Students as Designers of Virtual World Learning Environments

2015 ◽  
pp. 46-65
Author(s):  
Lisa Jacka ◽  
Kate Booth
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
School Of Education ◽  
Design Project ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

Virtual worlds provide pre-service teachers with the opportunity to study teaching and learning in an immersive 3D computer based environment. The pre-service teacher is able to become a designer of learning environments in ways that were previously impossible in a traditional bricks and mortar classroom. The learning environment that pre-service teachers create can, in turn, inform established educators about the usefulness of virtual worlds for education. In the School of Education at Southern Cross University, Australia, pre-service teachers have been given the opportunity to design and build virtual world learning environments. This chapter presents the story of one pre-service teacher and her tutor as they discuss the design of a virtual world learning environment for maths. This particular design project resulted in virtual worlds being integrated across a number of pre-service teacher courses and extended into the K-6 classroom. An overview of these other projects is also presented.

Students as Designers of Virtual World Learning Environments

2018 ◽  
pp. 1697-1712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Jacka ◽  
Kate Booth
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
School Of Education ◽  
Design Project ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

Virtual worlds provide pre-service teachers with the opportunity to study teaching and learning in an immersive 3D computer based environment. The pre-service teacher is able to become a designer of learning environments in ways that were previously impossible in a traditional bricks and mortar classroom. The learning environment that pre-service teachers create can, in turn, inform established educators about the usefulness of virtual worlds for education. In the School of Education at Southern Cross University, Australia, pre-service teachers have been given the opportunity to design and build virtual world learning environments. This chapter presents the story of one pre-service teacher and her tutor as they discuss the design of a virtual world learning environment for maths. This particular design project resulted in virtual worlds being integrated across a number of pre-service teacher courses and extended into the K-6 classroom. An overview of these other projects is also presented.

Pre-Service Teachers Designing Virtual World Learning Environments

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 16-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Jacka ◽  
Kate Booth
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning Environment ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Pre Service Teacher Education ◽  
The Voice ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

Integrating Information Technology Communications in the classroom has been an important part of pre-service teacher education for over a decade. The advent of virtual worlds provides the pre-service teacher with an opportunity to study teaching and learning in a highly immersive 3D computer based environment. Virtual worlds also provide a place in which pre-service teachers can design teaching and learning environments for their future students. The virtual world teaching and learning environments that pre-service teachers design can, in turn, inform established educators about how virtual world spaces can be well designed and contribute to research in the field of education in virtual worlds. The voice of one pre-service teacher and her tutor is presented as they discuss the design of a virtual world maths teaching and learning environment.

Second Life

2013 ◽  
pp. 204-218
Author(s):  
Yvonne Masters ◽  
Sue Gregory
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning Environment

An increasing number of educational institutions are trialling the use of virtual worlds as teaching and learning environments, particularly for distance education students. In 2009 the authors have begun a research project to explore the efficacy of one such virtual world, Second Life, as a viable adjunct to other online learning experiences. However, it is now recognised that most academics have no experience of teaching in a virtual world. An integral aspect of our research is to examine whether a novice user of Second Life could quickly learn to teach effectively with this tool. The teaching experience is outlined from two points of view: the novice and the expert. The emergent themes are discussed and conclusions are made regarding the efficacy of Second Life as a teaching and learning environment for distance education students and the level of support that might be needed to assist other novices to teach in-world.

Practice What You Preach

2010 ◽  
pp. 45-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Benvenuti ◽  
Gerrit C. van der Veer
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Innovative Technologies ◽  
Teaching And Learning Environment

This chapter is not on the technology of Virtual Worlds. The authors discuss the application of a Virtual World as a teaching and learning environment for a course on Virtual Worlds. In their view, innovation and education should go hand in hand. Too often, new technologies are discussed without being applied. The authors argue that innovative technologies do belong in those classroom where their application is relevant to the topic. In thischapter, the authors discuss an example of how this issue can be tackled. They show that application of innovative tools is useful to all parties: students, lecturers and researchers, even if it raises new problems from which we all can learn.

VLE Meets VW

2021 ◽  
pp. 616-633
Author(s):  
Matthew Montebello ◽  
Vanessa Camilleri
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Virtual Learning ◽  
Virtual Learning Environment ◽  
Online Environment ◽  
Current Implementation ◽  
Intelligent Learning Environments

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) within a learning environment has been shown to enhance the learning environment, improve its effectiveness, and enrich the entire educational experience. The next generation of intelligent learning environments incorporates the immersion of learners within virtual worlds while still offering the educational affordances and benefits of the online environment as a teaching medium. In this chapter, the current implementation of the virtual learning world (VLW) is presented bringing together a number of previous initiatives that integrated AI within a virtual learning environment (VLE) as well as the employment of a virtual world (VW) as learning environments. The realisation of the first VLW prototype provided numerous insights that provide valuable recommendations and significant conclusions to assist in taking the virtual learning environment to the next level.

Creating a computer-based language learning environment

ReCALL ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. DAVID BARR ◽  
JOHN H. GILLESPIE
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Computer Technology ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Information Dissemination ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
University Life ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Computer Based

This paper considers key questions concerning computer-based language-learning environments. Using evidence from current literature, it discusses the main characteristics of such environments including human, technical and physical resources, communicative structures, information management, and cultural contexts. It then uses data from an investigation of the universities of Cambridge, Toronto and Ulster to assess the pedagogical effectiveness of the computer-based environments currently in operation in these three institutions.It considers, in particular, the integrative role that computer-based language learning environments seem to provide. Although each institution has integrated computer technology into language teaching and learning in different ways, a key element of each environment has been the establishment of a common computer-mediated infrastructure, enabling effective information dissemination, resource distribution, communication and teaching and learning. No single common infrastructure would be suitable in all three, however, in each case, it was found that the environments created were valuable, especially in integrating elements of the teaching and learning process that would normally have remained apart.In concluding that the creation of a computer-based language learning environment in the present climate is beneficial, it was noted that adequate technical resources and a management that is keen to integrate computer technology into all aspects of university life is a key factor in their success.

scholarly journals Using the 3D Virtual Environments for Teaching: Report from the Field

Organizacija ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 125-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maja Pivec
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Wide Scope ◽  
Course Structure ◽  
3D Virtual World ◽  
3D Virtual Environments

Using the 3D Virtual Environments for Teaching: Report from the FieldVirtual worlds represent a powerful media for instruction, offering a wide scope of tools for social interaction and innovation in learning that encourages student participation. Supported by the AVATAR course, teachers were able to productively create teaching and learning environments that support the needs of learners of diverse linguistic, cultural and economic backgrounds, all within a safe virtual environment. This paper outlines the AVATAR course structure, delivery, experiences, and post course reflections on teaching within a 3D virtual world.

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 Factors Affecting Students’ Preferences for Online and Blended Learning: Motivational Vs. Cognitive

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sinan Keskin ◽  
Halil Yurdugül
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Motivation ◽  
Task Value ◽  
Individual Factors ◽  
E Learning ◽  
The Individual

AbstractToday’s educational institutions are expected to create learning opportunities independent of time and place, to offer easily accessible learning environments and interpersonal communication opportunities. Accordingly, higher education institutions develop strategies to meet these expectations through teaching strategies, such as e-learning, blended learning, mobile learning, etc., by using teaching technologies. These new technology-based teaching strategies are mainly shaped by decision-makers in education. This study seeks to analyse the individual factors that affect learners’ mode of teaching and learning delivery preferences. In this study, blended and online learning is considered as preferences of learners’ mode of teaching and learning delivery. The individual factors discussed in this research are cognitive learning strategies, e-learning readiness, and motivation. The data were obtained from the pre-service teachers at the end of the academic semester when they experienced online and blended learning. Data were analysed using optimal scaling analysis. The analysis method provides a two-dimensional centroid graph which shows the correlations between the variable categories. According to study findings, there is a correlation between the preferences of the learning environment, and the constructs of self-efficacy, e-learning motivation, and task value. It can be said that the motivational variables are more effective in the learning environment preference. The students with high task value, e-learning motivation, and self-efficacy preferred studying in blended learning environments. Cognitive strategies, self-directed learning, learner control, and test anxiety factors are independent of the learners’ learning delivery preferences.

scholarly journals Micro Teaching an Efficient Technique for Learning Effective Teaching Skills: Pre-service Teachers’ Perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Koross
Keyword(s):  
Effective Teaching ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
School Of Education ◽  
Effective Teaching Strategies ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Training Technique ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

<div><p><em>Micro teaching is a method that has been used since 1960s in teaching and learning environments to enhance prospective teacher’ instructional experiences. Microteaching is a remarkable technique that is used in teacher education programs to offer valuable opportunities for trainee teachers to develop effective teaching strategies. The main purpose of this paper is to examine the experiences, competencies, and perceptions of 100 pre-service teacher trainees from the Kiswahili language Education program in the school of education, University of Eldoret Kenya. A combinations of quantitative and qualitative techniques were used and a questionnaire and focus group interview were used to collect data from the respondents. The findings indicate that prospective teachers gained a variety of experiences and competencies from micro teaching and that majority of them have positive attitudes toward micro teaching as a training technique. </em></p></div>

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