perhaps you should give it a try. You may change your mind and see some potential after trying it out for yourself.
kstackhouse 6:08 am on November 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
You are right. As I mentioned in another reply above, I am not opposed to the idea. I am just not sure where to begin. I am impressed by the work you (and Colin) are putting into it. As you say, if I gain more experience in it I might become more comfortable with the concept of a virtual world as an extension of our classroom. Thanks for the insight on the subject that you have provided.
Doug Connery 10:02 pm on November 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I must admit that I have trouble getting my head around how virtual worlds can be used in a post-secondary polytechnic setting. Most of our training and education is hands-on real life based, thus I don’t see how using a virtual world would benefit. I would prefer that the accountant I hire, the carpenter who builds my house, the paramedic who arrives after a 911 call or the chef who prepares my meal at a restaurant has been trained using real life hands-on scenarios rather then trained through virtual worlds. There maybe some benefits to using virtual worlds as a tool while moving from theory to practice, however I am not convinced that cost-benefit is worth it. Nothing beats the EMT practicing in a simulation lab with automated manikins and real people, the student chef preparing food in a program run kitchen and the carpentry students building a house on campus.
I am also not convinced that students could transfer the skills and knowledge they acquired in a virtual world to the real world as they are hopefully are not transferring the skills and experiences from gaming to reality (car racing, violence and killing for example). I wonder if the norm of the gaming culture as purely fantasy and entertainment could be modified to allow students to take working in a virtual world seriously in an educational setting.
sophiabb 12:37 am on November 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Doug,
I totally get your reservations. From personal experience (many years in a tech/voc organization in Jamaica), hands-on real life based training is great and what we encourage within technical and vocational training/education. I have also seen the positive impact of such 3D programs as AutoCad.
Sara Lawrence Lightfoot (quoted in Kafai 1995: 314) says that “Learning is at its best when it is deadly serious and very playful at the same time.” Check out what she shares in Serious Play (http://www.yorku.ca/jjenson/4303/readings/gaming/seriousplay.pdf). Also check out Brian Burton’s research findings the impact of virtual learning on student collaboration and knowledge creation (http://www.academia.edu/1658831/The_Use_of_Three_Dimensional_Interface_within_a_Virtual_Learning_Environment_and_the_impact_on_Student_Collaboration_and_Knowledge_Creation).
Ok, that was a very long link. By the way, like you I prefer the carpenter to is building my house to have real world experience, but is there a place for blending?
teacherben 7:23 pm on November 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
This video might change your mind. Here is a group of professional architects collaborating on a building project in SecondLife. They are working from real plans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7bXu2ozXo0
Here’s another one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtUzvwG7O-w
I have a friend who does a lot of this sort of work with his high school students. He has done it with a hosted solution on ReactionGrid and on his own server using OpenSim. Students collaborated in real time on building projects. Pretty amazing.
I did something similar with my students except that we were using OpenWonderland. It doesn’t include the inworld building tools, but anything that you build in Google SketchUp can be dragged and dropped from your desktop directly into your virtual world. I build a full size 3D model of our school and my students made all the fixtures and furniture. They could communicate in real time using audio, text messages and even leave audio recordings for one another (that looked like an old tape recorder that they would leave sitting on the ground.) The cool thing with the audio was that when your two avatars are close to one another, they can hear each other talk, but if you walk away, then your voice trails off.
Doug Connery 9:28 pm on November 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks Sophia and Ben for your suggestions. I am still not convinced how these virtual world methods would benefit or could replace the hands-on real world experience that our students currently receive. We are driven by industry demand for skills and training, so unless the graduates will be using these virtual tools in the work place, the cost/benefit is hard to justify.
However I am open to suggestions of how virtual worlds can help. Below is a link to a video that shows a sampling of what our programs are. Perhaps you could provide me with some suggestions on how virtual worlds could help deliver the training and skills shown in this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSCsZcdOUEo
Doug.
Shaun Pepper 12:43 am on November 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I think this virtual world can be a great way to engage students who are kinaesthetic or visual learners. These students do not want to write down information, they want to get the hands dirty and test out their ideas. This testing and modelling method is becoming more prevalent in 21st century planning with better software and technology rendering programs (google sketchup, autocad etc..). By creating an avatar, like seen in the video, it gives students the impression or visual information that this would be done by people not computers. I agree with Doug it does not replace hands on learning, but I think it can introduce students to working on projects that are far beyond the scale of what could be affordable to do hands-on.
adi 11:56 am on November 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Doug,
I understand what you mean; at first sight it is difficult to imagine how SL could be used to enhance learning, or in a practical way. However, there are some interesting projects out there. I watched the SAIT video; it’s impressive. SAIT looks like a great place to study and very hands on and practical. I can see why so many of your graduates obtain employment so quickly after graduating. You are right that students won’t need to know how to use SL for many of these jobs, but the objective of using SL is not so much about learning to use the tool, but rather using this tool for creating ‘enabling context’ that will lead to learning in context. Some of the examples I found, rather than imply a huge cost, I feel actually allow for an ‘almost authentic’ learning experience at virtually no cost. I once had the chance to teach in a Video and Film school, and I remember that making a short video implied a huge cost (equipment, location permits, transportation of staff etc., meals and more). With SL and Machinima a film student can go through the process of filming something, from making the story board, Call sheet etc. , and then actually filming on SL; like we did for this week’s presentation. Anyways, here are some examples below I hope will help; the SAIT course is on the left, and on the right the link to a SL example.
1. Environmental Technology – http://secondlife.com/destination/the-frontier-project
2. Information Technology – http://secondlife.com/destination/capella-next-generation-learning
3. Architectural Technologies – http://secondlife.com/destination/archi21
4. New Media Production and Design – http://secondlife.com/destination/depaul-university-college-of-cdm , plus how we used it in our project using Machinama.
5. Healthcare sector courses – http://secondlife.com/destination/diabetes-guidance-center
Pat A Son 1:12 am on November 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Doug,
A the end of the day virtual worlds are just one option that are available to educators today. As appealing as it may seem it may be applicable to all learning situations and it may even boil down personal preference as far as the selection is concerned. Also
I do not think that virtual worlds were meant to replace reality in the classroom but to enhance the learning experience. In addition your contribution seem to be limited to the acquisition of motor skills however so your position that transfer is not possible may be justified. For cognitive skills transfer is not only possible but desirable.
rebeccaharrison 10:57 pm on November 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I think that the fact that these are “just one option” is critical in this discussion for me. I, too, have serious reservations about using virtual worlds (or the real benefit that can come from them), not to mention my concerns about what other skills could be lost through the use of them. Despite lots of videos and information, I still feel that they are a good strategy for certain situations and certain types of learners, but that they are just one piece, and one piece whose implications we still don’t necessarily understand.
Pat A Son 9:10 am on November 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Yes Rebecca we have to be careful with the technology overload that we are faced with or else we can make the wrong decisions when it comes to their use.
Doug Connery 8:58 pm on November 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks everyone for your comments and examples; however I am still not convinced. In fact after reading comments in the avatar experience section I am even more of a cynic. We have wonderful hands-on labs, classrooms, reality based simulation labs and real life practicum placements that I don’t see a role for virtual based, especially second life environments. Besides our curriculum for the most part is to full to use something that is not applicable for graduates when they hit the job market. If virtual worlds become main stream in industry and employers start asking for our graduates to have experience in this area, then we will adopt it.
As virtual environments are still in the early experimental stages of education, most post-secondary’s will probably wait to see what falls out to see which ones will be the flavours of the month and which ones will show promise to stick around before they become mainstream. Take this course and others in the MET program, do you see much virtual world applications occurring here. Perhaps virtual worlds and gaming offer too much play and distractions and not enough focused learning to get the job done. I am probably showing my age here. Besides we can’t all agree on everything; it is more productive for some people to take the opposing view from the majority.
Lisa Nevoral 12:13 am on November 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hey Doug,
I also don’t know if I am sold on virtual worlds in a classroom. I would have to really immerse myself into one to see if there are any benefits. I think that hands on is very important and in some areas I really don’t see how a virtual world will help. As Patason has mentioned, getting students to grasp abstract ideas in science and math may be one use for virtual worlds.
It’s always good to have an opposing voice. It give different perspectives and hopefully we learn from that. Your opposition did provide a lot of comments and examples.
Lisa
Pat A Son 3:40 am on November 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
As a science teacher and a fan of learning by doing I am really excited by the possibilities virtual worlds can bring to the learning experience.
For starters science can often be an abstract affair that can be challenging for students to grasp mentally and virtual worlds can provide the only means by which students can visualise and interact with these abstract concepts in an almost realistic manner.
Then even for those activities and that objects that are possible in the real world the virtual brings the affordances of infinite repetition without using up or destroying a resource and experimentation without exposure to danger thus enabling learner more opportunities for constructing knowledge than in a real world scenario.
Finally the ‘play’ factor shifts the learning experience from being a tedious task to a pleasurable endeavor therefore serving as a source of motivation for students who are struggling with a difficult problem.
On the minus side these worlds demand some background knowledge to master and not everyone would be given to them. Also the technology comes with a cost that some would not be able to afford.
sophiabb 11:49 pm on November 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Pat A Son,
I agree, from personal experience, science can be very abstract. Thank you for highlighting some of the educational affordances that virtual worlds present as well as possible constraints.
Pat A Son 9:00 am on November 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
You’re welcome Sophia
Jonathan 5:15 pm on November 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Patason —
I’m very intrigued by virtual worlds. I spent some time on Second Life (because of this group.. thanks for the opportunity) and found myself making the connection to Minecraft. Minecraft came up again when I read that you were a Science teacher. I always think about the “process” when I am teaching my primary students. It doesn’t matter how they get there as long as the “journey” is there.
Joel Levin — “Minecraft Teacher” — has been developing a program to allow teachers to easily teach using the Minecraft program. In his demonstrations he has demonstrated how he has been able to show many different concepts and processes — such as demonstrating how synapses work in the body and chemical reactions occurred.
I haven’t been so brave as to try these in my own classroom yet as the background knowledge that I currently have on the game isn’t strong enough. I doubt it’d be ever as strong as my students — but to learn in virtual environments provide a perfect disguise for learning.
These virtual environments make learning fun. They take a step away from the typical and allow students to engage in lessons to reinforce and teach ideas. Even if it is just a novelty factor — the novelty is powerful to use periodically.
These are all ideas that you mentioned in your post and got me thinking more about pushing through and spending some more time with Minecraft.
Thanks!
Lisa Nevoral 12:07 am on November 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Patason,
I haven’t played around enough in virtual worlds, but the idea that you bring up about “abstract affair that can be challenging for students to grasp mentally and virtual worlds can provide the only means by which students can visualise and interact with these abstract concepts in an almost realistic manner” does seem like a good option for students to learn this information. As I was immersed in Second Life, I thought that virtual worlds would be good for such things as taking students into a museum in Paris without actually going there.
I’m not sure if I will incorporate virtual worlds into my lesson plans quite yet, but I am interested to explore them a bit more before saying I never will.
Lisa
avninder 10:45 am on November 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
A couple of examples in the videos did spike my interest in using virtual worlds for learning (i.e.: traveling to another country without leaving your desk or being inside of a computer). However I think that this may be accomplished through video simulations without the need for an avatar. I believe avid gamers would love using second life for learning but I doubt others would be willing to learn and use the virtual world in place of traditional learning methods. Another concern I would have in addition to the potentially steep learning curve and cost would be the time that students could waste navigating through the simulations without focussing on learning. When I did play video games, many many years ago I could spend hours in front of the television which is not the best use of time.
sophiabb 9:00 pm on November 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Avninder,
I appreciate your point of view. I believe like you that virtual worlds hold a certain appeal for gamers. I do believe however that it is not only avid gamers who would love using second life for learning. According to statistics provided in March 2007 by Pathfinder Linden, there are over 200 universities or academic institutions already involved in SL (Kelton, 2007). Last week I visited the University of Cambridge’s campus in SL. Universities are now offering courses in SL. The cost of time /steep learning curve can indeed be a barrier.
Peggy Lawson 8:10 pm on November 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I can see a real benefit for a virtual world for some students – the shy & misfit students who can be whatever they want to be in a virtual world. Discussion boards, as was discussed in an earlier week, can often allow the quieter students to have a voice that they don’t normally have in a F2F classroom. An avatar in a virtual world can be an even greater liberator for some students.
sophiabb 9:05 pm on November 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Great point about the potential benefit of anonymity for students, especially quieter/shy students.
joeltremblay 9:02 am on November 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
As an educator the idea of virtual worlds can be an extremely treacherous double edged sword with huge benefits and detriments on either side. How many of you know current or former students who stay up too late playing video games and can’t bring themselves to get out of class or work in the morning? How many of us know students who are way more comfortable in virtual worlds and as such don’t spend nearly enough time in the real one? There is definitely a positive draw to them with the opportunities to make the impossible possible. One example is software that I reviewed awhile back that allows the user to do dissections in a virtual space as opposed to having the actual specimens etc. but I think that we as educators need to be aware of the seduction that entertainment software posing as educational can provide. I suppose with this, like most things in life, that we need to take from it what we need and leave it behind when it is no longer of any benefit. Beware the siren song:
http://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/index.php/kellogg/article/beware_the_sirens_song
sophiabb 7:36 pm on November 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Joel,
Virtual worlds can be a double edged sword – many arguments can be/are being posited, for the pros and cons. Yes, we need to ascertain the costs/benefits t and pitfalls to inform our decisions. Interesting turn of phrase “entertainment software posing as educational”. Are they really posing ?
jenbarker 12:24 pm on November 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I echo your concerns Joel. One the one hand I bear witness daily to my son who loves playing X-box and wonder how he might react to learning in a virtual world. My initial thoughts are that he would love it, be completely engaged and motivated to learn. But then I begin to wonder if he might get addicted. Would learning in this particular way have an effect on his brain? I think I would want to examine this area more before I would advocate for it. I like the appeal of the creative, collaborative, engaging, personalized, active nature of the virtual environments. I wonder though, similar to other classmates comments how much time would be involved in creating learning in this way. Speaking from experience, elementary teachers never have enough time in their day and from an outsider it appears like it would take a great deal of time to become proficient with the terminology to feel at ease to navigate and teach from this environment. I am not opposed to virtual learning environments and think they deserve merit but for me personally I plan to wait until they are further developed and researched before I engage with them.
Doug Connery 9:28 pm on November 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Jen and Joel I echo your concerns about virtual worlds: addiction, distraction, entertainment posed as educational, too much time in the virtual vs real world…… We also need to consider that learning is not always fun, sometimes it is a lot of hard work and to be proficient in some areas, you need to practice, practice and practice. This should be done in the real world because in the end, you need to apply this knowledge and these skills in the real world.
We have identified how virtual worlds are used for entertainment and we are now exploring how they can be used in education. However we also need to examine how much virtual worlds are used in the workplace and if they are not used in the workplace then I would reduce the value of them in education. I don’t know of too many employers that operate in the virtual world. Maybe I am being too practical here.
So I see where virtual worlds can have a place in education, however we really need to think about them as one tool in a large toolbox, and only use them where it is beneficial and not because it is fun for the students or the teacher.
sophiabb 9:32 pm on November 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Appreciate your practical point of view Doug. Great discussion.
sophiabb 9:55 pm on November 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Jen,
Interesting question about the impact of this mode of learning on the brain. You’ve got me thinking about this. I did a quick Google and found this article on Brain Development in a Hyper-Tech World (https://www.dana.org/media/detail.aspx?id=13126).
jenbarker 9:28 pm on November 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Sophia,
First off, thank you so much for searching for this article and bringing it back to the group. When I first made my post I had wanted to search and quote and article on the topic but didn’t have time.
So it would appear that data on effects on the brain is still quite sparse. But the researchers did suggestion caution. Below are a couple of quotes that as a mother of two technologically connected kids, I find worrisome.
“Fast is not equated with deliberation. So I think they can produce a tendency toward shallow thinking. It’s not going to turn off the brain to thinking deeply and thoughtfully about things, but it is going to make that a little bit more difficult to do.”
Several independent research groups have reported evidence that, at the level of neural systems, multitasking actually entails rapid switching from one task to another. Each switch exacts a toll, at least doubling the time it takes to complete a task and decreasing both the level of performance and the ability to recall what you were doing later on. Study after study has found that multitasking degrades the quality of learning.
Friedlander also wonders if over-reliance on electronic interactions, which are so often marked by unnatural delays, even minute ones as in cell-phone conversations, might wire developing brains to a different baseline set-point for temporal processing–how time is interpreted.
“We don’t really know how that will affect kids or if it will have long-term effects, but I think it supports the notion that one needs to be careful to not become totally immersed in the cyber world, because it may be a little more awkward interacting with real living people in real situations where those timing delays are somewhat different,” Freidlander said.
Mike Rae 7:17 pm on November 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Interesting reading about the activities being attempted in classes using virtual worlds. I, like Ken, find it hard to picture myself teaching this way, but one day, you never know. I have my reservations a teacher I just met at my new school told me that he spends more time in second life than his real one, he was saying it kinda jokingly, but it freaked me out a little bit.
I agree that it could give students that are reserved in class an opportunity to come out of their shell in a virtual world, which could be very beneficial to them. It could, however, turn off students that don’t have the interest, knowledge or skill to be successful in a virtual world.
I think there is opportunity for students who are not in the same geographical space to engage with each other and this is important given the growth of virtual schools education.
MIKE
sophiabb 9:21 pm on November 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Mike,
I have heard of people who mortgage their homes in the real world to purchase homes in SL. Now those are true residents.
I am not encouraging students to become residents; so I agree with many of the posts about being cautious. Virtual worlds do provide an opportunity to engage with each other. My group mates and I met many times in SL to discuss our project; we are all in different time zones.
manny 8:49 pm on November 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Virtual worlds of course have many pro’s and con’s as was mentioned in the Posey et. Al article. Most of the disadvantages seemed to be on the professor/teacher end as it is not always easy to adapt material for online environments. In a virtual world, the problem of synchronism can also be a problem. For a truly collaborative experience, one would think that participants have to be online at around the same time. Sloodle seems to have addressed this problem by allowing students to navigate their virtual environment while completing individual tasks assigned by their teacher. Another downside is the lack of face-to-face interaction that is essential in certain disciplines. For example, music courses require immediate teacher feedback and scaffolding for students to advance their skills.
On the other hand, there are many pro’s to virtual worlds and simply put, they are just more fun. The anonymity of avatars allows those students who usually wouldn’t speak up in a class to voice their opinion. Furthermore, the game play aspect that virtual worlds afford capitalizes on a playing field that students are already familiar with.
There was a line in one of the videos in which the speaker stated that the distinction between gaming and virtual worlds is getting blurred. I personally think that this is a good thing as there is no doubt that gaming is a HUGE INDUSTRY worldwide. To put it into context, a game called Call of Duty, Black Ops 2; just came out two weeks ago and broke a record in first day sales of over 500 million dollars. My students came in to class and this game was all they could talk about, many of them hadn’t slept in days. I wondered how neat it would be if we could harness this same energy in education and have students playing while learning at the same time. I have provided a link below that shows some mind-blowing stats on this phenomenon.
http://beta.fool.com/iamgreatness/2012/06/15/profit-call-duty-black-ops-2-and-activision-blizza/5762/
sophiabb 9:27 pm on November 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Manny,
Harnessing the power of play for serious/educational ‘play’ would be neat. Thanks for link. Those stats are mind-blowing.
pcollins 11:59 am on November 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Virtual World Dangers….
Okay, as a bit of a tech geek and a member of a MMOG household I get pretty fired up about how great it would be to integrate a virtual world into my f-f classroom. Just reading some of the advances many of you are making in this arena is enough to get me slightly woozy at how it’s going to play out. Coolness factor aside – I can’t help but feel that their are so many “teachable moments” available from helping students to become digital citizens and learning about being involved in this context: gaming or educationally.
But then I start to go to the dark side
And think about the issues that are emerging with youth right now and cyberbullying….gaming addictions…over active peer networks….digital marginalizations & divides etc..etc.. I really need to ask myself, not if I am ready and willing, but are the students that I work with ready and willing. And how would the parents and the school boards react to such changes? And should I incorporate their feedback?
I have recently come from a very reserved technological district. And I think that it’s made me hyperaware of some of the issues that may arise given a virtual world teaching concept. For example, how would I instill digital citizenship in the students that I teach? Would this be something that I had to introduce and moderate, on top of designing the VW classroom and implementing the curriculum?
As impressed as I am by what I see from everyone else’s adventure into this arena, and as excitied as I would be to get involved as a part of a team, I do find it hard to imagine effectively creating such a venue as a lone-wolf in a big system.
PC
sophiabb 9:35 pm on November 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi PC,
Thanks for your contribution. Yes, going it alone can be a daunting task. How about test driving by incorporating a small, well defined/structured activity?
pcollins 11:32 am on November 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
That’s a fabulous idea – I probably tend to get ahead of myself because I can see the merit of really going all the way with incorporating VLC’s. Baby steps right?
tomwhyte1 12:11 pm on November 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
As a reflect on the idea of a virtualized component within my classroom and my current thinking on education, I truly believe that this tool has its use. It is not the answer, nor the solution, but another method to meet some students where they are at. For just like with all other tools, it is not a one size fits all, and this is where I have some concerns (which I think are resolvable, but still need to be in for the for front of our thinking).
– What students, type of students, learning styles would work best within a virtual learning environment?
– What structures would I have to put in place within my classroom, for this approach to be effectively implemented for those students? And what might the other students be doing, while those students are within the virtual world?
– What types of activities/challenges work best in this environment?
– What level of technology is needed, does my IT department support this?
– How much time will need to be invested, and does the investment provide a sufficient payout at the end?
Thoughts?
sophiabb 9:32 pm on November 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Tom,
Great questions. While I don’t have all the answers – as you’ve stated, it’s not a one size fits all – these questions are good at guiding our decision making process. I find these articles provide some interesting ideas on setting up and use: http://www.jofde.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/696/1156 and http://www.academia.edu/1658831/The_Use_of_Three_Dimensional_Interface_within_a_Virtual_Learning_Environment_and_the_impact_on_Student_Collaboration_and_Knowledge_Creation.
tomwhyte1 7:44 pm on November 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thank you for the share.
For recently, at school I have been pushing research/evidence based practices.. not – this is what my gut tells me to do…
Tom
visramn 7:31 pm on November 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Virtual world
Pros:
-Learning becomes more flexible
-Learners are more confident and have time to process their thoughts before sharing them
-Learners have multiple ways in which they can interact with their peers and teachers
-Build in tools such as calender, reminders, task list, help with accountability
– Feedback procedure is more efficient
-Everyone has a voice (less domination of conversation or of students being lost int he crowd)
-Teachers can track progress
-Resources that are created can be reused
-Content can be more visual and auditory. Hence, more learning needs and styles can be accommodated
-More potential for differentiation
-Students can relate to the online learning environment because it is similar to other social interfaces they use such as facebook
Cons:
– Face-to- face interactions are lacking
-Conversations lack emotion
– Teachers have to monitor everything posted carefully to ensure their is nothing inappropriate shared
-Students lose out on tactile interactions
-Some students may be distracted by other non-educational capabilities on their laptops or tablets
-Written comments can be misunderstood or taken out of content
-Students may be tempted to use the internet and not their own ideas due the easy access they have at their fingertips
-Students who lack technological background may struggle with navigating through the OLE
-Devices to access the OLE may be limited
-Some students may be left out because they do not own their own device or some may have better devices than others
I am sure I missed some. Feel free to add to my list.
Nureen
sophiabb 8:51 pm on November 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Nureen,
Nice list of pros and cons.
Scott 1:24 pm on November 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I am certainly intrigued by the concept of virtual learning using tools like Sloodle, however like a number of my colleagues, I’m not certain if I’m ready, or if my school is ready, for this level of change.
The opportunities for increased ‘engagement’, (Tom’s favorite term!) seem profound, but engagement does not always equate to learning (as I’m sure Tom would rightly be quick to point out as well). Based only on the video samples provided and without trying any of these environments myself, the curriculum being presented looked like print documents/slides hung on virtual billboards or white boards. While this is novel and visually impactful, at the end of the day, it’s still simply a document or a video. I’m reminded of teachers who just scan a document and display it on a Smartboard and then claim they are technologically savvy – when they could really just stick with an overhead machine. In short, the curriculum design required to make these environments effective will be essential and likely time consuming to produce.
For online learning, such as our MET program, being offered by higher education instutions with appropriate budgets for technology and curriculum design, I can see these virtual environments being highly applicable. For myself at the secondary level, my guess is we will have some way to go before we are ready to venture into these environments. For example, the network infrastructure at my school has difficulty some days just streaming a simple YouTube video!
Then there is the concern around virtual classroom management, including teachers being able to monitor students virtual interactions and cyberbullying. Just today, Mashable published a story around this very issue: http://mashable.com/2012/11/23/virtual-lessons-real-world/. On the upside, the article highlights the opportunities adults will have in elementary and secondary education, to teach students about digital citizenship and appropriate online behaviour. “These worlds are truly THEIR worlds –- and the good news is that the lessons learned online can, and should, be applied in the real world… Here’s a news flash: your child is most likely going to online places he or she shouldn’t… don’t assume that because these situations happen in 2D candy colored worlds created out of code that they don’t have the same implications for a child’s social maturation and emotional health. Instead, it’s important to treat the virtual world play as an opportunity to discuss and hash out issues that can easily translate into their real life.”
Bottom line for me; virtual OLEs seem intriguing, but there are many questions which will need to be addressed before I would implement one in my classroom.
sophiabb 2:27 pm on November 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Scot,
Excellent points from both points of view. I agree, before we implement any learning technology, including virtual OLES that we should do our ascertain best fit for our students/learning environments.
Ranvir 3:47 pm on November 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Very interesting discussion indeed, one that I have been a part of for the last 2 years or so. To provide some context from my part of the world, medical schools have been exploring virtual worlds such as Second Life for few years in order to provide real life clinical experience to medical students where they can ‘practice’ clinical diagnosis in a ‘safe environment’. It is a fantastic concept and medical many schools such as St. George (London) have been able to make sophisticated virtual patients. However, the truth of the matter is that it is still TBD whether and how much do these simulation environments contribute to learning vis a vis a low-tech approach that aims to solve the problem with less resources and time?
I agree with Scott that further research is required to determine the cognitive impact and contribution to attainment of learning objectives before one can plan a potential implementation. Recently, I was speaking at a Game Based Learning session we organized at UBC and one of the questions that was raised by a faculty member was exactly this – “Do you have any research information that supports that game based learning contributes to superior learning and achievement of learning competencies? The answer unfortunately is no, there isn’t any concrete evidence available although there is information that GBL contributes to greater collaboration and richer learning experience.
Thus, I echo what Scott mentioned in the bottom line statement.
Thoughts on the contrary?
sophiabb 3:01 pm on November 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Ranvir,
Thanks for adding to the discussion. Yes, the educational affordances of virtual learning environments seem great for the medical sciences.
My question is not whether it contributes to “superior learning” but: how does it contribute to learning and what ways can we use this in a constructivist manner?
I agree, that we are still in the earrly days of research/evaluation.
Not to dispute Scott’s bottom line, but to contribute to your research, I have included links to the following research:
The Evolution of Constructivist Learning Environments: Immersion in Distributed, Virtual Worlds
http://www.virtual.gmu.edu/ss_pdf/constr.pdf
Presence Pedagogy: Teaching and Learning in a 3D Virtual Immersive World
http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/pdf/IJTLHE453.pdf
The Use of Three Dimensional Interface within a Virtual Learning Environment and the impact on Student Collaboration and Knowledge Creation
http://www.academia.edu/1658831/The_Use_of_Three_Dimensional_Interface_within_a_Virtual_Learning_Environment_and_the_impact_on_Student_Collaboration_and_Knowledge_Creation
jhodi 5:19 pm on November 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Virtual worlds allow students to immerse their learning in an online learning environment that provides them with potentially life-like designs. Virtual worlds can be intuitive for students and encourage students to interact online as they would in person. However, students can also be creative and create their own avatar representative of what they want to be or something totally different that what they can be in real life (ie. have wings). Students can feel a connection to their avatar and form online collaborative relationships with peers that they may or may not interact with in person. However, this also can provide students with a ‘screen’ of sorts that the teacher must monitor to ensure that students are behaving respectfully. The other major negative could be the reliance on modern technologies that can support virtual worlds and interactions at a quick rate.
sophiabb 3:11 pm on November 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Jhodi,
Great contribution to the discussion.
jameschen 2:16 am on November 25, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
As an educator, one of the things that make me want to embrace the adoption of learning in a virtual environment is the chance to help students see how the rules applied in reality also apply to virtual environments. Many students are unable to make this connection, which results in kids becoming cyberbullies or victims of cyberbullying. A sad example of this the suicide of Amanda Todd.
Our students are establishing themselves online, mostly without the guidance and support of their parents and teachers. I believe that with parental involvement and teacher guidance, virtual learning environments can help students become more conscious about how their actions online have real world consequences. Only when students make the connection can tragedies be avoided.
James