1. HOW CAN IDENTITY
AFFECT THE WAY WE
LEARN AND SHOULD
THE EDUCATION
SYSTEM INCORPORATE
VIRTUAL ONLINE
METHODS OF TEACHING
IN THE FUTURE?

2. IDENTITY AND
EDUCATION
Presence and Embodiment- Mark Childs
Key to learning within a virtual world
“Users’ mental model of themselves inside the virtual world”
Biocca, 2007
“The experience (of) the body as what I am. I experience my
body as me. Not the experience of the body as a thing that
belongs to me.” Carruthers, 2009
“The resistance to learning in virtual world is informed by
values students’ hold with technology” Childs, 2010

3. MY EXPERIENCES
WITH EMBODIMENT
Me My Avatar
Hair Colour:
Blonde
Hair Colour:
Pink
Body Shape:
Average
Body Shape:
Overweight
Dress Sense:
Casual, quite
mainstream
Dress Sense:
Gothic, tight
black cat-suit
with weapon
attached to
hand
Eye Colour: Blue Eye Colour:
Red

4. IF WE LOOK LIKE OUR AVATARS DO
WE FEEL A GREATER SENSE OF
EMBODIMENT?

5. CURRENT TRENDS
• Cypris Village in
Second Life
• English learning
community
• Non Profit
organisation- 450
members

6. CYPRIS VILLAGE
PRACTICE & HANGMAN
GAME

7. CYPRIS VILLAGE
LECTURE AREA

8. CYPRIS VILLAGE
GAME AREA

9. PAST INTO CURRENT TRENDS

10. FUTURE VIEWS
“Todays average college
grads have spent less
than 5,000 hours of their
lives reading, but over
10,000 hours playing
video games.” Prensky,
2001.
“Digital immigrant
instructors, who speak
an outdated language
(that of the pre-digital
age) are struggling to
teach a population that
speaks an entirely new
language” Prensky, 2001
How do we adapt learning for
digital natives?

11. DR. TONY O’DRISCOLL 7
SENSIBILITIES OF
VIRTUAL WORLDS (2007)

12. Architecture:
3D internet,
students building
a house in Second
Life.
Science:
“Magic Molecule
maker”
Caffeine molecule.

13. DR. TONY
O’DRISCOLL, 2007

14. DETERMINISTIC
VIEWS
• Prensky and
O’Driscoll’s views
ignore the social and
cultural issues
• Technological
determinism- not all
students are as
“digitally native” as
Prensky assumes

15. ACCESSIBILITY AND
SUSTAINABILITY
• My computer often
struggled with
Second Life’s
graphics
• Pictures would not
load
• Distorted buildings
• Affected learning
experience

16. GRAPHICS CREATING
BARRIERS

17. LINKING THESE IDEAS
TO IDENTITY

18. FINAL THOUGHTS

19. REFERENCES
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