The Future of Immersive Instructional Design for the Global Knowledge Economy

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 14-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lia DiBello ◽  
Whit Missildine
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Design ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Knowledge Economy ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Global Knowledge ◽  
Immersive Learning ◽  
High Level ◽  
And Training

Instructional design has not kept pace with the growth of the globalized knowledge economy. In the area of project management, a volatile global economy requires immersive learning and training exercises targeted to expert learners that have not yet been widely adopted. The authors developed a 16-hour, immersive collective learning experience for mid- to high-level project managers. The exercise was carried out in the Second Life Virtual Worlds platform and aimed to accelerate learning among participants. In addition, the authors tested a number of questions about the capacity of Virtual Worlds to be used for running complex, immersive learning and training. Results indicate that participants experienced high levels of engagement with exercise and, in the second iteration, were able to achieve goals within the exercise. Various technological breakdowns pointed to both the downsides as well as the opportunities for Virtual Worlds to be used for immersive rehearsal engagements.

The Future of Immersive Instructional Design for the Global Knowledge Economy

2012 ◽  
pp. 115-135
Author(s):  
Lia DiBello ◽  
Whit Missildine
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Design ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Knowledge Economy ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Global Knowledge ◽  
Immersive Learning ◽  
High Level ◽  
And Training

Instructional design has not kept pace with the growth of the globalized knowledge economy. In the area of project management, a volatile global economy requires immersive learning and training exercises targeted to expert learners that have not yet been widely adopted. The authors developed a 16-hour, immersive collective learning experience for mid- to high-level project managers. The exercise was carried out in the Second Life Virtual Worlds platform and aimed to accelerate learning among participants. In addition, the authors tested a number of questions about the capacity of Virtual Worlds to be used for running complex, immersive learning and training. Results indicate that participants experienced high levels of engagement with exercise and, in the second iteration, were able to achieve goals within the exercise. Various technological breakdowns pointed to both the downsides as well as the opportunities for Virtual Worlds to be used for immersive rehearsal engagements.

Learning Problem-Solving Strategies in Virtual Worlds That Encourage People to Respect Human Rights

2019 ◽  
pp. 201-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kara Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Instructional Design ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Learning Problem ◽  
New Models ◽  
Problem Solving Strategies

This chapter will discuss educational projects for learning problem-solving strategies in virtual worlds that encourage people to respect human rights as a lifelong learning experience. The discussion includes philosophical issues concerning the need to design new models for virtual learning that engage a person's own ways of thinking and interacting with the educational content. For example, the instructional design for these projects is based on adapting the think aloud and means-end analysis research methods for evaluating how learning about human rights in a virtual environment might transfer to the real-world community. The projects have been presented over the past 10 years in the virtual worlds of Second Life and the Open Sims.

Instructional Design Meets Politeness Issues in Virtual Worlds

2013 ◽  
pp. 123-148
Author(s):  
Yueh-Hui Vanessa Chiang ◽  
Diane L. Schallert
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Design ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Psychological Needs ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Learner Centered ◽  
New Learning

Attempts at incorporating emerging and innovative instructional technology, like virtual worlds, into educational settings requires efforts to understand new discourse patterns that may develop and bring in a learner-centered instructional design that takes the affordances and constraints of the new technology into consideration. These efforts can contribute to an effective and positive learning experience for learners. Drawing upon observations of different types of learning activities held in Second Life, an increasingly popular virtual world, this chapter aims at initiating a discussion interweaving the concerns for politeness, reflecting learners’ psychological needs during their interactions with fellow learners and technology, with considerations of instructional design in a virtual world as a new learning context. Such a discussion has the potential of more effectively exploiting what new immersive environments can offer for learning.

Learning as Immersive Experience

2011 ◽  
pp. 15-30
Author(s):  
Sara de Freitas ◽  
Ian Dunwell ◽  
Genaro Rebolledo-Mendez
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Technology Enhanced Learning ◽  
Online Learners ◽  
Immersive Learning ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Uk

As virtual worlds come of age, their potential for applications supporting teaching and learning is becoming increasingly recognised. This chapter outlines a transition of learning, centring on the uptake of new tools for supporting Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) in universities and colleges. In particular, the use of technologies such as virtual worlds is increasing the pedagogic toolkit of teachers and tutors, providing unique opportunities to support and enhance teaching and learning. In particular, the use of virtual worlds to reach remote, distance, and online learners is creating new opportunities for face-to-face engagement and motivation with difficult-to-reach groups. To evidence and explore this potential, this chapter documents the main findings from several studies which focus upon defining and examining the key components which contribute towards the efficacy of an ‘immersive learning experience’. This includes the main findings of the UK JISC-funded MyPlan project, wherein Second Life, a desktop virtual world, was used to support career decisions and educational choices among two groups of learners, the first from a college and the second from a university. These findings are compared to those arising from the UK Technology Strategy Board-funded Serious Games: Engaging Training Solutions (SG-ETS) project, which sought to develop and assess three high-fidelity serious games. The chapter focuses upon four specific components of virtual worlds and immersive learning techniques: personalisation through learner modelling, integrative feedback, intrinsic motivational quality, and what the authors term ‘social interactive learning’. These four criteria are discussed with respect to the study, providing a basis for future ongoing studies that explore the efficacy of immersive virtual worlds as an alternative for, and supplement to, traditional learning environments.

Beyond studentification in United States College Towns: Neighborhood change in the knowledge nodes, 1980–2010

2017 ◽  
Vol 49 (6) ◽  
pp. 1341-1360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan S Foote
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
Knowledge Economy ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Neighborhood Change ◽  
Global Knowledge ◽  
College Towns ◽  
The World ◽  
Social Geographies

With the rise of the cognitive-cultural (or knowledge) economy, urban areas around the world have experienced significant changes in their social geographies. Studentification is one such change that has occurred in cities hosting major universities around the world. This study extends the analysis of social change to vital knowledge nodes in the networked global economy: United States college towns. K-means cluster analysis is used to identify neighborhood types in ten cities with major research universities across four Census years: 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010. Temporal and spatial analyses are then conducted to determine how these knowledge nodes have changed with the decline of the industrial economy and the rise of the knowledge economy. The analysis indicates the presence of six neighborhood types in these college towns: Middle Class, Minority-Concentrated, Stability, Elite, Mix/Renter, and Student. Over the course of the study period, the number of Elite neighborhoods increased considerably, while the number of Middle Class neighborhoods plummeted. The number of Mix/Renter neighborhoods also increased. Spatially, Student and Minority-Concentrated neighborhoods generally remained fairly clustered in the same areas across the study period. Elite neighborhoods spread across wider geographical areas over the course of the study period. These results are compared to previous studies on neighborhood change. The comparisons reveal that the knowledge nodes show some similar patterns to studentifying cities and to rapidly growing nodes in areas with ties to the global knowledge economy.

More than just Logging In

2013 ◽  
pp. 149-160
Author(s):  
Kae Novak ◽  
Chris Luchs ◽  
Beth Davies-Stofka
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Content Delivery ◽  
Immersive Learning ◽  
Delivery Vehicles

This case study chronicles co-curricular activities held in the virtual world Second Life. The event activities included standard content delivery vehicles and those involving movement and presence. Several international content experts were featured and allowed students to meet and discuss ideas on a common ground with these experts. When developing these events, the researchers wondered, could an immersive learning environment be provide a deeper level of engagement? Was it possible to have students do more than just logging in? During the events, the students discovered a whole new way of learning. Chief among their discoveries was the realization that in these virtual world educational events, students, scholars, and faculty can all be mentors as well as learners. In virtual worlds, the expert-on-a-dais model of teaching is rapidly replaced by a matrix of discussion, collaboration, and movement that quickly generates a pool of ideas and knowledge.

The Pedagogical Considerations in the Design of Virtual Worlds for Organization Learning

2014 ◽  
pp. 1390-1409
Author(s):  
C. Candace Chou ◽  
Rama Kaye Hart
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Student Perspectives ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Organization Learning ◽  
Immersive Learning ◽  
Pedagogical Design

An increasing number of organizations have established presences in Second Life or virtual worlds for organizational learning. The types of activities range from staff training, annual meetings, to leadership development and commercial transactions. This chapter reviews relevant literature on how virtual worlds, especially Second Life, are utilized for organizational learning. The discussions include leveraging the affordances of virtual worlds for learning, integrating design principles of 3D immersive learning, and examining examples of actual workplace learning in virtual worlds. Specific emphasis will be placed on the translation of applicable learning theories into the pedagogical design of virtual worlds. Furthermore, the chapter examines student perspectives of an actual course on immersive learning that took place in Second Life. Student perspectives are summarized in six strands: challenging and informative learning, engagement, activity structures, transformation, collaborative and democratic participation, and new opportunities. The six themes are important factors for designers of 3D learning environments to ensure quality immersive learning experiences.

The Pedagogical Considerations in the Design of Virtual Worlds for Organization Learning

2011 ◽  
pp. 551-569 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. C. Chou ◽  
Rama Kaye Hart
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Student Perspectives ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Organization Learning ◽  
Immersive Learning ◽  
Pedagogical Design

An increasing number of organizations have established presences in Second Life or virtual worlds for organizational learning. The types of activities range from staff training, annual meetings, to leadership development and commercial transactions. This chapter reviews relevant literature on how virtual worlds, especially Second Life, are utilized for organizational learning. The discussions include leveraging the affordances of virtual worlds for learning, integrating design principles of 3D immersive learning, and examining examples of actual workplace learning in virtual worlds. Specific emphasis will be placed on the translation of applicable learning theories into the pedagogical design of virtual worlds. Furthermore, the chapter examines student perspectives of an actual course on immersive learning that took place in Second Life. Student perspectives are summarized in six strands: challenging and informative learning, engagement, activity structures, transformation, collaborative and democratic participation, and new opportunities. The six themes are important factors for designers of 3D learning environments to ensure quality immersive learning experiences.

A Model for Evaluating Online Programs

2011 ◽  
pp. 1438-1448
Author(s):  
Amy J. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Program Evaluation ◽  
Instructional Design ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Course Evaluation ◽  
Online Programs ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Education Activity ◽  
High Level

According to the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation (1994), “Program evaluation is a systematic investigation of the worth of an ongoing or continuing distance education activity” (Simonson, 1997, p. 88). As such, this article addresses the issue of evaluating programs rather than courses. Although it is true that content, instructional design, and delivery greatly affect the quality of the program, course evaluation is a topic in and of itself. Frydenberg (2002) noted that program evaluation was frequently listed as a separate item in standards documentation: “While assessment of student achievement is normally described as part of instructional design and tied to specific course objectives, program evaluation is an activity that incorporates all the aspects of the e-learning experience” (p. 7). High-level aspects of course design are, however, built into program evaluation as you will see because it is impossible to evaluate an educational program without looking at courses.

Learning and Assessment with Virtual Worlds

2009 ◽  
pp. 55-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Hobbs ◽  
Elaine Brown ◽  
Marie Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Preliminary Analysis ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Cognitive Approach ◽  
Approach To Learning ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Transferable Skills ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Initial Results

This chapter provides an introduction to learning and teaching in the virtual world Second Life (SL). It focuses on the nature of the environment and the constructivist cognitive approach to learning that it supports. The authors present detailed accounts of two case studies and provide preliminary analysis of the way in which the environment helps students to achieve both explicit and implicit learning outcomes. The formal assessment for these studies allowed the content, style, narrative and working pattern to be decided by the students. They believe that this approach provides a useful stepping stone between content driven and problem-based teaching techniques. Initial results seem to indicate that students have brought in learning from other areas with a mature approach that enhances their transferable skills in group work, project management and problem based learning. The authors suggest that loosely specified assessments with suitable scaffolding, within the rich environment of Second Life, can be used to help students develop independent, self motivated learning. To support this they map criteria from problembased learning literature and link the learning experience to types of learner.

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