ERIC Number: EJ1097052
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Sep
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1941-3394
EISSN: N/A
Learning to Teach in Second Life: A Novice Adventure in Virtual Reality
Ellis, Maureen; Anderson, Patricia
Journal of Instructional Pedagogies, v6 Sep 2011
Second Life (SL) is a social virtual world, which emphasizes the general use of immersive worlds for supporting a variety of human activities and interactions, presenting a plethora of new opportunities and challenges for enriching how we learn, work and play (Boulos, Hetherington & Wheeler, 2007; Prasolova-Førland, Sourin & Sourina, 2006). SL has opened new opportunities for real time collaboration in immersive, three-dimensional (3D) rich environments regardless of a user's geographical distance, allowing the user to more readily engage with the experiences as disclosed in real time (Gazzard, 2009). In SL, the avatar facilitates movement, choice, and interaction within the virtual environment, which is the key to an immersive experience (Gazzard, 2009). As higher education faculty members explore options to design and create meaningful methods of instruction to improve the teaching and learning process while meeting the needs of traditional and non-traditional learners, they are faced with many challenges to increase retention and decrease costs. Integrating Web 2.0 technology tools offers options for faculty who are considering adopting an innovative approach to instruction by teaching through an emerging technology such as SL via an In-World environment. This article describes the experience of two faculty members at the university-level adapting their traditional online courses taught in Blackboard into Moodle and the SL environment. By blending their technology skills and pedagogical knowledge to promote a collaborative, interactive and innovative teaching experience in-world, they focus on the process of adaptation to encourage faculty to explore alternative methods to the traditional online format.
Descriptors: Simulated Environment, Technology Uses in Education, Educational Technology, Teaching Methods, Higher Education, Web 2.0 Technologies, College Faculty, Technology Integration, Online Courses, Integrated Learning Systems
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A