Learning and Teaching in Virtual Worlds: Boundaries, Challenges and Opportunities

2010 ◽  
pp. 139-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liz Thackray ◽  
Judith Good ◽  
Katherine Howland
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

scholarly journals “It Helps if You Think of Yourself as a Radio Presenter!” A Lefebvrian Commentary on the Concerns, Conflicts and Opportunities of Online Block Teaching

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-35
Author(s):  
Ben Harkin ◽  
Chrissi Nerantzi
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Teaching Approach ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Student Dialogue ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Online Spaces

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated shifts in how higher education provision is offered. In one UK institution block teaching was introduced. This way of teaching and learning has brought new challenges and opportunities for staff and students. To date, little research or theoretical discussion has investigated how this hybrid approach or differences between tutors and student can arise in the use of online teaching spaces (OTS) within a block-teaching format. The present paper focuses on the institution-wide implementation of an online block-teaching model at Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom. With a specific emphasis on observations and reflections on the experiences of undergraduate students’ and staff by one of the authors from the Department of Psychology who employed an online block teaching approach (6 weeks) from the beginning of block 1 during the academic year 2020/21. We provide a novel methodological advancement of Lefebvre’s (1991) Trialectic of Space to discuss how students and tutors jointly produce and experience learning and teaching within an online block teaching approach. Pre-existing behavioural, cognitive and emotional experiences of using online spaces, contribute to the curriculum, student-tutor and student-student dialogue. We also highlight the importance of community within an online block teaching approach. Applications of the Lefebvrian model (1991) to present pedagogical approaches along with avenues of future research are considered.

Student-led fellowships: developing partnerships to identify best practice and promote change

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Matheson ◽  
Nicola Poole
Keyword(s):  
Student Voice ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Shared Understanding ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Development Unit ◽  
Joint Ownership ◽  
Institutional Drivers

In 2011/2012 Cardiff Metropolitan University instigated a Student-Led Teaching Fellowship Scheme, which unlike other similar schemes sought to develop joint ownership between the University’s Learning and Teaching Development Unit (LTDU) and the Students’ Union (Cardiffmet SU), providing the opportunity for closer partnership working. Through establishing categories and criteria and developing an evidence-based nomination system the Fellowships have provided the opportunity to develop a shared understanding of both institutional drivers and pedagogic practice and have enabled a larger platform for the dissemination of best practice to both staff and students. In capturing the student voice it has been possible to recognise and evidence what students value and use this in a variety of ways to promote best practice. This case study seeks to demonstrate how the Student-led Teaching Fellowships have and can be used to instigate change within the institution together with identifying remaining challenges and opportunities for future development.

Piloting Online Submission and Online Assessment with GradeMark

2014 ◽  
pp. 125-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trudy Ambler ◽  
Yvonne Breyer ◽  
Sherman Young
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Cultural Transformation ◽  
Student Experiences ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Online Technologies ◽  
Electronic Assessment ◽  
Online Submission ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

Online technologies are becoming ubiquitous in higher education and present both challenges and opportunities for those involved in learning and teaching. This chapter reports on the research-enhanced implementation of Electronic Assessment Management (EAM) within one faculty of a university in Sydney, Australia. This research was conducted as a qualitative case study. Questionnaires were used to investigate staff and student experiences of EAM, and the researcher's reflective practice made it possible to capture important details of the implementation process mediated through the researchers as participants. The research found enormous potential in EAM implementation for cultural transformation in learning and teaching. The authors argue that the move to EAM is now a viable option for universities. The combination of a rapidly evolving higher education landscape, evidence from exploring both staff and student experiences of engaging with EAM, and the benefits which the transition offers for the professional development of academics make the use of EAM essential for reasons of both pedagogy and efficiency.

Applied Areas of Three Dimensional Virtual Worlds in Learning and Teaching

2019 ◽  
pp. 172-192
Author(s):  
Reza Ghanbarzadeh ◽  
Amir Hossein Ghapanchi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Educational Goals ◽  
Learning And Teaching

Three Dimensional Virtual Worlds (3DVW) have been substantially adopted in educational and pedagogical fields worldwide. The current study conducted a systematic literature review of the published research relevant to the application of 3DVWs in higher education. A literature search was performed in eight high-ranking databases, and following scrutiny according to inclusion criteria, 164 papers were selected for review. The systematic literature review process was summarized, reviews undertaken by the authors, and results about the applicability of 3DVWs in higher education were extracted. A wide variety of application areas for the 3DVWs in higher education were found, and were classified into five main categories. Various 3DVW platforms and virtual environments used for educational goals were also identified. The results revealed Second Life as the most popular 3DVW platform in higher education. This study also found that by using 3DVW technology a wide range of virtual environments and virtual tools have been designed and applied in teaching and learning for higher education.

Video Game-Based L2 Learning

2019 ◽  
pp. 216-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karim Hesham Shaker Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Digital Games ◽  
Digital Gaming ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Affinity Spaces ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
L2 Vocabulary

Video/digital games have grown into sophisticated, realistic, and engaging problem-solving virtual worlds that have their own literacy practices, affinity spaces, and online virtual communities. As a result, various studies have examined theirs to promote L2 learning and literacy. The findings of these studies suggest that digital games can promote multilingual communication, L2 vocabulary development, and situated L2 use. However, promising these findings, to-date little is known about the specific dynamics of gameplay that can facilitate L2 learning. To address this gap in the literature, this chapter will draw on interdisciplinary research on digital gaming from literacy studies, games' studies, and narratology to account for the L2 learning potentials of digital games. To explain their L2 learning potentials, the chapter will conceptualize digital games as dynamic texts, affinity spaces, and semiotic ecologies, and discuss the implications of each conceptualization for game-based L2 learning and teaching.

Virtual Worlds

2011 ◽  
pp. 125-137
Author(s):  
Lea Kuznik
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Educational Games ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Collective Experience ◽  
Sensory Activities ◽  
Games And Simulations ◽  
Life Education ◽  
Educational Field

Virtual worlds for adults (e.g. Second Life), youth (e.g. Habbo) and children (e.g. Whyville) have a great potential for learning and teaching practices for enriching wider public and engendering collective experience and collaboration. Informal learning environments such as educational virtual worlds offer children and adults various intellectual and sensory activities or »crystallized« experiences with reinforcing multiple intelligences, according to Gardner. Virtual worlds promote social interaction and offer visitors an opportunity for various interactive activities which can sometimes not be realized in real life education. Children and adults can explore and learn in a different way and from a different perspective, e.g. with educational games and simulations. Virtual worlds represent a new medium that allows people to connect in new virtual ways and offer new challenges in the educational field.

Systems Engineering Concepts with Aid of Virtual Worlds and Open Source Software

2021 ◽  
pp. 695-721
Author(s):  
Latina Davis ◽  
Maurice Dawson ◽  
Marwan Omar
Keyword(s):  
Personal Computer ◽  
Systems Engineering ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Dynamic Environment ◽  
Online Classroom ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Classroom Activities ◽  
Simulated Environment ◽  
Engineering And Technology

Technology is changing the landscape of learning and teaching in America. The use of virtual worlds enable engineering and technology programs to implement software programs such as Second Life and Open Simulator to enhance what they may currently already have. Additionally, virtual worlds can add a more dynamic environment in the online classroom for multiple platforms such as the Personal Computer (PC), wearables, and mobile devices. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a review of these programs to include how to implement these items into an engineering course. Further detailed in this submission is how to incorporate Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) documentation and other engineering guidelines into the projects. Included in this chapter is a detailed layout of a simulated environment as well as various approaches of structuring and organization for classroom activities.

scholarly journals Language Teaching in 3D Virtual Worlds with Machinima

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 20-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Thomas ◽  
Christel Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Training ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Field Testing ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Training Course ◽  
Online Teacher ◽  
Online Teacher Training

This article is based on findings arising from a large, two-year EU project entitled “Creating Machinima to Enhance Online Language Learning and Teaching” (CAMELOT), which was the first to investigate the potential of machinima, a form of virtual filmmaking that uses screen captures to record activity in immersive 3D environments, for language teaching. The article examines interaction in two particular phases of the project: facilitator-novice teacher interaction in an online teacher training course which took place in Second Life and teachers' field-testing of machinima which arose from it. Examining qualitative data from interviews and screen recordings following two iterations of a 6-week online teacher training course which was designed to train novice teachers how to produce machinima and the evaluation of the field-testing, the article highlights the pitfalls teachers encountered and reinforces the argument that creating opportunities for pedagogical purposes in virtual worlds implies that teachers need to change their perspectives to take advantage of the affordances offered.

scholarly journals Playful Constructivism: Making Sense of Digital Games for Learning and Creativity Through Play, Design, and Participation

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vittorio Marone
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Social Constructivism ◽  
Digital Games ◽  
Game Studies ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Game Based Learning ◽  
Visual Model ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

The goal of this article is to provide a conceptual framework to better understand digital games in learning and creative contexts through the dimensions of play, design, and participation. This framework can be used as a guiding tool for the selection, implementation, and evaluation of game-based approaches in formal and informal educational settings, as well as a blueprint for making sense of playful learning and creativity in virtual worlds and technology-mediated environments. In essence, this article seeks to answer the question “What are digital games and how can we make sense of them for learning and creativity?” The proposed visual model and conceptual framework, here defined as Playful Constructivism, is grounded on the learning theories of Situated Cognition, Social Constructivism, and Constructionism, and draws from play and game studies, design-based learning, and affinity spaces research. This framework is not intended as the “ultimate” conceptualization of game-based learning, but rather as an agile tool that can guide scholars, practitioners, and students through the affordances, challenges, and opportunities of implementing and using digital games in learning and creative contexts.

Changelings and shape shifters? Identity play and pedagogical positioning of staff in immersive virtual worlds

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maggi Savin-Baden
Keyword(s):  
Narrative Inquiry ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Staff Experiences ◽  
The Relationship

This paper presents a study that used narrative inquiry to explore staff experiences of learning and teaching in immersive worlds. The findings introduced issues relating to identity play, the relationship between pedagogy and play and the ways in which learning, play and fun were managed (or not). At the same time there was a sense of imposed or created values systems that introduced questions and challenges about what learning became or meant in these spaces. The issues identified by this small scale study may offer some purchase on concerns which appear to be emerging with the digitisation of our lives.

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