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Immersive Learning
13 Tips for Virtual World Teaching
1/1/2008
If you're on the outside of immersive education looking in, it's time to take the plunge! Here's a great start.
Don't look now, but multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) are gaining momentum as the latest and greatest learning tool in the world of education technology. How do you get started with them? How do they work? Arm yourself with these 13 secrets from immersive education experts and educators, and you, too, can have real success implementing these new tools and technologies on your own campus.
1 Understand the Basics
Most educational MUVEs are variations on the concept of virtual worlds. These are three-dimensional computer-based simulation environments intended for users to inhabit and interact through avatars (humanoid representations of usernames). The simulated worlds-variations on massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs)-appear similar to the real world, and play by real-world "rules" such as gravity, topography, locomotion, real-time action, and communication.
In many ways, these worlds are multifaceted iterations of traditional synchronous eLearning communication vehicles such as chat rooms, portals, blogs, wikis, and voice over internet protocol (VoIP). In point of fact, the worlds in which the avatars interact are three-dimensional versions of online meeting technology.
Perhaps the biggest difference between virtual learning environments and services such as Blackboard or WebEx is the ability for users to manipulate data three-dimensionally, in real time. If, for instance, a biology professor wants to explain DNA, instead of presenting a two-dimensional image, the educator can take students right inside the double helix, showing them every nook and cranny.
"Virtual learning environments have completely changed the educational playing field," says Steve Wexler, director of research and emerging technology at The eLearning Guild, a resource organization based in Santa Rosa, CA. "With them, for the first time ever, the internet has become a place that truly can mimic the classroom experience."
2 Explore Your Options
There are a number of virtual learning environments, but the most popular in higher education is Second Life from Linden Research, commonly known as Linden Lab. At last count, more than 200 colleges and universities were represented in this virtual world, including New York University and Ball State University (IN). Each school has its own acreage (or "island") in the world.
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