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Frequent questions regarding Virtual environments in education are “So what does a student do in a virtual world? How/what does a student learn?”. What students can do falls into two categories, they can consume content and they can produce content. … Continue reading
The sophistication of the modern world is a collective enterprise, according to Matt Ridley Humans: Why They Triumphed – WSJ Saturday May 22. This notion validates the collaboration those in virtual worlds often make reference to. I know that my learning has been positively impacted through the collaboration I have had with “friends” I have never met, friends who live in another time zone and in a different culture than mine. My “experience” is richer through my interaction with others who share my interests but not my geography. Trade, in ancient times, caused ideas to spread and cultures to evolve – today we can trade ideas and move the evolution of culture through online activities in virtual worlds. What are the implications for our students? The 21st century Pen-pal can be an avatar who works with someone from a different culture and solves problems in real-time. Am I being overly hopeful that this would bring greater understanding between people?
In virtual environments students are able to experiment with identity and develop shared values. As they use and interact with the environment and objects, observe and interact with others, student participants can experientially develop a deeper understanding of a theme, topic, period of time, or concept. Since players are offered many options and the environment responds to their choices, student-players often feel as if they are in control of their learning and, as a result, own their learning process (Herz 2001).
Some students claim that they learn more through an online game than they would have if they had only read the text (Van 2007). Additionally, scaffolded activities are likely to create a safe environment with minimal risk of failure or embarrassment (Steinkuehler 2004). Virtual environments enable students to practice skills vital to the world of work including but not limited to collaborating, communicating, critical thinking, navigating and evaluating resources. The power of play is motivating for some students ( Squire 2005), another feature available in virtual environments.
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