Slideshow Transcript

1. Slide 1: Making the right MUVE Ope n Classro o m Conference workshop Stockholm October 2007 Ste ve n Warburto n King’s College London, UK Margarita Pe re z- Garcia MENON Network, BE
2. Slide 2: workshop aims • provide tools for critical decisions making in the implementation of MUVEs in education • introduce immersive 3D worlds • evaluate and analyse MUVEs in relation to learning and teaching settings
3. Slide 3: “Are virtual worlds a breakthrough technology that will forever reshape learning and business? Or are they this season's over-hyped fad?” Jay Cross, author of Informal Learning: Rediscovering the Natural Pathways that Inspire Innovation and Performance http://elearnmag.org/subpage.cfm?section=articles&article=44-1 E-Learn, March 2007
4. Slide 4: why are we interested in MUVEs? • $1 billion were invested in 35 virtual worlds companies in the past 12 months • 150 million users of Neopets • current number of Second Life (SL) residents exceeds 9 million • New Media Consortium (NMC) is running over 200 educational sims in SL
5. Slide 5: Identifying critical factors Hey! Where did my hair go?
6. Slide 6: a socio-technical activity tool developed for evaluating and making decisions on technological applicability
7. Slide 7: activity 1: placing Q1. where would we place MUVEs (and why)? Q2. which technologies are difficult to place (and technologies within an why)? interpretative matrix
8. Slide 8: What is a Multi-User Virtual Environment? A valid learning and Or simply teaching a game? tool? Or perhaps both?
9. Slide 9: towards a simple typology of MUVEs Flexible narrative Social world Simulation World of Warcraft Second Life Distributed Observer Network Active Worlds Ardcalloch Second Life Rivercity project Metaplace Revolution Habbo Hotel The world is a setting in The world may have The world is as close to which your story or elements of both a fictional the physical world as narrative unfolds within the and physical world and possible and is governed constraints of the rules and exists as a place for social by the rules of physical goals designed into the interactions to occur. world in relation to the world. intended simulation. You are a character You are an extension of You are yourself. yourself. in role. Source: based on an original an original typology developed by: Lindy McKeown, University of Southern Queensland
10. Slide 10: Virtual universes landscape
11. Slide 11: Second Life: the current brand leader in social worlds
12. Slide 12: MUVE affordances • Facilitating social interaction (death of distance) and cooperation • Visualisation • Contextualisation • Relation to doing in the physical world (building and scripting) • Informal learning opportunities • Affective nature of immersion and motivational aspects • Simulation and experiential learning (some physical constraints can be overcome) • Roleplay • Strong communities (group coherence around groups, sub- cultures and geography) • Opportunities for content production that are both individual and owned (but with limited transferability)
13. Slide 13: \"What can this technology do that will enhance the learner's experience that my current learning technology portfolio cannot?\" • Flow, balancing inactivity and challenge in just the right proportions to keep people moving through the experience. • Repetition, which allows learners to try-and-try again as many times as they choose. • Experimentation, encouraging learners to try new things and learn in the process. • Experience that is much more engaging than other digitally mediated technologies. • Doing, because practice makes perfect and VWs are big practice fields. • Observing, because if you're not ready to act now, you have plenty of opportunities to observe others and learn from them. • Motivation, because all of these factors culminate in an environment that cultivates teachable moments at every turn. Motivation is baked into the context as people want to learn within it. Jay Cross, author of Informal Learning: Rediscovering the Natural Pathways that Inspire Innovation and Performance http://elearnmag.org/subpage.cfm?section=articles&article=44-1 E-Learn, March 2007
14. Slide 14: how inspiring is our current use of this limitless virtual space?
15. Slide 15: suggested competency framework Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Building Walking Inventory Moving Objects Scripting Flying Pie Controls Video/ Creating Landing Camera Objects Machinima Controls Sitting Editing Objects Movement Teleport Controls Shopping Appearance Using the Map Textures Friendship Notecard Prims Search Opening Chat vs IM vs Boxes Shout From: http://www.cxknowledge.com/SL_Levels.html and further developed by the Schome project
16. Slide 16: • Schome projects exploring Second Life: • Sloodle • Global Kids
17. Slide 17: reports and findings on the educational use of MUVEs and games: • Games need to be embedded into practice to ensure effective learning • More research is needed to provide empirical evidence for how game-based learning can be used most effectively • More effective supporting materials are needed to support practitioners • New developments (e.g. serious games movement) are informing the development of games for learning • Great potential and need for tutors and practitioners to become involved with games development for learning • Need for more opportunities for staff development to support tutors wishing to adopt game-based learning • Potential for learners to become more empowered with game-based learning
18. Slide 18: how can we deliver MUVE based learning and teaching within an educational setting? making decisions …
19. Slide 19: activity 2: analysing factors in the introduction of ICT Questions: • Which factors can I comment on? • What can I not comment on? • Which factors can I influence? • Which factors can I not influence? • What actions or decisions can I take?
20. Slide 20: Ste ve n Warburto n King’s College London, UK Research at Prsim(lab) http://prismlab.wordpress.com Personal at Liquid Learning http://warburton.typepad.com Second Life: StevenW Bohm Margarita Pe re z-Garcia MENON Network, BE http://www.menon.org Personal research at prism(lab) http://prismlab.wordpress.com Blog at esphères identitaires http://www.margaperez.com Second Life: Paz Lorenz