Imagine the real in the virtual: Experience your Second Life (original) (raw)
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Development and evaluation of a virtual campus on Second Life: The case of SecondDMI
Computers & Education, 2009
Video games and new communication metaphors are quickly changing today's young people habits. Considering the actual e-learning scenarios, embedded in a fully technological enabled environment it is crucial to take advantage of this kind of capabilities to let learning process gain best results. This paper presents a virtual campus created using Second Life which provides four distinct types of virtual space: common student campus, collaborative zones, lecture rooms and recreational areas. Second Life environments and objects have been designed and programmed to support synchronous lectures and collaborative learning. The Second Life virtual world has also been equipped with supporting tools enabling students and teachers to navigate among multimedia contents. Second Life and an ad-hoc developed Moodle plug-in have been integrated to naturally enrich the environment with LMS services, exploiting this 3D world to increase the interaction and communication opportunities between teachers and students, and among students, principally favoring planned and unplanned social encounters.
If We Build It Will They Come? Creating a Virtual Classroom in Second Life
19th Australasian Conference on Information Systems, 2008
The Second Life Multi-User Virtual Environment (MUVE) has been used as an educational resource in many different ways, ranging from simulating the traditional classroom, though interactive experiences, to practical creational activities. Supporting resources can include traditional multimedia, simulation tools and programming languages. Learning experiences may vary from the wholly extrinsic, learning about the outside world, to more intrinsic study of Second Life’s ecosystems and its built environment, or wholly in-world creative work. Within this broad scope, there is an opportunity to support many types of learning, and distance learning in particular. In this paper we propose an analytical framework for virtual learning environments in Second Life based on current practice. We describe the creation of a learning space within Second Life designed to explore how we might support distance learners using traditional environments for extrinsic learning experiences. We reflect on the utility of the framework in understanding the various forces at work in virtual learning contexts and evaluate the student experience. We conclude that despite the potential for Second Life to support distance learners with a broad set of tools and resources, technical constraints suggest that a more effective option would be to provide focused creative tasks for students in a managed laboratory environment.
Lifelong Learning (LLL) has been a remarkable response to people-centered educational demand of 21 st century. In order to provide effective formal, non-formal, and informal learning, immersive educational activities undertaken throughout life should be aimed to create a learning society in which people can experience individual and collective learning with no constrains of time or location. The concept of lifelong learning within the context of distance immersive education encompasses diverse 3D activities. The three dimensional, Web-based structured activities supported by distance learning technologies can be viewed as interactive tools which foster LLL. In this perspective, Second Life (SL) can be regarded as one of the learning simulation milieus that allow learners to participate in various educational LLL activities in individual or group forms. The following paper examines how SL, taking advantage of its simulative nature and the possibility for creative interaction among participants, which are also common in games, allows the learners to participate in immersive constructivist learning activities. The article will also touch on the current uses of SL as a tool for LLL, as well as its potentials for further development according to the current trends in adult education. Further, the authors will discuss its limitations and will make suggestions towards a more complete pedagogical use.
Blended Realities: A Virtual Tour of Education in Second Life
etec.hawaii.edu
The educational use of Second Life's online virtual world flourished in 2006. More than 100 universities and the New Media Consortium, with over 225 member universities, museums and research centers, have a presence in Second Life. This essay on education in a virtual world begins with a description of the context and concludes with a tour of the educational courses and educators who are teaching in this virtual world, including a list of the resources and organizations that make it possible. Examples of youth education programs and university activities characterize the face of education in Second Life and reflect the successful implementation of coursework in a virtual world. Characteristics of this MultiUser Virtual Environment A stranger flew over onion-topped spires, hovered a moment, then joined me on the cloud where I sat. We chatted and drifted over Svarga's tropical terrain, bathed in sunset afterglow. Now and then the cloud puffed up, flashed with lightening, and poured rain, germinating seeds in the simulated ecosystem below.
Teaching in virtual worlds: educational experiences in Second Life
2009
The paper describes the results of a survey carried out to identify the Italian universities which are part of Second Life and to analyse the academic services they are able to offer in this virtual environment. The objective of the research is to study the ways of enjoying this environment and to understand how these universities exploit the "immersive" qualities and typical potentialities of virtual reality (Jacobson, 1994). Here is the list of Italian universities so far examined:
An exploratory study of higher education virtual campuses in Second Life
Nottingham: University of Nottingham, 2008
Dedication To my father who is always proud of me To my mother who missed me during my absence To my wife who supported me during my study period To my son and daughter who make me happy in this life 3 Acknowledgment This dissertation was accomplished with the help of many people. First and foremost I want to thank my wonderful supervisor Colin Harrison for providing me with full supports and fruitful hints to improve this study. I want to thank my personal tutor Charles Crook who scaffolded me through the whole last academic year. Finally, I would like to thank all the five participants who hosted me at their virtual islands and offered me virtual guided tours. 4 Abstract Online Multi User Virtual Worlds are emerging three-dimensional (3D) technologies that offer unique and diverse learning opportunities. Second Life (SL) is becoming the most popular virtual world being used for traditional and distributed higher education. The number of higher education virtual campuses is increasing dramatically in this world which indicates the need for discovering what this platform could offer to enhance education (teaching and learning). This study explores the educational spaces in five case studies of higher education virtual campuses and illustrates how they look like by showing their pictures. It investigates how these spaces are being used for education to determine which modes of learning are more appropriate through this platform.
Learning and Teaching in the Virtual World of Second Life
International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments, 2010
Educational applications of virtual worlds are growing in popularity and used in pursuit of a wider diversity of learning outcomes as platforms proliferate and experimentation continues. According to this book, "the primary factor (lending to Second Life's growing acceptance by educators) is that it represents an innovative way for both learners and educators to participate in the world in general, and to control the learning activities in particular" (p. 188). While there is definitely a considerable amount of activity and effort being invested in the use of virtual worlds to achieve real world learning outcomes, the development of documentation on "what works" and "why" in the emerging field of Virtual Learning Environments is less prevalent and its usefulness often quite dubious. This book represents the experiences of participants in a state-funded Scandinavian project to create virtual education for adult learners on "Kamimo Education Island" and other experienced educators in Second Life. Offered as a "roadmap on issues of: instructional design, learner modeling, building simulations, exploring alternatives to design and integrating tools in education with other learning systems" (p. 7), the book is generally-though not completely-comprised of narratives generated by expert-situated case perspectives using descriptive methods. While a quick perusal reveals some noticeable flaws, a close reading of the book nevertheless reveals a wealth of insights and recommendations germane to developing and engaging learning experiences within the Second Life virtual environment. Learning and Teaching in the Virtual World of Second Life comprises two parts; Chapters 1-4 is a section devoted to the pedagogic design and management of learning experiences in Second Life and, the second section, Chapters 5-12, describes examples of Second Life projects and the pedagogic wisdom revealed through these contexts. By easing the reader into the idea of teaching and learning in a virtual environment and offering a provocative list of possible educational uses of Second Life, co-editor Judith Molka-Danielsen provides an introduction and lens through which the reader is invited
Teaching and Learning in Second Life
Practical Approaches to Teaching in Virtual Worlds
The MultiUser Virtual Environment (MUVE) is not a new concept and it has been discussed in literature for almost two decades (Cobb & Frazer, 2005). However, its application has only started gaining popularity over the last 5 years, with around 180 virtual worlds at present available or under development (de Freitas, 2008).The emergence of virtual learning environments have led to many social, pedagogical, institutional, and technological challenges and opportunities for the learning and teaching community (de Freitas, 2008). The unique nature and characteristics of MUVEs and its application, introduce further complexities regarding the impact and implica
Lessons learned in developing a Second Life educational environment
2010
Virtual worlds are rapidly spreading beyond gaming and entertainment into education and the corporate world. Should this trend continue, as forecast by the industry, then immersive applications will become more prominent, with bespoke software developed in the metaverse affording both opportunities and challenges. This paper reflects on the experience of developing a learning virtual space based on Second Life as part of an innovation project at The Open University, UK.