Virtual worlds: Further development of web-based teaching (original) (raw)

EXPERIENCING EDUCATION WITH 3D VIRTUAL WORLDS

ABSTRACT In this paper we discuss the potentialities of 3D virtual worlds in education. We argue that assignments in virtual worlds and a constructivist approach go hand in hand. We identify the aspects of virtual worlds (such as ActiveWorlds and SecondLife) that make them useful for education and research, as well as aspects that do not. We found that intertwining real life instructional courses with virtual constructivist courses was very promising in terms of the learning experience.

Teaching in Virtual Worlds: Opportunities and Challenges

Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology

How, where, when, and what we teach has been significantly influenced by technological innovation. Radio, television, and computers have all altered how information is presented and how students interact with that information. This paper describes how virtual worlds provide a mechanism to incorporate constructivist, experiential, and student-centered learning practices into the classroom. The authors also discuss the challenges and the benefits of using virtual worlds in education as well as some implications for the future of education.

3D virtual worlds in higher education

Informed Design of …, 2011

3D virtual worlds are becoming widespread due to cheaper powerful computers, high-speed broadband connections and efforts towards their tighter integration with current 2D web environments. Besides traditional gaming and entertainment applications, some serious propositions are starting to emerge for their use particularly in education, where they are perceived as enablers of active learning, learning by doing, and knowledge construction through social interaction. However, there is still little understanding of how 3D virtual ...

Advancing Learning through Virtual Worlds

Higher education institutions and corporations are increasingly exploring new pedagogical methods to align with learning styles of incoming students and employees, who are amazingly adept at using web 2.0 applications. This chapter explores the use of virtual worlds, in particular that of Second Life, in educational activities by organizations such as higher education institutions or corporations. We begin by introducing virtual worlds with a particular focus on Second Life. We then provide an overview of the benefits of this environment for learning activities before presenting a set of potential learning activities that can be conducted within Second Life. We then discuss an in-depth example of 3D teaming - one learning activity within Second Life conducted by the authors. After a discussion of implementation challenges, we then present areas for future research.

Demonstrations of Virtual Worlds for Education Research at NDSU

The World Wide Web Instructional Committee (WWWIC) at North Dakota State University (NDSU) is an ad hoc group of university faculty dedicated to developing internet-based education and research software. Members of this group foster cross-disciplinary, collaborative relationships with WWWIC faculty, students, and staff as well as those from other universities and institutions. The content of WWWIC immersive environment projects includes subject matter across a variety of disciplines such as anthropology, archaeology, cell biology, commerce, computer science, geology, and history. WWWIC's projects include the Virtual Cell for cell biology education, the Geology Explorer for geology education, and the Digital Archive Network for Anthropology for archaeology and anthropology education, as well as others. This paper will highlight many of these.

Virtual World Classrooms

Educational Technology Use and Design for Improved Learning Opportunities, 2014

This chapter provides a comprehensive case study to demonstrate the longitudinal development of online pedagogy for higher education through a lens of interior design. The chapter presents constructivist theory as a guiding pedagogical framework for the creation of learning environments within Second Life (SL) virtual reality. Details of the rigorous process of incorporation of SL, as an enhancement to a traditional course with a laboratory component, is presented to validate the integrity of the scholarship of teaching and learning undertaken in the exemplar case study. The concluding components of the chapter review the iterative process of course outcome evaluation compared to course and accreditation standards to further demonstrate the educational value of virtual reality as an environment for learning. www.igi-global.com/chapter/construction-of-the-definite-integral-concept-using-open-sourcesoftware/177016?camid=4v1a

3 D Web-Based Worlds for Instruction

TECHNOLOGY AND TEACHER EDUCATION ANNUAL, 2005

The instructional technology faculty at Appalachian State University has developed its graduate program courses within a 3D world. Based upon an Active World server and a social constructivist philosophy, each course is designed to take place in different 3D scenes, such as a frontier town, a park, or Roman palace. A library for distance education students has been developed as a part of the world. Each participant in the world has an avatar, which is able to be moved by key strokes throughout the scene. Active web links ...

This Will Change Everything; Virtual Worlds in Education

This paper explores the potential for supplementing or even replacing bricks and-mortar spaces with virtual spaces for teaching and learning. Global population changes are creating an ever-widening gap of access to higher education, and current building strategies are simply not sufficient to cope. There exists the potential to utilise 3D virtual worlds to provide space for lecturing, student projects and simulations, while at the same time reducing costs to a fraction of the costs for campus-based buildings. Additionally, these spaces can be used to give students safe experiences that might otherwise be completely impossible. The paper presents work at the University of Auckland toward these ends.