Goal | Gridjumper's Blog

I have been in a cloud – in a trough of disillusionment. As I encourage colleagues and superiors of the potential in using VW for teaching and learning – and actually get some to register and spend some (limited) time in a virtual world, I get the questions “So what is the point?” or “Ok I kinda get it – but is this the best way to…?” Both are valid questions and questions like these require a thoughtful response. Some people get it right away, others need guidance, support and demonstrations. Many need proof – yes metrics. A hunch is great, a description of happy children makes for good feelings but nothing works like data.

Rubrics are an effective way to capture observations and quantify what participants accomplish and the way in which they do so. A simple rubric design may look something like this:

Communication	Collaboration	Problem Solving	Use of Information	Points
Objective: Participants will work together in teams of … to …..
Participant has minimal communication with other participants	Participant works alone	Participant has no unique contribution	Participant includes only known information	1Points each
Participant uses voice to effectively communicate with peers	Participant demonstrates ability to work with 1 to 2 individuals primarily as a follower	Participant participates in solving problems in a unique way	Participant contributes to information by completing some research	2points each
Participant uses both text and voice to collaborate with peers	Participant collaborates with peers as a follower as well as a leader	Participant provides unique contributions to solve problems	Participant contributes with both known and newly researched information	3points each

Participants would benefit knowing how well they are doing and the objective in the use of the environment needed to succeed. Success depends on the process. So points are awarded when students