Educational benefits of Educational benefits of Virtual WordsVirtual Words

Benefits of Benefits of Educational Educational

Virtual Virtual

WorldsWorlds

Educational Virtual WorldsEducational Virtual Worlds

Are virtual worlds the new classroom

or

just the new playground?

June 6th 2008 Get Game Bronwyn Stuckey

What do they look like?What do they look like?

Where are virtual worlds?Where are virtual worlds?

• List Virtual Worlds by Category

• Casual Immersive Worlds

• The Blue Book: A Consumer Guide to Virtual Worlds

WhyvilleWhyvillehttp://www.whyville.net/ http://www.whyville.net/

River CityRiver Cityhttp://muve.gse.harvard.edu/rivercityproject/ http://muve.gse.harvard.edu/rivercityproject/

In River City MUVE, students take on a virtual identity and go back in time to "River City." By interacting with virtual citizens and interpreting evidence, students form hypotheses about an ecological problem in the City.

ZonZonhttp://zondev.educ.msu.edu/WebFront/Game.aspxhttp://zondev.educ.msu.edu/WebFront/Game.aspx

Quest AtlantisQuest Atlantishttp://www.QuestAtlantis.org http://www.QuestAtlantis.org

SkoolaborateSkoolaboratehttp://www.skoolaborate.com/ http://www.skoolaborate.com/

SkoolaborateSkoolaboratehttp://www.skoolaborate.com/ http://www.skoolaborate.com/

Where are they used?Where are they used?

• Mainstream classrooms and most areas of learning

• Gifted and talented programs

• Special needs students

• Kids clubs

• Literacy programs

• Language programs

What pedagogies & principles apply?What pedagogies & principles apply?

• Immersive play spaces• Social learning theory • Constuctivism • Constuctionism• Inquiry learning • Cased-based learning • Situated cognition• Embodied cognition

How do learners benefit?How do learners benefit?

LIBERATING LEARNING

• From the school confines

• From school hours

• From personal issues of esteem and social isolation

• From discipline boundaries

• To allow learners to be self-directed and self-managed

• Knowledge and lust for learning

How are teachers benefiting?How are teachers benefiting?

• Systems are recognizing their rolesEducation Queensland virtual world trial – three world environments

• Teachers are taking up the design challengeEmail to oz-teachers network

“Hi All, I'm currently assisting a colleague to develop a SOSE unit where it would be great to create some 3D virtual worlds.  Just wondering what software people are using to do this sort of thing and how successful it has been. ”

• Enough worlds and environments out there to offer a developmental sequence.MLC - Quest Atlantis Skoolaborate

What are the pitfalls and problems?What are the pitfalls and problems?

• Duty of care

• Consumerism

• Imperialism

• Bandwidth

• Pedagogies

• Addiction

• Firewalls and security

Who to watch out for?Who to watch out for?

• Sasha Barab• Yasmin Kafai• Ted Castranova• Jim Gee • Constance Steinkhueler• Alan Levine• Westley Field• Jo Kay

Where to learn more?Where to learn more?

• Games in Learning Community

• New Media Consortium

• RezEd

• Secondlife Educators

• Jokaydia

• Global kids Digital Media Initiative

So the answer is?So the answer is?

Are virtual worlds the new classroom

or

just the new playground?

Many thanks for listeningMany thanks for listening

Quest Atlantis: SecondLife:

Email:

Website:

Bron

Bron Bloxome bestucke@indiana.edu

http://www.bronwyn.ws

Bronwyn Stuckey