This is a really valuable conference and I very much enjoyed meeting many new contacts and old friends.
The Fall and Rise of Virtual Worlds in Online Teaching and Research: Early Adopters, Geek Cliques and Cool Innovation.
View more PowerPoint from Simon Bignell
Speaker: Dr Simon Bignell (Lecturer in
Psychology, Centre for Psychological Research, University of Derby, UK).
Title:
The Fall and
Rise of Virtual Worlds in Online Teaching and Research:
Early Adopters, Geek Cliques and Cool
Innovation.
Abstract:
Online
multi-user virtual environments such as Second Life™ are computer programs populated
with personalised digital avatars that offer users the potential to engage in
customised lifelike learning activities. Once developed, teaching and research
materials created ‘in world’ are persistent and can be accessed continuously, mashed
with other online services or used for real-time group activities.
The highly
immersive nature of multi-user virtual worlds such as Second Life™ and the economies
of scale of deployed e-learning and online research make these methods
increasingly appealing across the education sector. However, developing and
delivering teaching in virtual worlds is challenging, requires planning and
possibly requires relinquishing much control to the learner. Likewise, doubts
exist about the validity for conducting research and ethical issues remain
about anonymity, avatar identity and reliability of the data produced.
Within Second
Life™ many Universities are using problem-based learning, simulation and role play
to provide digital learning environments that are comparable to the
contemporary classroom with all of the advantages of a fully immersive
online/distance learning platform. Additionally, the platform offers
educationalists and researchers licence to go beyond traditional pedagogic and
experimental methods.
Thousands of virtual
world settings have be developed as highly experiential real world simulations but
it is also possible to offer a ‘stripped-back’ teaching space that removes
distractions from the learner’s environment and focuses on individual
sequential learning. The benefits are also clear for researchers wishing to remove
confounding variables from their virtual experimental space or to fully immerse
their participants in a virtual context (or body) and maintain experimental
control. The challenge to these innovative spaces is in realizing their
potential without being bogged-down in technology.
This talk follows
several funded projects by the author and collaborators and plots the progress and
future direction of teaching and research in these evolving online digital
communities.




