Teaching in 3D: Pedagogical Affordances and Constraints of 3D Virtual Worlds for Synchronous Distance Learning

Three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds are a new technology that holds some promise as constructivist learning environments for distance education. This investigation presents an evaluative case study of the pedagogical implications of using one 3D virtual world, Active Worlds, for synchronous distance education. The research design for this qualitative study focuses on the pedagogical affordances and constraints. Methods employed in the data collection include participatory observations, class logs, and formal and informal interviews with the instructor of a synchronous distance learning course offered through Active Worlds University. Findings reveal that although Active Worlds provides tools that support constructivist learning environments, the affordances and constraints of the tools (discourse, experiential, and resource) may, to varying degrees, impact the pragmatic use of this medium. While this initial investigation reveals that this technology supports constructivist learning environments, more research needs to be conducted to fully explore the potential of 3D virtual worlds as both distance and traditional classroom learning environments.     

从Sloodle看三维虚拟学习环境的发展趋势

当前教育领域涌现了很多使用基于网络的多用户虚拟环境进行教学的实例,如Active Worlds、Second Life、Wonderland等,这些平台有很好的三维模拟环境,在教学中使用得越来越广泛,但缺乏学习过程记录与支持的功能,有必要将其与现有的教学系统尤其是基于Web的虚拟学习系统整合起来。本文首先简要回顾了教育领域中三维虚拟学习环境的研究现状,然后介绍了当前国际上流行的一个开源三维虚拟学习环境——Sloodle。通过介绍Sloodle中的Web-Intercom、MetaGloss、Choicer、Translator等工具,讨论了使用这种三维虚拟环境与Web技术整合给学习系统带来的挑战和潜力。最后,总结并探讨了三维虚拟学习环境的发展趋势。     

The pragmatics of virtual worlds for K-12 educators: investigating the affordances and constraints of ActiveWorlds and SecondLife with K-12 in-service teachers

The purpose of this study is to address the pragmatics of integrating virtual worlds for teaching and learning for K-12 education. Specifically this qualitative investigation focuses on a reflective dialogue gathered from a group of K-12 (primary and secondary school) educators about their experiences using both Active Worlds Educational Universe and Second Life. Reflections consist of both their experiences as (a) a learner within both applications, (b) developing instructional content in both applications, and (c) perceptions of value of each application for teaching and learning. The goal of this research is to investigate how K-12 teachers’ perceptions of virtual worlds may impact the integration of new tools for teaching and learning.     

Teachers’ perceptions of the benefits and challenges of three-dimensional virtual worlds for social skills practice

This case study describes how a systematic 7-Step Virtual Worlds Teacher Training Workshop guided the enculturation of 18 special education teachers into three-dimensional virtual worlds. The main purpose was to enable these teachers to make informed decisions about the usability of virtual worlds for students with social skills challenges, such as students with autism. A 10-point rating scale was used to measure the perceived usability of virtual worlds for social skills practice. Although the mean usability was higher after the intervention, a Wilcoxon signed-rank test did not reveal a statistically significant difference between the mean ratings (p = .14). A majority of the participants (76%) tended to be supportive of the idea of using virtual worlds in special education. Three key themes emerged from the qualitative instruments, namely, Virtual World Pedagogy, Virtual World Benefits, and Virtual World Challenges, encompassing 18 codes overall. This article focuses on the benefits and challenges of virtual worlds for social skills practice as perceived by special education teachers. Social skills practice and repeated practice opportunities in a stress-reduced environment emerged as the key benefits, although these affordances were affected by various challenges. The study concludes with suggestions for future research for special education purposes.     

Science learning in virtual environments: a descriptive study

Usually, students learn more if the method of instruction matches their learning style. Since Physics and Chemistry deal with three–dimensional (3–D) objects, the ability to visualize and mentally manipulate shapes is very helpful in their learning. In fact, much of what Physics and Chemistry students know takes the form of images. However, little attention has been given to the pedagogical effectiveness of visual stimuli in those disciplines. Computers are being increasingly used as teaching tools. The new approaches include simulations, multimedia presentations and, more recently, virtual environments. Computer–based worlds are useful to visualize physical and chemical processes allowing for better conceptual understanding. Since 3–D virtual environments need to be explored and evaluated in science education, we have created a virtual environment ( Virtual Water ) for studying phases of matter, phase transitions and atomic orbitals at the final year of high school and first year of university levels. Based on that work, we discuss the implications of visual learning in designing strategies to cater for differences in learning modes. Our study indicates that 3–D virtual environments may help students with high spatial aptitude to acquire better conceptual understandings. However, only some parameters (interactivity, navigation and 3–D perception) have shown to be relevant and only for some topics. On the other hand, stereoscopic visualizations do not seem to be relevant, with the exception of crystalline structures.     

网上3D虚拟世界及其教育案例分析

网上3D虚拟世界能够充分挖掘计算机和通讯技术的技术潜能,适应新的学习理论的要求。本文对具有代表性的网上3D虚拟世界教育软件AWEDU的特点和功能进行了分析,并结合教育案例分析了其在教育中的应用价值,最后指出我国的教育技术工作者也需要研究网上3D虚拟世界及其在教育中的应用。     

Second Life in higher education: Assessing the potential for and the barriers to deploying virtual worlds in learning and teaching

Second Life (SL) is currently the most mature and popular multi-user virtual world platform being used in education. Through an in-depth examination of SL, this article explores its potential and the barriers that multi-user virtual environments present to educators wanting to use immersive 3-D spaces in their teaching. The context is set by tracing the history of virtual worlds back to early multi-user online computer gaming environments and describing the current trends in the development of 3-D immersive spaces. A typology for virtual worlds is developed and the key features that have made unstructured 3-D spaces so attractive to educators are described. The popularity in use of SL is examined through three critical components of the virtual environment experience: technical, immersive and social. From here, the paper discusses the affordances that SL offers for educational activities and the types of teaching approaches that are being explored by institutions. The work concludes with a critical analysis of the barriers to successful implementation of SL as an educational tool and maps a number of developments that are underway to address these issues across virtual worlds more broadly.     

Improving teaching and learning of computer programming through the use of the Second Life virtual world

The emergence of new technologies such as three‐dimensional virtual worlds brings new opportunities for teaching and learning. We conducted an action research approach to the analysis of how teaching and learning of computer programming at the university level could be developed within the Second Life virtual world. Results support the notion that it is possible to use this environment for better effectiveness in the learning of programming. The main results are the identification of problems hampering the teacher's intervention in this virtual world and the detection of solutions for those problems that were found effective to the success in using this environment for teaching/learning computer programming.     

The benefits and barriers of using virtual worlds to engage healthcare professionals on distance learning programmes

Using the delivery of a large postgraduate distance learning module in bioethics to health professionals as an illustrative example, the type of learning activity that could be enhanced through delivery in an immersive virtual world (IVW) was explored. Several activities were repurposed from the “traditional” virtual learning environment into the IVW, providing insight into the pedagogical affordances of each environment. Voluntary classes, which were held each week over the 12-week module, were designed to provide deeper understanding of ethical theory and how it informs professional healthcare practice. Virtual classes included problem-based learning, flipped lectures, and role play. Following the introduction of the virtual classes, the module failure rate was less than 5%, compared with ～11% in the previous two cohorts. However, the introduction of any new technology presents challenges to both staff and students; therefore, the barriers to using virtual worlds are also explored.     

Combining feminist pedagogy and transactional distance to create gender-sensitive technology-enhanced learning

In this paper, we argue for a new synthesis of two pedagogic theories: feminist pedagogy and transactional distance, which explain why and how distance education has been such a positive system for women in a national distance learning university. We illustrate this with examples of positive action initiatives for women. The concept of transactional distance allows us to explore distance as a form of psychological and communication space, not simply of geographical distance. Feminist pedagogy, on the other hand, has recognised the importance of gender in structuring disciplines as well as teaching strategies. Both theories implicitly position the face-to-face classroom as the ideal learning environment, with the implication that distance learning has to produce a deficient environment. We argue that the evidence for women does not support this and present examples of feminist distance learning provision that has offered successful technology-enhanced learning and educational opportunities.     

Transactional issues in distance education: The impact of design in Audioteleconferencing

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a study of student perceptions of learning via audioconferencing in university‐level courses delivered at a distance. Field observations, interviews, and a focus group were used to triangulate and deepen knowledge obtained from an initial mail survey. The results of the investigation revealed that the audioteleconferences were being used under two quite different instructional designs, which were associated with significant differences in students' perceptions of the opportunity to engage in critical thinking skills, creation of a community of inquiry, and the value of various components of the distance education system. The study documents students' perceptions and outlines ways in which these sessions can be designed to induce maximum learning opportunities.     

基于ARCS的分布式虚拟教学中学习动机设计探究

随着高性能的信息处理和通信技术的发展,国家信息基础设施逐步完善,基于互联网的虚拟文化环境也不断发展,融入建构主义理论的分布式虚拟学习社区为人们提供了更好的情境化学习环境,而参与者在这种环境中获取和传送信息的兴趣和动机直接决定了学习者在分布式虚拟学习社区中的学习效果。因此,如何有效利用动机设计模型设计与激励学习动机就显得十分重要。本文在系统的ARCS动机设计模型基础上探讨了分布式虚拟学习社区中学习动机的设计过程,构建了分布式虚拟学习社区中ARCS的应用模型,提出了基于模型的动机激励和维持策略,以期为分布式虚拟学习社区中教与学的有效开展提供支持。     

虚拟学习空间与真实学习空间

虚拟学习空间与真实学习空间的区别,宜以学习空间所涉及的人、物或事在学习中是否为真正触及到该人、物或事的本身来划分。从这个意义上说,虚拟学习空间并非远程教育(特别是网络教育)领域中专有的术语,传统的课堂教育也有利用虚拟学习空间的问题。两种学习空间各有优点与缺陷,只强调或忽视任何一种学习空间都是不恰当的。随着高科技的发展,虚拟学习空间肯定会得到越来越多的利用,但真实学习空间的利用始终不应放弃,更不会消失。它们之间存在着互补性,我们要根据具体的情况与条件取长补短地交替利用,以达到提高教学效果的目的。     

The effectiveness of teleconferencing in fostering interaction in distance education

A recent investigation indicates that using teleconferencing in teaching mathematics by distance education gives the students access to a flexible educational medium. Results confirm that this technology can support interaction between teacher and students similar to that in a conventional school. The investigation concludes that using teleconferencing in teaching mathematics by distance education gives the students access to education that, although different from that available in a traditional classroom, forms part of an effective teaching and learning environment. It also highlights the need to address pedagogical issues to maximise interaction within this environment.     

教育中的虚拟临场

本文通过调研远程教育领域中和“临场”相关的各种术语,详细讨论了教育中的虚拟临场这一概念。考虑到虚拟现实和扩增实境等远程呈现学习技术的迅速发展,本文对相关术语进行了详尽的阐述,界定和辨别了以下的几个术语：机构临场、学习者临场、社会临场、认知临场、交互临场和教学临场;并涉及了学习临场和教师临场、网络／在线临场、情感临场和缺席临场。本文将交互距离模型作为理解学习过程的框架,关键的几种临场形式被对应到交互距离模型的四个不同阶段,并通过图表阐述了各种临场之间的关系,以及在学习过程中发生的顺序。本文对这些概念的元分析应该能够帮助教师和学习者更好地理解学习过程。     

远程模拟实验的探索与研究

在基于网络的远程教育中,学生所处的学习空间与已熟悉的真实学习环境有很大不同,它是一种计算机和网络技术营造出的虚拟学习环境,而为了减少远程教育中时间和空间分离对学习带来的困难,这种虚拟学习环境需要更逼真,一定程度上作为真实学习环境的延伸和拓展。对于远程教育中工科专业课程的学习,因其有不可缺少的实践环节要求,所以,需要创建一种利于学生进行工科实验的虚拟环境,而且这种虚拟学习空间必须要符合工科专业课程线性和逻辑性的特点。该文从工科专业课程的实验课程作为切入点,按照虚拟学习环境的模式开发了远程模拟实验系统,依据引导式学习理论进行设计,并且遵循课程本身的科学要求,使学生达到工科专业课程的教学要求。     

The Vertex Project: Children Creating and Populating 3D Virtual Worlds

This paper outlines early investigations and initial outcomes of The Vertex Project, a school‐based action research project currently underway at Middlesex University. The project aims to explore the potential of Shared 3D Virtual Environments as creative learning tools for children, and looks into the challenges facing their practical integration into the primary classroom. Working in partnership with three primary schools, the project sets out to investigate the teaching and learning possibilities offered by Internet based 3D virtual environments, placing particular emphasis on the opportunities provided by the active participation of children in the design and construction of their own virtual worlds, and in the creation of avatars with which to represent themselves within these spaces.