Worlds in the Making

This chapter introduces and discusses a thesis related to perceived changes in the ontological status of constructivism, and the opportunities and challenges the changes pose for educators. Recommendations are made about how cultural-elders in particular can address the challenges successfully, in order to take full advantage of the opportunities –one of which is the opportunity to use immersive 3D virtual worlds in our collaborative work with students (who have already internalized the new/changed conditions) to facilitate the teaching and learning of LARGE internal matters including but not limited to dispositions and attitudes. The chapter explores and mines the uses and significance of the immersive 3D console-game Katamari in a variety of ways and for a variety of purposes, and a focused analysis and comparison of reproductive processes within constructivism and software is also undertaken to understand the full extent of their ultimately comingled, and hence exponentially reproductive, ontology.

Moving to the Worldvirtual

The traditional classroom has been considered the ‘ideal’ setting for teaching and learning, and innovations which challenge that structure are under a great deal of scrutiny. As the tools for online learning become more sophisticated, as in the case of 3D immersive worlds, it is time to stop using the brick-and-mortar classroom experience as the litmus by which all educational experiences are measured. This chapter will discuss some significant differences between face-to-face and online learning experiences, as well as some unique affordances provided by virtual worlds for constructivist learning experiences.

Design of a Learning Activity in Second Life

Second Life™ (SL) is now an accepted platform for educational activities. SL supports a range of activities from informal meetings to complete courses offered in the 3D world as part of a university’s curriculum. Learning activities within SL can be identified as a form of e-learning that facilitates learning through the mediating artifacts of the technology. This chapter explores the use of SL using learning activities that are designed to activate students and to facilitate the creation of social activities within groups. The chapter uses the theoretical lens of Activity Theory to examine the operational mechanisms behind designing a course activity that engages people with lifelong disability in the active teaching of health professionals about disability.

Learning Language through Immersive Story Telling in a 3D Virtual Environment

This chapter reports on the development and application of Kingdoms, a 3D virtual environment used for the learning of Chinese language at elementary level. The Kingdoms was developed based on Vygotsky’s constructivist learning theory, game-based learning principles, and a specific instructional technique called the Enter-the-Story method. The Kingdoms leverages the representational fidelity and learner interaction of the 3D virtual environment, which is rich in Chinese cultural artifacts, to create an immersive and engaging environment for students to learn the Chinese language. The empirical evidence from an exploratory case study shows encouraging results that are indicative of the potential of 3D immersive worlds for language learning.

What are Avatars Made of?

Interest in massively multi-protagonist online games and virtual worlds as platforms for learning has shifted of late from the realm of what might easily be perceived as geeky curiosity, to learned and formalized educational research, to an increasing number of policy-makers and school leaders making the investment in land and establishing in-world institutional presences. This chapter seeks to frame such worlds in a contemporary interpretation of socio-cultural theory, in such a way that their unique affordances for learning are foregrounded in terms of the nascent meme of the Zone of Regulatory Development. Particular consideration will also be paid to the dimensionality of such worlds, and the implications thereof to notions of identity and situativity.

The Introduction of a Problem-Based Learning Approach to the Implementation of a Virtual Reality Context

Problem-Based Learning has provided a strategy for curriculum development and delivery for decades. The focus of Problem-Based Learning on a central problem which drives the learning as well as the need for a “real world” context which engages and challenges the student to take ownership of their learning is a strategy that lends itself to the adoption of Virtual Reality. The implementation of Virtual Reality into a Problem-Based Learning environment provides student with challenges with confronting design management but also forecasts what environments they will work in as graduates and professionals. The following chapter reports on the implementation of Virtual Reality into a Problem-Based Learning initiative.

Playing in a New Key, in a New World

In the author’s courses, students have been augmentationist, not immersionist, in their approaches to using technology. In a virtual world, however, they are born with new skins into strange settings, doing things that might be impossible in the world of matter. Their frequent discomfort at this rebirth corroborates findings in two studies (Mosier, 2009; Howe & Strauss, 2000) that American “Millennials” distrust activities that seem to have no direct bearing on their educational outcomes, established social circles, or professional desires. The chapter describes assignments for such students, in the context of Rouzie’s (2005) “serio-ludic” pedagogy. Several touchstones for educators appear, such as four challenges educators face, advice for orienting students’ first hours in a virtual world, long-standing Second Life content of worth such as Virtual Harlem, and guidelines for creating such content oneself.

Developing Educational Leadership in Graduate Students through Cross-Program Collaboration in a 3-D Immersive Environment

Educational leadership is no longer considered the exclusive realm of the principal but extends to all educators within the school. Shared leadership encompasses collaboration among many educational roles to define the effective schools of the 21st century. New job demands for a diverse population of leaders and growing accountability at all levels for preparing such effective leaders provides the impetus for faculty in the department of Leadership and Educational Studies at Appalachian State University to explore new ways to prepare our students for these realities. The resulting project represents a shift from discreet courses that trapped programs in self-sustained silos of learning to expand both learning and teaching along with that of students into a more global perspective.

In the Presence of Avatars

As ancient mythic forms of being, avatars represented the descent of deities from heaven. Today the term is most widely used to refer to figures (often 3D, mobile, and dynamic) that represent human computer users in virtual worlds. The core issue in the development and use of avatar technologies is, “What does it mean to be present and to be perceived as present by others?” These questions have been addressed for more than a half century by researchers on communication and on education; many of their ideas and findings provide footholds in the slippery realm of evolving media technologies. The chapter focuses on the role of immediacy behaviors in closing the psychological distance between teachers and learners in real and virtual worlds and the role of social presence in avatar-based teaching and learning.

Contemporary Theory for Immersive Worlds

This chapter will provide the reader with a historical context and introduction to contemporary learning theories for 3D and immersive environments being used for educational purposes. Many traditional educational theories predate the emergence of the multimedia literacy movement and do not adequately address the challenges of developing, delivering, and integrating multimedia based content such as game-based immersive environments into curricula. The authors place significant emphasis on the importance of relevant, accurate, and situated aspects of culture and diversity throughout the development, implementation, and evaluation phases of immersive learning environments. To this end, a new theory is introduced and discussed in detail. The Ecology of Culturally Competent Design has been developed to specifically address the rigors and challenges of accurately situating culture within virtual environments.