Creating virtual worlds with meaning: case studies of Web 2.0 tools in higher education (original) (raw)
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Children and teens live media-saturated lives, spending several hours per day engaged with cell phones, computers, and other multimedia. Frequently, their time is spent using Web 2.0 tools: highly interactive technologies and participatory spaces that are open, collaborative, and distributed. Examples of Web 2.0 tools include wikis, blogs, social networking sites, video or image sharing sites, multiplayer video games, and texting applications (apps). Contrary to stereotypical views of such technologies as nonacademic pastimes, these tools are full of possibilities for powerful, engaged learning that connects students' academic work to their everyday lives. A growing body of scholarship suggests that participatory culture can help children and adolescents master core academic subjects as they develop proficiency with technology for communication, collaboration, research, and creation of new works. Because they are specifically designed for sharing information and ideas, Web 2.0 tools are ideal for building relationships that can sometimes extend beyond the school walls to include friends, peers, teachers, and subject matter experts. Through these interactions, students learn to analyze and evaluate evidence and alternative points of view, and to synthesize and make connections between information and arguments. They become part of a collective knowledge community where they assume shared responsibility for posing and solving problems in creative, collaborative ways. Participation in these interactive spaces encourages students to take risks and engage in friendly competition but also to collaborate with others and learn flexibility in decision making. This, in turn, advances academic goals by increasing student engagement, boosting comprehension, and facilitating inquiry-oriented learning. In the process, students learn how to be safe, ethical, responsible citizens in online environments.
In Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Postgraduate Research Conference (pp. 85-92). Faculty of The Professions, University Of New England, 2009
"An investigation will compare students using the virtual world environment of Second Life to those using traditional methods of distance education (Web 2.0 tools and resource materials) to determine whether there are variations in the amount of collaboration and discussions by students with these synchronous and asynchronous eLearning tools. All students will undertake the same assessment tasks and the results compared. The Second Life group will participate in a number of online sessions to familiarise them with the environment. Studies have reported that asynchronous eLearning can engage the students in deeper thinking (Dabbagh & Bannan-Ritland 2005). In contrast, synchronous eLearning is reportedly more useful for spontaneous discussions (Woodman 2003). This study will explore whether using a virtual world environment, predominantly relating to synchronous interaction, can engage the student in deeper thinking than traditional synchronous eLearning methods while maintaining the spontaneous interaction. All students will be given set tasks to complete. One group will utilise any social computing resource they wish, whilst the other can utilise only resources offered in Second Life. The participant experience will be monitored by pre and post surveys and online interaction will be recorded and compared."