virtual learning & maetal
DESCRIPTION
Reviews past virtual development in Second Life by Dr. Eileen O'Connor and ways that this work will become available within the Master of Arts in Emerging Technology and Learning at Empire State College.TRANSCRIPT
BUILDING NEW PROGRAMS IN EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND LEARNINGSUNY, Empire State College
Engaging in the Conversation
SCENARIO
Develop a Graduate Degree to serve the needs of individuals responsible for
enhancing learning in various contexts, using new technology tools.
(public & private K-12; higher education; private enterprise; not-for-profits)
What content is key? How should students be engaged their own
learning in digital, online environments? What strategies can be used to help
students(and instructors) modify their expectations and behaviors as learners in new online environments?
SU
NY, E
MP
IRE S
TATE C
OLLEG
E
Our context
Our learners
School for Graduate Studies
New York
MODEL OF LEARNING POWERED BY TECHNOLOGY
AIM: DEVELOP A COMMUNITY ENGAGED IN EXPLORING AND RESEARCHING THE LEARNING PROCESS,
SPECIFICALLY WITH EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
Consider the social, ethical and legal impacts of new technologies on our lives, individually and collectively.
Explore the multiple, unfolding political and economic impacts of digital media as a transformative agent in the global civic and market arenas.
Develop an understanding of how people learn in technology-mediated environments.
Examine and evaluate learning that occurs in technology mediated environments, and the impact of digital tools, resources and pedagogical methods in these settings.
Acquire the skills and capacity to identify, employ and evaluate technologically supported tools and methodologies.
Conduct original research projects both individually and in collaborative faculty-student teams in order to expand knowledge in the field.
LEARNING
social (knowledge emerges from interpersonal interactions)
situated (occurs in specific contexts) reflective (requires time and space for
reflection and exchange before internalization)
multifaceted (involves varied means of engagement).
leaves open for inquiry: learning in new digital environments involves a process of making connections across various networks – representing a new process of knowledge creation in distributed environments
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
“tools, concepts, innovations and advancements utilized in diverse educational settings to serve
varied education- related purposes. Emerging technologies(1) may or may not be new technologies (2) can be described as evolving organisms that
exist in a state of ‘coming into being’ (3) experience hype cycles (4) satisfy the ‘not yet’ criteria of: not yet being
fully understood, and not yet being fully researched, or researched in a mature way
(5) are potentially disruptive, but their potential is mostly unfulfilled.”
Veletsianos, George, ed. (2010). Emerging Technologies in Distance Education. AU Press: Edmonton, Canada.
BUILDING THE COMMUNITY
FOCUS: NEW MEDIA, NEW LITERACIES
Core Course –Content -Engagement -Strategies
(Donna)
(or, should we move directly into the “spaces and projects” sections from here? )
SPACES & PROJECTS
exploring/testing new ways of interacting and learning (Denise/Hope) – image + demo?
T4 Goingon.com Moodle Digication Elluminate Mindmeister Starfish Second Life/other virtual External?
PROJECT: THEMATIC BASED, NON-LINEAR
COURSE
American Popular Music (Lisa) - “sexy” images?
PROJECT: VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS (AN EXAMPLE)
New approaches for online* Teacher Education in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math) Since 2007 the instructor has integrated Second Life into
online courses; areas have included: Whole class meetings for discussions, presentations, field trips, and
guest speakers Student teams meetings for planning , collaborating, & networking
In 2010, the instructor developed SER/VE, STEM Exploratory Read/Virtual Environment, a private research island a study was conducted with K12 students who were guided to science
research and theoretical game development that they presented in SER/VE– students responded well to this learning environment
These students, who are teachers, are developing their own science activities in SER/VE
* Students are working from home computers across the state
O'Connor, E. (2011). Migrating Towards K12 in Virtual Spaces: Second Life Lessons Learned as Higher Education Meets Middle School Students. In Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference 2011 (pp. 2192-2198). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
O’Connor, E. (2011, in press). Practical considerations when using virtual spaces for learning and collaboration, with minimal setup and support. In H. H. Yang, & S. C. Yuen (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Practices and Outcomes in Virtual Worlds and Environment. Hershey PA: IGI Global.
O’Connor, E.A. (June 2010) Using Second Life (a virtual reality) in Language Instruction: Practical Advice on Getting Started; published with the proceedings of the 4 th International Scientific and Methodological Conference on "Information and Communication Technologies in Foreign Language Teaching” O'Connor, E. A. (2009). Instructional and Design Elements that Support Effective Use of Virtual Worlds: What Graduate Student Work Reveals about Second Life. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 38(2), 213-234. doi:10.2190/ET.38.2.j
O’Connor, E. A. and Sakshaug, L. (2009) Preparing for Second Life: Two Teacher Educators Reflect on Their Initial Foray into Virtual Teaching and Learning, Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 37(3), pp. 259-272.
O'Connor, E. (2008). Becoming a Virtual Instructor: How Can Higher Education Faculty Prepare for Second Life?. In G. Richards (Ed.), Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2008 (pp. 1144-1149). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
Peer Reviewed Publications Related to Second Life
SCHOOL FOR GRADUATE STUDIES EMPIRE STATE COLLEGE
INFORMATION ASSURANCE AND SECURITY POLICY
Immersive Learning Experiences for MBA CoursesImmersive Learning Experiences for MBA Courses
PROJECT: VIRTUAL TEACHER INCUBATORS
(Donna) -- add on SimSchool for classroom mgmt? -- as a “simulation” project attached to the incubator spaces?
CO
LLA
BO
RATIV
E IN
QU
IRY: P
RO
JEC
TS
Open Access Journals
Open Educational Resources
Simulations for Training
Gaming & College Math
Connecting with International Programs
WWW & EDUCATION =A MODEL FOR
BetterInteractiveInnovative
Peer-directedProblem solvingProcess oriented
(forms of)Inventive
ImaginativeLEARNING
-Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee
DIANE GAL DONNA MAHAR
EILEEN O’CONNOR HOPE ADAMS LISA SNYDER
DENISE SNYDER
Thank you, and please feel free to contact us!