Immersive Education Spaces using Open Wonderland From Pedagogy through to Practice

Author(s):  
Michael Gardner ◽  
Adela Gánem-Gutiérrez ◽  
John Scott ◽  
Bernard Horan ◽  
Vic Callaghan

This chapter presents a case study of the use of virtual world environment in UK Higher Education. It reports on the activities carried out as part of the SIMiLLE (System for an Immersive and Mixed reality Language Learning) project to create a culturally sensitive virtual world to support language learning (funded by the UK government JISC program). The SIMiLLE project built on an earlier project called MiRTLE, which created a mixed-reality space for teaching and learning. The aim of the SIMiLLE project was to investigate the technical feasibility and pedagogical value of using virtual environments to provide a realistic socio-cultural setting for language learning interaction. The chapter begins by providing some background information on the Wonderland platform and the MiRTLE project, and then outlines the requirements for SIMiLLE, and how these requirements were supported through the use of a virtual world based on the Open Wonderland virtual world platform. The chapter then presents the framework used for the evaluation of the system, with a particular focus on the importance of incorporating pedagogy into the design of these systems, and how to support good practice with the ever-growing use of 3D virtual environments in formalized education. Finally, the results from the formative and summative evaluations are summarized, and the lessons learnt are presented, which can help inform future uses of immersive education spaces within Higher Education.

Author(s):  
Jonathan D. Owens ◽  
Usman Talat

This is an empirical investigation considering how the Knowledge Transfer Openness Matrix (KTOM) could facilitate accessibility and Knowledge Transfer (KT) for the UK Higher Education (HE) Management Education Teaching when utilising learning technologies. Its focus is where learning technologies applications currently assist the KT process and support accessibility for the HE teacher and learner. It considers the philosophy of openness, focusing on its usefulness to support accessibility within UK HE Management Education Teaching. It discusses how the openness philosophy may assist the KT process for the HE teacher and learners using learning technologies. In particular, the potential to support accessibility within HE Management Education Teaching environments is appraised. There appear several implications for both teachers and learners. These are characterized in the proposed KTOM. The matrix organises KT events based on the principles of the openness philosophy. The role of learning technologies in events is illustrated with regard to teaching and learning accessibility.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-140
Author(s):  
Catriona Cunningham

This article considers the way we talk about learning and teaching the humanities in higher education in the UK. By using the tools of the arts and humanities within the scholarship of learning and teaching, and examining a personal perspective, the author explores the transformational impact of French language learning and teaching. Close textual analysis of literary language learning memoirs highlight the sensual and physical effects of language learning that can remain muted in our everyday conversations. As a result, the author suggests that rather than lament the death of the humanities in 21st century higher education, learning and teaching a language offers a pedagogy of desire that embodies the transformation aspect of our disciplines, as we deal with the business of being human.


2014 ◽  
pp. 1745-1764
Author(s):  
Billy Brick

This paper seeks to assess the potential for Social Networking Sites (SNSs) to play a role in language learning in the UK Higher Education (HE) sector. These sites are characterised by certain features including learning materials, synchronous and asynchronous video and text chat facilities, a peer review feature, and some sites also incorporate an award system, in the form of points (http://www.livemocha.com) or ‘berries' (http://www.busuu.com). This serves to motivate participants by rewarding them for their progress and for their peer review activities. In order to consider if, or how, to integrate SNSs into the UK HE curriculum it is important to consider the views of practitioners and learners towards such sites and whether they consider them to have a potential role in HE language education. The paper will report on the outcomes of two small research projects which have sought to establish the view of both practitioners and students towards SNSs in the HE context. When considered overall the practitioners were more positive about the site than the learners.


Author(s):  
Peter Samuels ◽  
Chetna Patel

Mathematics Support is a recognised collective term for a variety of extracurricular mathematics and statistics teaching and learning services and resources provided by many Tertiary Educational Institutions. Typical services currently provided in the UK are described. Even with scholarly Mathematics teaching, the authors argue that, in the current UK Tertiary Educational climate, there is still a need for Mathematics Support services. This paper provides evidence of maturity and scholarly practice within the UK Higher Education Mathematics Support community of practice. Three areas where scholarship can be demonstrated in mathematics support services are explored. Firstly, scholarship in the Mathematics Support community of practice in the UK since the early 1990s is demonstrated through surveys of the extent of Mathematics Support provision. Secondly, scholarly practice in Mathematics Support is explored through case studies of good practice. In particular, a detailed case study of the use of electronic record-keeping in Mathematics Support tutoring to improve support effectiveness is provided. Thirdly, the Mathematics Support excellence rewarded by the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning status given to Coventry and Loughborough Universities is investigated. Evidence is provided of scholarship both leading to this award and in developments in Mathematics Support services provided after it was made. This paper concludes by evaluating how far scholarship has gone within the discipline of Mathematics Support and anticipating how the community of practice will develop in the future.


Author(s):  
Billy Brick

This paper seeks to assess the potential for Social Networking Sites (SNSs) to play a role in language learning in the UK Higher Education (HE) sector. These sites are characterised by certain features including learning materials, synchronous and asynchronous video and text chat facilities, a peer review feature, and some sites also incorporate an award system, in the form of points (http://www.livemocha.com) or ‘berries’ (http://www.busuu.com). This serves to motivate participants by rewarding them for their progress and for their peer review activities. In order to consider if, or how, to integrate SNSs into the UK HE curriculum it is important to consider the views of practitioners and learners towards such sites and whether they consider them to have a potential role in HE language education. The paper will report on the outcomes of two small research projects which have sought to establish the view of both practitioners and students towards SNSs in the HE context. When considered overall the practitioners were more positive about the site than the learners.


ReCALL ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
KIRSTEN SÖNTGENS

This paper describes a Computer Supported Experiential Learning project at the University of Central England (UCE), for which a bid has been successful to the UK Higher Education Funding Councils’ learning and teaching fund to develop innovative teaching and learning strategies. The project is based upon a well-established curriculum model (Kolb, 1984) which has been adapted by the Learning Methods Unit (LMU) at UCE to include technologies each addressing a particular stage in Kolb’s learning cycle. The model recognises that it is insufficient simply to learn new concepts, just as it is insufficient to have an experience in isolation. The learner must make the link between theory and practice through active experimentation and through reflection on the learning process.


ReCALL ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-152
Author(s):  
JUNE THOMPSON

This issue of ReCALL represents something of a watershed in the journalÕs history, for a number of reasons. First of all I have to report that Professor Graham Chesters has decided that he wishes to step down as co-editor, and I would like to thank him here for all his work for the journal over the years. Back in 1990 when Graham and I were involved with the Computers in Teaching Initiative Centre for Modern Languages (CTICML) at the University of Hull, funded by the UK Higher Education Funding Council, one of the required ‘deliverables’ was a regular Newsletter, designed to inform university language lecturers about developments in the use of new technologies in language learning. It soon became apparent that some of the material that was being submitted for publication was far too substantial for a Newsletter, yet merited dissemination among our readers. It was Graham who saw the potential need for a new academic journal in this field, and thus ReCALL was born. I still blush to see my attempts at desk-top publishing in those early issues!


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 221258682110358
Author(s):  
Carolijn van Noort

Education partnerships between the United Kingdom (UK) and China continue to evolve. It is worthwhile reflecting on how teaching and learning of Chinese students in the UK has been functioning, and how it can be improved. This study focuses on short-term continuing professional development (CPD) courses taken by professional student cohorts from China in British Higher Education, and explores the application of constructivist learning approaches in regard to teaching and learning. This study suggests three forms of teaching adaptations as a response to- and accommodation of the short duration of the training programs, the seniority of the delegates, and the delegations’ expectations to learn fixed knowledge. Despite teachers’ willingness to adapt and acculturate CPD courses, divergent educational cultures influence the teaching process and students’ learning and experiences. The changing student body in UK Higher Education calls for more university-level attention and sharing of effective practices.


Author(s):  
Jonathan D. Owens ◽  
Usman Talat

This is an empirical investigation considering how the Knowledge Transfer Openness Matrix (KTOM) could facilitate accessibility and Knowledge Transfer (KT) for the UK Higher Education (HE) Management Education Teaching when utilising learning technologies. Its focus is where learning technologies applications currently assist the KT process and support accessibility for the HE teacher and learner. It considers the philosophy of openness, focusing on its usefulness to support accessibility within UK HE Management Education Teaching. It discusses how the openness philosophy may assist the KT process for the HE teacher and learners using learning technologies. In particular, the potential to support accessibility within HE Management Education Teaching environments is appraised. There appear several implications for both teachers and learners. These are characterized in the proposed KTOM. The matrix organises KT events based on the principles of the openness philosophy. The role of learning technologies in events is illustrated with regard to teaching and learning accessibility.


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