vLearning: Is the future of online education a 3D virtual classroom?
Imagine walking into a college classroom, it's your first class at this new campus, Psychology 101. You choose a desk, sit down next to a friendly looking student and ask them where they're from and a conversation begins. After a few minutes, your professor walks in to start the lecture and you both face her, ready to take notes. There's just one aspect of this classroom that's unusual - it's virtual. Your avatar, an animated character you have created, represents you on a computer screen, appearing within a computer-generated environment. You are talking to other students' avatars and interacting with the professor's avatar. The classroom is a graphic rendering of three-dimensional space in which your avatar can move and gesture, even speak. This is vLearning.
The technology that powers massive multi-player games such as Second Life is becoming a platform for distance education courses. Some educators see taking cues from the video gaming world as a way to increase communication between students and instructors in online courses. "As educators, we've realized the potential power of video games in education," said Leonard Annetta, North Carolina State University professor and co-author of V-Learning: Distance Education in the 21st Century Through 3D Virtual Learning Environments. "Internet synchronicity is one of the most effective ways of learning."
While the technology for Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) has existed in some form for 20 years, it has only recently gained acceptance in postsecondary institutions within the past four to five years. A 2009 study that appeared in the Journal of Further and Higher Education found that the increased interaction between classmates and instructors in virtual classrooms helped students become more involved in the coursework and made it easier for them to comprehend the material and ask for help. The study found this to be particularly true for students who have a difficult time engaging in face-to-face discussions, but who will ask questions freely and contribute to live debates in a virtual classroom. This engagement in class activities not only leads to greater comprehension, it gives students a sense of belonging in the class that contributes to a higher retention rate.
As administrators recognize the potential for MUVEs in education, more schools are beginning to incorporate these immersive 3D worlds, also called "vLearning" platforms, which engage students more fully in the learning process. A 2007 report by the National Center for Education Statistics found that 31 percent of postsecondary schools in the United States used simultaneous and real-time virtual learning platforms either moderately or to a large extent. This is particularly true in public, 4-year institutions, where virtual learning environments are utilized in 42 percent of schools nationwide.
vLearning Platforms
Administrators that wish to implement virtual learning environments in their institutions have the option to create their own vLearning platform, or to utilize an existing platform such as Second Life. However, because many of the virtual words available weren't created specifically for the education sector, they often lack important resources. To address some of these shortcomings, the Great Northern Way Campus in Vancouver, Canada built their own virtual learning environment called Great Northern World.
Dr. Gerri Sinclair, Executive Director of the Masters of Digital Media Program at Great Northern Way Campus, discussed their project in her presentation titled, From E-Learning to V-Learning: The Advantages of Virtual Immersive Learning Environments in Times of Economic Downturn. "We're not in the commercial business of creating virtual worlds but we were so desperate, we decided to create one ourselves."
According to Sinclair, some important components of virtual learning environments include social engagement, real-time document creation, audio, brainstorming and mixed reality conferencing that bring together avatars in a virtual space and real people on a college campus. (Imagine a video conference call where both real people and avatars are present to discuss ideas and collaborate on projects.)
"Second Life is good," Sinclair said. "But once you get more than a few people, we start to have [technical] problems," such as slow program loading times and frequent computer crashes. According to Sinclair, Second Life is unable to handle the technical demands of many avatars working together in the same virtual space.
In addition to the computer lag experienced in Second Life, there are issues with using a virtual learning environment that was designed for entertainment, not education. Distractions can pose a major problem--both from the entertainment aspects of the virtual world and from other users who can be seen flying overhead (flying is the main method of transport in Second Life). Even with these shortcomings, Second Life remains a popular option for educational institutions. Some schools that have utilized Second Life in their online course delivery include Pennsylvania State University, Stanford University, Harvard University and Vassar College.
"Second Life and the like are good if you want to have an immersive classroom experience that is cross-platform but it is not good if you want security, a data collection mechanism built in-world, and customizable experiences for students with game-like features," Annetta said.
These customizable experiences include all of the structured classroom activities that students participate in while in the vLearning environment, whether it is a scavenger hunt that explores class concepts or a role-play activity that gives students a chance to practice learned skills in simulated real-world environments. "It is in these areas that customizing virtual environments have the most pedagogical power."
Learning in a Virtual World
Annetta has found that students' overall attitude and course satisfaction is enhanced in virtual learning environments. A large contributor to this increased student satisfaction is a greater feeling of online community - a quality that is sometimes difficult to nurture via more traditional online learning platforms such as discussion threads. "Every student is represented by an avatar," Annetta said. "This process of creating and customizing an avatar gives students a sense of community. Even if they don't know their peers personally, they know their avatars they represent each student's individuality and reinforces their belonging in the class."
In V-Learning: How Gaming And Avatars Are Engaging Online Students, Annetta and co-authors Marta Klesath and Shawn Holmes discuss the crucial role avatars play in virtual classrooms. Avatars give students and faculty members the opportunity to reflect their gender, ethnicity and style of dress on their virtual self, based on either their actual appearances or how they would like to be perceived. These avatars become the virtual representative for each individual in the classroom, and can walk, communicate and participate in cyberspace activities much like they would in an actual classroom. According to their research, "This study indicated that students preferred greater range of avatar choices within the VLE and that a lack of selection negatively affected students' sense of social presence; such results suggest that providing multiple avatar choices can help students establish themselves in the online community as unique individuals."
In the online meeting space, instructors can give real-time lectures, moderate student discussions and give assignments - just as they would in a brick-and-mortar classroom. The flexibility provided by virtual learning environments makes it possible for instructors to create a plethora of class activities that may not be possible in an on-campus class. In this virtual space, interactive design students can work together to create 3D digital elements, psychology and sociology students can participate in role-play activities to enhance their communication and counseling skills, and planetary science students can work together in virtual space missions. The possibilities for such cyber-activities are virtually endless and are limited only the be instructor's imagination. "It takes a little work up front to build the activities," Annetta said. "But once it's done, it's done."
In many cases, there is a specific time and place that students attend class - but rather than walking across campus, they need only find an Internet connection where they can login. After class, students can visit the virtual classroom whenever they want to go over lecture notes, re-visit assignments or meet with an instructor for a tutoring session. "Students learn just as they would in an on-campus class," Annetta said.
Real-World Application
In an April 2009 study titled Pedagogy, Education and Innovation in 3-D Virtual Worlds, researchers measured the effectiveness of using a 3D virtual classroom as part of a master's degree course in counseling. The study set out to determine whether the ability to participate in real-time activities would help develop students' communication skills- a critical component of counseling education that is lacking in traditional e-learning platforms. According to the study, "3D virtual environments such as Second Life offer counseling educators the opportunity to provide immersive simulated environments for their students to develop and practice their skills. By using Second Life, instructors are able to create learning activities which emulate learning experiences that students may have otherwise only had by means of face-to-face interaction."
Learning activities included the creation of virtual counseling facilities and avatars acting as mentally-ill patients that students could counsel virtually. The facility had three floors and numerous counseling rooms that were appropriately outfitted with couches, chairs and even decorative art on the walls.
Most of the students participating in the research study believed that the coursework was equal to that of a brick and mortar classroom, and many appreciated the real-time counseling exercises that allowed them to "treat" patients in a virtual classroom setting. Interestingly, many of the participating students did not feel that using the 3D environment dramatically improved their learning experience, yet one participating student stated that "the abilities to gesture, communicate, and to take on a character and simulating the clinical setting were very helpful and have great potential."
The Future of vLearning in Higher Education
As students become more and more technologically advanced and dependent on computers, Annetta predicts that vLearning will become a mainstream method of delivering postsecondary courses and earning degrees. In fact, he believes that those in the millennial generation will prefer vLearning environments to brick and mortar classrooms. "If research drives future development, classrooms are going to look more and more like World of Warcraft."
• Related article: Sloodle: Moodle Meets Second Life
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