Unraveling a Progressive Inquiry Script in Persistent Virtual Worlds

2015 ◽  
pp. 243-280
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Pellas
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Cognitive Learning ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Instructional Format ◽  
Teaching Models ◽  
Knowledge Practices ◽  
Collaborative Processes ◽  
Progressive Inquiry

The radical utilization of collaborative learning processes in Three-Dimensional (3D) multi-user virtual worlds has been widely investigated. However, a study to delineate a comprehensive pedagogical model aimed at facilitating the same productive-argumentative knowledge practices is still lacking. This chapter presents the most reliable principles of contemporary socio-cognitive learning theories and teaching models. These socio-cognitive constructs can reinforce the majority of collaborative social-cultural students' pursuits and capabilities in the learning process in order to better handle their cohesion or coordination with other peers in 3D multi-user virtual worlds. Consequently, with the adaptation of the Progressive Inquiry (PI) teaching model, this chapter proposes a novel framework for the implementation of this model in online collaborative processes that can be held in 3D multi-user virtual worlds. Educational implications for a reputable instructional format with the conjunction of the PI model and further suggestions are also discussed.

Unraveling a Progressive Inquiry Script in Persistent Virtual Worlds

2016 ◽  
pp. 610-647
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Pellas
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Cognitive Learning ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Instructional Format ◽  
Teaching Models ◽  
Knowledge Practices ◽  
Collaborative Processes ◽  
Progressive Inquiry

The radical utilization of collaborative learning processes in Three-Dimensional (3D) multi-user virtual worlds has been widely investigated. However, a study to delineate a comprehensive pedagogical model aimed at facilitating the same productive-argumentative knowledge practices is still lacking. This chapter presents the most reliable principles of contemporary socio-cognitive learning theories and teaching models. These socio-cognitive constructs can reinforce the majority of collaborative social-cultural students' pursuits and capabilities in the learning process in order to better handle their cohesion or coordination with other peers in 3D multi-user virtual worlds. Consequently, with the adaptation of the Progressive Inquiry (PI) teaching model, this chapter proposes a novel framework for the implementation of this model in online collaborative processes that can be held in 3D multi-user virtual worlds. Educational implications for a reputable instructional format with the conjunction of the PI model and further suggestions are also discussed.

The Use of Virtual Worlds in Management Education: An Investigation of Current Practices in Second Life

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amarolinda Zanela Klein ◽  
Angilberto Freitas ◽  
Lisiane Machado ◽  
José Carlos da Silva Freitas Junior ◽  
Paulo Gaspar Graziola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Role Of Information

Frequently, research on management education does not take into account the role of Information Technology as a key resource to support teaching and learning processes. In this article, the authors explore the current applications of Three Dimensional Virtual Worlds (3DVW) for Management education. The authors researched the educational institutions subscribed to Second Life (SL) (http://secondlife.com/), as it is one of the most popular open 3DVW available worldwide. The results reveal that only 31% of the institutions that answered the authors’ questionnaire actually use SL in Management education. Regarding the acceptance of SL in Management education, one third of the 15 institutions using it claim that it has been well received and accepted both by students and lecturers/professors. These results lead to several questions for further research and development of practices concerning the use of 3DVW for Management education.

Harnessing and Evaluating Open Sim for the Implementation of an Inquiry-Based Collaborative Learning (Ib[C]L) Script in Computer Science

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Pellas
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Current Case ◽  
Instructional Format ◽  
Perceptions Of Students

From 2007 and now on, it is a common premise for scholars and educators to use multi-user virtual worlds (VWs) in order to enhance students' technological literacy with contemporary learning strategies. The corollary of interactivity and social formalization of modeling processes in an open source, server-based (standalone) virtual environment is a unique dimension that allows all users (students and instructor) to design a plethora learning activities in conjunction with the most contemporary pedagogical approaches. Accordingly to these provisions, this study focused on the implementation of a collaborative project-based course in computer science by taking advantage of the open source virtual world Open Simulator (Open Sim). The current case study seeks to present preliminary findings from collaborative experiences of an effort that thirty-five (35) postgraduate and undergraduate students participated with the hybrid instructional format in order to investigate the value of this effort for learning introductory programming lessons. This effort tries to articulate initial perceptions of students' assessments based on an inquiry-based collaborative learning (IB[C]L) script that they involved, and secondarily to demonstrate the multisensory-multimodal potential perspectives or educational implications that are being emerged from the exploitation of three-dimensional (3D) technologically-advanced environments.

Facilitating a Hierarchy of Engagement

2010 ◽  
pp. 194-217
Author(s):  
Paul R. Messinger ◽  
Xin Ge ◽  
Glenn E. Mayhew ◽  
Run Niu ◽  
Eleni Stroulia
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Corporate Education ◽  
Research Challenges ◽  
Educational Engagement ◽  
Four Levels

Virtual worlds, where many people can interact simultaneously within the same three-dimensional environment, are productive enabling environments for corporate education. In this chapter, the authors propose a hierarchy of four types of educational engagement, at successively deeper levels of interaction. The authors then show that virtual worlds can be useful platforms for distance corporate education because they can be used to promote engagement at all four levels of the proposed hierarchy. By linking their hierarchy with existing learning theories, they argue that the effectiveness of corporate education can be successfully carried out by using virtual worlds. They also provide an overview of the historical development of virtual worlds, the development of distance education, and a description of technological, institutional, and research challenges needed to be met for distance corporate education to realize its potential.

Harnessing and Evaluating Open Sim for the Implementation of an Inquiry-Based Collaborative Learning (Ib[C]L) Script in Computer Science

2015 ◽  
pp. 1223-1246
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Pellas
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Current Case ◽  
Instructional Format ◽  
Perceptions Of Students

From 2007 and now on, it is a common premise for scholars and educators to use multi-user virtual worlds (VWs) in order to enhance students' technological literacy with contemporary learning strategies. The corollary of interactivity and social formalization of modeling processes in an open source, server-based (standalone) virtual environment is a unique dimension that allows all users (students and instructor) to design a plethora learning activities in conjunction with the most contemporary pedagogical approaches. Accordingly to these provisions, this study focused on the implementation of a collaborative project-based course in computer science by taking advantage of the open source virtual world Open Simulator (Open Sim). The current case study seeks to present preliminary findings from collaborative experiences of an effort that thirty-five (35) postgraduate and undergraduate students participated with the hybrid instructional format in order to investigate the value of this effort for learning introductory programming lessons. This effort tries to articulate initial perceptions of students' assessments based on an inquiry-based collaborative learning (IB[C]L) script that they involved, and secondarily to demonstrate the multisensory-multimodal potential perspectives or educational implications that are being emerged from the exploitation of three-dimensional (3D) technologically-advanced environments.

Learning Through Business Games

2008 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Fortmüller
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
General Problem ◽  
Cognitive Learning ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Learning Objectives ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Learning Conditions ◽  
Problem Solving Strategies ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Definition Of

The didactic function of business games is often seen only in the development of sociocommunicative competences and general problem-solving strategies. An equally important aspect of business games lies in the acquirement of technical and problem-oriented knowledge, which is the focus of this article. Moreover, this knowledge dimension is further elaborated and justified based on four areas of learning objectives seen from learning—theoretical and from didactic points of view: (a) the definition of these structures of knowledge that (cognitive—psychologically seen) correspond to the respective areas of the learning objective; (b) referring to cognitive learning theories, the degree to which knowledge can be acquired, through which learning processes will be assessed; and (c) which conditions are suitable to trigger the respective learning processes. Didactic analyses based on these assumptions deal with the question of how these learning conditions can be implemented in business games.

Virtual Worlds Applications for Management Education

2017 ◽  
pp. 279-299
Author(s):  
Amarolinda Zanela Klein ◽  
Angilberto Sabino de Freitas ◽  
Lisiane Machado ◽  
José Carlos da Silva Freitas Jr. ◽  
Paulo Gaspar Graziola Jr. ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Role Of Information

Frequently, research on management education does not take into account the role of Information Technology as a key resource to support teaching and learning processes. In this article, we explore the current applications of Three Dimensional Virtual Worlds (3DVW) for Management education. We researched the educational institutions subscribed to Second Life (SL) (http://secondlife.com/), as it is one of the most popular open 3DVW available worldwide. The results reveal that only 31% of the institutions that answered our questionnaire actually use SL in Management education. Regarding the acceptance of SL in Management education, one third of the 15 institutions using it claim that it has been well received and accepted both by students and lecturers/professors. These results lead to several questions for further research and development of practices concerning the use of 3DVW for Management education.

Facilitating 3D Virtual World Learning Environments Creation by Non-Technical End Users through Template-Based Virtual World Instantiation

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang Liu ◽  
Ying Zhong ◽  
Sertac Ozercan ◽  
Qing Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environments ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
End Users ◽  
Preliminary Evaluation ◽  
3D Design ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Functional Learning ◽  
Preliminary Experimental Data

This paper presents a template-based solution to overcome technical barriers non-technical computer end users face when developing functional learning environments in three-dimensional virtual worlds (3DVW). iVirtualWorld, a prototype of a platform-independent 3DVW creation tool that implements the proposed solution, facilitates 3DVW learning environment creation through semantics-based abstract 3DVW representation and template-based 3DVW instantiation. iVirtualWorld provides a wizard to guide the 3DVW creation process, and hide low-level programming and 3D design details through higher-level abstracts supported by pre-defined templates. Preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness of iVirtualWorld showed positive results. The contribution of this study is threefold: 1) It provides a paradigm for investigating and developing 3DVW building tools from end users’ perspective; 2) It develops a prototype of a 3DVW building tool, which gives educators a framework to easily create educational virtual worlds using domain-specific concepts; 3) It conducts empirical research and collected preliminary experimental data for evaluation.

scholarly journals Second Life as a research environment: avatar-based focus groups (AFG)

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eman Gadalla ◽  
Ibrahim Abosag ◽  
Kathy Keeling
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Data Quality ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Marketing Research ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages

Purpose – This study aims to examine the nature and the potential use of avatar-based focus groups (AFGs) (i.e. focus groups conducted in three-dimensional [3D] virtual worlds [VWs]) as compared to face-to-face and online focus groups (OFGs), motivated by the ability of VWs to stimulate the realism of physical places. Over the past decade, there has been a rapid increase in using 3D VWs as a research tool. Design/methodology/approach – Using a two-phase reflective approach, data were collected first by using traditional face-to-face focus groups, followed by AFGs. In Phase 2, an online, semi-structured survey provided comparison data and experiences in AFGs, two-dimensional OFGs and traditional face-to-face focus groups. Findings – The findings identify the advantages and disadvantages of AFGs for marketing research. There is no evident difference in data quality between the results of AFGs and face-to-face focus groups. AFG compensates for some of the serious limitations associated with OFGs. Practical implications – The paper reflects on three issues, data quality, conduct of AFGs (including the moderator reflection) and participant experience, that together inform one’s understanding of the characteristics, advantages and limitations of AFG. Originality/value – This is the first paper to compare between AFGs, traditional face-to-face focus groups and OFGs. AFG holds many advantages over OFGs and even, sometimes, over face-to-face focus groups, providing a suitable environment for researchers to collect data.

scholarly journals Understanding immersion in 2D platform-based online collaborative learning environments

2020 ◽  
pp. 57-67
Author(s):  
Gibran Garcia ◽  
Insung Jung
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Physical World ◽  
Emotional Engagement ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Online Collaborative Learning ◽  
Video Gamers

Previous studies have revealed that when video gamers, or users of three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds, display intense concentration coupled with an emotional engagement in their undertaking, they are affected by multisensory stimuli. This can lead to developing a feeling of detachment from the physical world, which, in turn, can lead to high levels of participation and engagement. Notwithstanding these results, it remains unclear as to whether students can experience the same kind of immersion in two-dimensional (2D) platform-based online collaborative learning spaces as has been achieved in video games and 3D worlds and, if they actually can, which features would lead to similar levels of increased engagement. This study is one of the first attempts to investigate the immersion experiences of students engaged in two 2D online collaborative learning platforms, one text-based and the other video-based. Data from eight students revealed that key features of immersion observed in video games and 3D worlds also appeared during the online collaborative activities but that the way such immersion was perceived by the students was greatly affected by the characteristics of the individual platform. When emotional engagement was considered, empathy was found to play an important role in the participants’ immersion experiences. Implications for practice or policy: Text-based platforms could be effective in motivating students to focus more on the postings, while video-based platforms may be more effective in generating empathy with others through observation of body language. When selecting a communication platform for online collaboration, sensory stimuli of the platform should be carefully examined. Empathy could be developed prior to an online collaborative activity so that students reflect on their thoughts and consider others’ feelings for a more immersive learning experience.

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