Student voice has played a big role in shaping the development and measure of success/failure of ... more Student voice has played a big role in shaping the development and measure of success/failure of virtual worlds in education. Data on past and ongoing educational uses and contexts of use of virtual worlds and associated student feedback was gathered via a survey of educational researchers specialising in virtual worlds. Introduced are a range of specific uses that provide the source of and context for student feedback. Ten major themes emerged from student voices that highlight strengths and weakness and point the way forward for both educators and the students themselves. Positive feedback highlighted experiences of both pedagogical design and the ability of the technology to support it. Negative feedback revolved around technical problems, seen as hampering the effectiveness of student learning experiences. Student voice regarding virtual worlds is both positive and rewarding, and commending of staff who have dedicated their time and effort to transform the learning experience.
The adoption and pedagogical use of technologies such as virtual worlds to support teaching and l... more The adoption and pedagogical use of technologies such as virtual worlds to support teaching and learning, and research in higher education involves a complex interplay of technical, organisational and personal factors. In this paper, eighteen educators and researchers provide an overview of how they perceive a virtual world can be used in education from the perspective of themselves as individuals 'me', their educational organisations and as members of the Australian and New Zealand Virtual Worlds Working Group (VWWG) community of practice 'us', as well as the complex technology that underpins this learning environment 'IT'. Drawing on Linstone's (1981, 1984) Technical, Organisational and Personal (TOP) multiple perspective concept as the framework for analysis, the authors discuss their perspectives of how the personal, organisational and technical aspects of teaching through the use of virtual worlds have impacted on their teaching and research in highe...
Description Virtual worlds (VWs) continue to be used extensively in Australia and New Zealand hig... more Description Virtual worlds (VWs) continue to be used extensively in Australia and New Zealand higher education institutions although the tendency towards making unrealistic claims of efficacy and popularity appears to be over. Some educators at higher education institutions continue to use VWs in the same way as they have done in the past; others are exploring a range of different VWs or using them in new ways; whilst some are opting out altogether. This paper presents an overview of how 46 educators from some 26 ...
Virtual worlds are highly immersive, engaging and popular computer mediated environments being ex... more Virtual worlds are highly immersive, engaging and popular computer mediated environments being explored by children and adults. Why then aren't more teachers using virtual worlds in the classroom with primary and secondary school students? Reasons often cited are the learning required to master the technology, low-end graphics cards, poor connectivity and the firewall. A solution to one of these barriers is to use a virtual world that can operate inside the firewall locally on school computers. The virtual world Sim-on-a- ...
Three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds have been used for more than a decade in higher education f... more Three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds have been used for more than a decade in higher education for teaching and learning. Since the 1980s, academics began using virtual worlds as an exciting and innovative new technology to provide their students with new learning experiences that were difficult to provide any other way. But since that time, virtual worlds have failed to maintain their popularity as learning spaces; many builds falling into disuse and many disappearing altogether. The aim of this article is not only to determine why virtual worlds have not become a mainstream teaching tool, but to ascertain why they have even failed to maintain their popularity. In order to do this, the research team surveyed over 200 academics about the barriers and enablers to the use and perceived affordances of virtual worlds in teaching and learning. These responses are examined in relation to academics' past, present and future use, experience and knowledge of virtual world environments.
ii Publications arising from this research v List of Figures xi List of Tables xi Editorial Notes... more ii Publications arising from this research v List of Figures xi List of Tables xi Editorial Notes xiii Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Education, Learning and Digital Technology in the 21st Century 1 1.2 Educational Change and Innovation 3 1.3 Critically Evaluating Educational Technology 5 1.4 Pre-‐service Teacher Education 6 1.5 Virtual Worlds 8 1.6 Aims of the Research 11 1.7 Background to the Research 11 1.8 My Position as a Researcher 14 1.9 Thesis Structure 15 Chapter 2 Educational Context 18 2.1 Change and Innovation 18 2.2 Diffusion and Adoption of Innovation 20 2.3 Educational Change and Innovation 23 2.4 21st Century Learners 25 2.5 Engagement 27 2.6 Learning Theories for a Digital Age 30 2.6.1 Conversational learning 30 2.6.2 Immersive learning 32 2.6.3 Situated learning 35 2.6.4 Connectivism 36 2.7 Pedagogy, Andragogy, Cybergogy 37 2.8 A New Culture of Learning 39 2.9 Research Need 41 Chapter 3 Technological Context 43 3.1 Introduction 43 3.2 The Effect of Technology on Tea...
When Second Life first came to the attention of the mainstream media in 2007, educators recognise... more When Second Life first came to the attention of the mainstream media in 2007, educators recognised the potential of virtual worlds for teaching and learning. They seemed to be the ideal environments to facilitate authentic learning, alleviate the tyranny of distance for students not on campus, and provide an inexpensive and safe environment to teach skills that were too dangerous or expensive to teach in the real world. In spite of all this fanfare, virtual worlds have failed to gain significant traction in higher education. This paper outlines a preliminary investigation into the reasons why virtual worlds have not been adopted for learning and teaching. The reflections of the six authors on this topic were subjected to a thematic analysis with themes arranged under four broad topics. This information informed the development of a survey to be distributed more widely to further explore this phenomenon.
Abstract Teachers have always been required to work within the classroom spaces provided to them.... more Abstract Teachers have always been required to work within the classroom spaces provided to them. The bricks and mortar of industrial age classroom structures often dictate pedagogical modes that are not always the best for learners or for the concepts being taught. With newly emerging virtual world technologies opportunities are now available for teachers to design and create a much wider range of individually tailored learning spaces–literally anything they can imagine. However, to fully exploit these opportunities and ...
The DEHub Virtual Worlds Working Group (VWWG) consists of Australian and New Zealand higher educa... more The DEHub Virtual Worlds Working Group (VWWG) consists of Australian and New Zealand higher education academics investigating the role that virtual worlds (VWs) play in the future of education. A sub group of the VWWG that includes Higher Degree Research (HDR) students and supervisors have been meeting regularly in the VW of second life. Many of these HDR students are the only student within their institution researching VWs. In many ways they lack the peer support that is so important to facilitate an expedient and successful completion of PhD candidates’ dissertations. Through the regular VW meetings the HDR VW group have overcome the isolation of working alone and have developed a strong collegial network that extends beyond their individual institutions. These students and supervisors represent a cross section of researchers who are using VWs as a vital resource for their investigations, collegial networking and student-supervisor communication. Meeting with like-minded HDR stud...
The landscape has already changed for the music industry in the way that music is created, perfor... more The landscape has already changed for the music industry in the way that music is created, performed and distributed. Higher education courses in music, including contemporary music, are abundant but in many cases are not preparing students for the 21 st century music industry. Innovative technology is pushing the boundaries of what live performance in music actually entails. Technology such as virtual worlds is opening up avenues for greater control by the musician in relation to design of performance spaces and ability to attract global audiences. The potential for the exploration of virtual worlds by musicians to promote appropriate career development skills is discussed. Technical, organisational and motivational issues are also raised. Problems and possibilities associated with the initial running of performances in a virtual world reveal the capacity of higher education to implement live music performance in virtual worlds as part of their music courses.
and Symposium Plan There has been much media reporting on the efficacy of virtual worlds for educ... more and Symposium Plan There has been much media reporting on the efficacy of virtual worlds for education over the last few years. Some of the claims made are unfounded and not based on empirical evidence. All panel members have been teaching and conducting research in virtual worlds for several years. They will address many of the myths about teaching and learning in a virtual world. The format will follow Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage’s television series, “Myth Busters” (“MythBusters,” 2011) to find out whether the myths are “founded”, “busted” or “plausible”. To date there has been limited research and publications reporting on myths surrounding the teaching and learning in virtual worlds. However, Calani (2010) attempted to resolve the myths around immersion, James (2007) set about resolving the myths surrounding business in Second Life and, Hendrich & Mesch (2009), discussed 10,000 reasons why a virtual world will or won’t work. This interactive session will seek audience particip...
Virtual worlds are emerging as the new frontier in the use of ICTs for the engagement of students... more Virtual worlds are emerging as the new frontier in the use of ICTs for the engagement of students in primary, secondary and tertiary education. In 2010 the use of the virtual world, Second Life, was trialled as a pedagogical tool in the training of Visual Art Education students studying at Southern Cross University. The students, physically located at three regional campuses, spent time in-world discussing concepts, visiting art sites, creating 2D and 3D art work and designing an exhibition space. This case study makes a comparison between traditional and mixed mode delivery and recommendations are proposed in relation to strategies for implementing the use of virtual worlds in Visual Arts teacher training and Secondary School Art Education. Background Southern Cross University (SCU) (2010) is a regional university that offers a range of degree programs over a number of campuses. The Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) in Visual Arts is available to students on three campuses ...
This study aims to establish a Heutagogy approach for teacher professional education in Indonesia... more This study aims to establish a Heutagogy approach for teacher professional education in Indonesia as an attempt to improve teacher competencies. This study will identify key elements of a Heutagogy approach derived from previous Heutagogy practices. The methods to collect data for developing the Heutagogy approach in this study employs a literature review of previous research and findings related to Heutagogy practice. In this regard, this study's established elements are Learnerdetermined learning, Metacognitive reflection, Collaboration, and Capability development. These elements are analysed and then incorporated into the TPE model with support from online learning tools. Capability development is the goal of experiencing each of the elements of Heutagogy in this approach. Each of these key elements will contribute to developing participants capability as professional teachers. The Heutagogy approach in this study is expected to be significant for improving teacher competenci...
The adoption and pedagogical use of technologies such as virtual worlds to support teaching and l... more The adoption and pedagogical use of technologies such as virtual worlds to support teaching and learning, and research in higher education involves a complex interplay of technical, organisational and personal factors. In this paper, eighteen educators and researchers provide an overview of how they perceive a virtual world can be used in education from the perspective of themselves as individuals 'me', their educational organisations and as members of the Australian and New Zealand Virtual Worlds Working Group (VWWG) community of practice 'us', as well as the complex technology that underpins this learning environment 'IT'. Drawing on Linstone's (1981, 1984) Technical, Organisational and Personal (TOP) multiple perspective concept as the framework for analysis, the authors discuss their perspectives of how the personal, organisational and technical aspects of teaching through the use of virtual worlds have impacted on their teaching and research in highe...
The DEHub Virtual Worlds Working Group has an informal membership of nearly 200 members with an i... more The DEHub Virtual Worlds Working Group has an informal membership of nearly 200 members with an interest in education and virtual worlds within the Australian and New Zealand context. Members come from a variety of academic disciplines and may be teaching or research academics, Research Higher Degree candidates, project managers, virtual world builders and developers. The group acts as an informal Community of Practice, facilitating learning and the transfer of skills through social contact, opportunities to ...
Electric Dreams. Proceedings ascilite 2013 Sydney ., Dec 4, 2013
3D virtual reality, including the current generation of multi-user virtual worlds, has had a long... more 3D virtual reality, including the current generation of multi-user virtual worlds, has had a long history of use in education and training, and it experienced a surge of renewed interest with the advent of Second Life in 2003. What followed shortly after were several years marked by considerable hype around the use of virtual worlds for teaching, learning and research in higher education. For the moment, uptake of the technology seems to have plateaued, with academics either maintaining the status quo and continuing to use virtual worlds as they have previously done or choosing to opt out altogether. This paper presents a brief review of the use of virtual worlds in the Australian and New Zealand higher education sector in the past and reports on its use in the sector at the present time, based on input from members of the Australian and New Zealand Virtual Worlds Working Group. It then adopts a forward-looking perspective amid the current climate of uncertainty, musing on future di...
Background: Using virtual worlds with students and faculty in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) can... more Background: Using virtual worlds with students and faculty in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) can provide exciting opportunities to develop innovative pedagogies. This work can begin in the ITE courses and filter into K-12 classrooms. Identifying the best practices is of the utmost importance in facilitating effective teaching and learning. The present case study seeks to highlight the elements that influence the successful integration of virtual worlds in learning environments. Methods: This case study was part of a more extensive participatory action research project (PAR). In that four-year project (2010-2014), data were gathered from over 1500 ITE students and six faculty at a regional university in Australia. The inductive analysis of the data gave rise to several case studies, one of which is presented in this paper. The data sets were obtained from virtual world interventions, surveys and interviews. Results: It was found that virtual worlds can support teachers in developing...
Student voice has played a big role in shaping the development and measure of success/failure of ... more Student voice has played a big role in shaping the development and measure of success/failure of virtual worlds in education. Data on past and ongoing educational uses and contexts of use of virtual worlds and associated student feedback was gathered via a survey of educational researchers specialising in virtual worlds. Introduced are a range of specific uses that provide the source of and context for student feedback. Ten major themes emerged from student voices that highlight strengths and weakness and point the way forward for both educators and the students themselves. Positive feedback highlighted experiences of both pedagogical design and the ability of the technology to support it. Negative feedback revolved around technical problems, seen as hampering the effectiveness of student learning experiences. Student voice regarding virtual worlds is both positive and rewarding, and commending of staff who have dedicated their time and effort to transform the learning experience.
The adoption and pedagogical use of technologies such as virtual worlds to support teaching and l... more The adoption and pedagogical use of technologies such as virtual worlds to support teaching and learning, and research in higher education involves a complex interplay of technical, organisational and personal factors. In this paper, eighteen educators and researchers provide an overview of how they perceive a virtual world can be used in education from the perspective of themselves as individuals 'me', their educational organisations and as members of the Australian and New Zealand Virtual Worlds Working Group (VWWG) community of practice 'us', as well as the complex technology that underpins this learning environment 'IT'. Drawing on Linstone's (1981, 1984) Technical, Organisational and Personal (TOP) multiple perspective concept as the framework for analysis, the authors discuss their perspectives of how the personal, organisational and technical aspects of teaching through the use of virtual worlds have impacted on their teaching and research in highe...
Description Virtual worlds (VWs) continue to be used extensively in Australia and New Zealand hig... more Description Virtual worlds (VWs) continue to be used extensively in Australia and New Zealand higher education institutions although the tendency towards making unrealistic claims of efficacy and popularity appears to be over. Some educators at higher education institutions continue to use VWs in the same way as they have done in the past; others are exploring a range of different VWs or using them in new ways; whilst some are opting out altogether. This paper presents an overview of how 46 educators from some 26 ...
Virtual worlds are highly immersive, engaging and popular computer mediated environments being ex... more Virtual worlds are highly immersive, engaging and popular computer mediated environments being explored by children and adults. Why then aren't more teachers using virtual worlds in the classroom with primary and secondary school students? Reasons often cited are the learning required to master the technology, low-end graphics cards, poor connectivity and the firewall. A solution to one of these barriers is to use a virtual world that can operate inside the firewall locally on school computers. The virtual world Sim-on-a- ...
Three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds have been used for more than a decade in higher education f... more Three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds have been used for more than a decade in higher education for teaching and learning. Since the 1980s, academics began using virtual worlds as an exciting and innovative new technology to provide their students with new learning experiences that were difficult to provide any other way. But since that time, virtual worlds have failed to maintain their popularity as learning spaces; many builds falling into disuse and many disappearing altogether. The aim of this article is not only to determine why virtual worlds have not become a mainstream teaching tool, but to ascertain why they have even failed to maintain their popularity. In order to do this, the research team surveyed over 200 academics about the barriers and enablers to the use and perceived affordances of virtual worlds in teaching and learning. These responses are examined in relation to academics' past, present and future use, experience and knowledge of virtual world environments.
ii Publications arising from this research v List of Figures xi List of Tables xi Editorial Notes... more ii Publications arising from this research v List of Figures xi List of Tables xi Editorial Notes xiii Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Education, Learning and Digital Technology in the 21st Century 1 1.2 Educational Change and Innovation 3 1.3 Critically Evaluating Educational Technology 5 1.4 Pre-‐service Teacher Education 6 1.5 Virtual Worlds 8 1.6 Aims of the Research 11 1.7 Background to the Research 11 1.8 My Position as a Researcher 14 1.9 Thesis Structure 15 Chapter 2 Educational Context 18 2.1 Change and Innovation 18 2.2 Diffusion and Adoption of Innovation 20 2.3 Educational Change and Innovation 23 2.4 21st Century Learners 25 2.5 Engagement 27 2.6 Learning Theories for a Digital Age 30 2.6.1 Conversational learning 30 2.6.2 Immersive learning 32 2.6.3 Situated learning 35 2.6.4 Connectivism 36 2.7 Pedagogy, Andragogy, Cybergogy 37 2.8 A New Culture of Learning 39 2.9 Research Need 41 Chapter 3 Technological Context 43 3.1 Introduction 43 3.2 The Effect of Technology on Tea...
When Second Life first came to the attention of the mainstream media in 2007, educators recognise... more When Second Life first came to the attention of the mainstream media in 2007, educators recognised the potential of virtual worlds for teaching and learning. They seemed to be the ideal environments to facilitate authentic learning, alleviate the tyranny of distance for students not on campus, and provide an inexpensive and safe environment to teach skills that were too dangerous or expensive to teach in the real world. In spite of all this fanfare, virtual worlds have failed to gain significant traction in higher education. This paper outlines a preliminary investigation into the reasons why virtual worlds have not been adopted for learning and teaching. The reflections of the six authors on this topic were subjected to a thematic analysis with themes arranged under four broad topics. This information informed the development of a survey to be distributed more widely to further explore this phenomenon.
Abstract Teachers have always been required to work within the classroom spaces provided to them.... more Abstract Teachers have always been required to work within the classroom spaces provided to them. The bricks and mortar of industrial age classroom structures often dictate pedagogical modes that are not always the best for learners or for the concepts being taught. With newly emerging virtual world technologies opportunities are now available for teachers to design and create a much wider range of individually tailored learning spaces–literally anything they can imagine. However, to fully exploit these opportunities and ...
The DEHub Virtual Worlds Working Group (VWWG) consists of Australian and New Zealand higher educa... more The DEHub Virtual Worlds Working Group (VWWG) consists of Australian and New Zealand higher education academics investigating the role that virtual worlds (VWs) play in the future of education. A sub group of the VWWG that includes Higher Degree Research (HDR) students and supervisors have been meeting regularly in the VW of second life. Many of these HDR students are the only student within their institution researching VWs. In many ways they lack the peer support that is so important to facilitate an expedient and successful completion of PhD candidates’ dissertations. Through the regular VW meetings the HDR VW group have overcome the isolation of working alone and have developed a strong collegial network that extends beyond their individual institutions. These students and supervisors represent a cross section of researchers who are using VWs as a vital resource for their investigations, collegial networking and student-supervisor communication. Meeting with like-minded HDR stud...
The landscape has already changed for the music industry in the way that music is created, perfor... more The landscape has already changed for the music industry in the way that music is created, performed and distributed. Higher education courses in music, including contemporary music, are abundant but in many cases are not preparing students for the 21 st century music industry. Innovative technology is pushing the boundaries of what live performance in music actually entails. Technology such as virtual worlds is opening up avenues for greater control by the musician in relation to design of performance spaces and ability to attract global audiences. The potential for the exploration of virtual worlds by musicians to promote appropriate career development skills is discussed. Technical, organisational and motivational issues are also raised. Problems and possibilities associated with the initial running of performances in a virtual world reveal the capacity of higher education to implement live music performance in virtual worlds as part of their music courses.
and Symposium Plan There has been much media reporting on the efficacy of virtual worlds for educ... more and Symposium Plan There has been much media reporting on the efficacy of virtual worlds for education over the last few years. Some of the claims made are unfounded and not based on empirical evidence. All panel members have been teaching and conducting research in virtual worlds for several years. They will address many of the myths about teaching and learning in a virtual world. The format will follow Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage’s television series, “Myth Busters” (“MythBusters,” 2011) to find out whether the myths are “founded”, “busted” or “plausible”. To date there has been limited research and publications reporting on myths surrounding the teaching and learning in virtual worlds. However, Calani (2010) attempted to resolve the myths around immersion, James (2007) set about resolving the myths surrounding business in Second Life and, Hendrich & Mesch (2009), discussed 10,000 reasons why a virtual world will or won’t work. This interactive session will seek audience particip...
Virtual worlds are emerging as the new frontier in the use of ICTs for the engagement of students... more Virtual worlds are emerging as the new frontier in the use of ICTs for the engagement of students in primary, secondary and tertiary education. In 2010 the use of the virtual world, Second Life, was trialled as a pedagogical tool in the training of Visual Art Education students studying at Southern Cross University. The students, physically located at three regional campuses, spent time in-world discussing concepts, visiting art sites, creating 2D and 3D art work and designing an exhibition space. This case study makes a comparison between traditional and mixed mode delivery and recommendations are proposed in relation to strategies for implementing the use of virtual worlds in Visual Arts teacher training and Secondary School Art Education. Background Southern Cross University (SCU) (2010) is a regional university that offers a range of degree programs over a number of campuses. The Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) in Visual Arts is available to students on three campuses ...
This study aims to establish a Heutagogy approach for teacher professional education in Indonesia... more This study aims to establish a Heutagogy approach for teacher professional education in Indonesia as an attempt to improve teacher competencies. This study will identify key elements of a Heutagogy approach derived from previous Heutagogy practices. The methods to collect data for developing the Heutagogy approach in this study employs a literature review of previous research and findings related to Heutagogy practice. In this regard, this study's established elements are Learnerdetermined learning, Metacognitive reflection, Collaboration, and Capability development. These elements are analysed and then incorporated into the TPE model with support from online learning tools. Capability development is the goal of experiencing each of the elements of Heutagogy in this approach. Each of these key elements will contribute to developing participants capability as professional teachers. The Heutagogy approach in this study is expected to be significant for improving teacher competenci...
The adoption and pedagogical use of technologies such as virtual worlds to support teaching and l... more The adoption and pedagogical use of technologies such as virtual worlds to support teaching and learning, and research in higher education involves a complex interplay of technical, organisational and personal factors. In this paper, eighteen educators and researchers provide an overview of how they perceive a virtual world can be used in education from the perspective of themselves as individuals 'me', their educational organisations and as members of the Australian and New Zealand Virtual Worlds Working Group (VWWG) community of practice 'us', as well as the complex technology that underpins this learning environment 'IT'. Drawing on Linstone's (1981, 1984) Technical, Organisational and Personal (TOP) multiple perspective concept as the framework for analysis, the authors discuss their perspectives of how the personal, organisational and technical aspects of teaching through the use of virtual worlds have impacted on their teaching and research in highe...
The DEHub Virtual Worlds Working Group has an informal membership of nearly 200 members with an i... more The DEHub Virtual Worlds Working Group has an informal membership of nearly 200 members with an interest in education and virtual worlds within the Australian and New Zealand context. Members come from a variety of academic disciplines and may be teaching or research academics, Research Higher Degree candidates, project managers, virtual world builders and developers. The group acts as an informal Community of Practice, facilitating learning and the transfer of skills through social contact, opportunities to ...
Electric Dreams. Proceedings ascilite 2013 Sydney ., Dec 4, 2013
3D virtual reality, including the current generation of multi-user virtual worlds, has had a long... more 3D virtual reality, including the current generation of multi-user virtual worlds, has had a long history of use in education and training, and it experienced a surge of renewed interest with the advent of Second Life in 2003. What followed shortly after were several years marked by considerable hype around the use of virtual worlds for teaching, learning and research in higher education. For the moment, uptake of the technology seems to have plateaued, with academics either maintaining the status quo and continuing to use virtual worlds as they have previously done or choosing to opt out altogether. This paper presents a brief review of the use of virtual worlds in the Australian and New Zealand higher education sector in the past and reports on its use in the sector at the present time, based on input from members of the Australian and New Zealand Virtual Worlds Working Group. It then adopts a forward-looking perspective amid the current climate of uncertainty, musing on future di...
Background: Using virtual worlds with students and faculty in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) can... more Background: Using virtual worlds with students and faculty in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) can provide exciting opportunities to develop innovative pedagogies. This work can begin in the ITE courses and filter into K-12 classrooms. Identifying the best practices is of the utmost importance in facilitating effective teaching and learning. The present case study seeks to highlight the elements that influence the successful integration of virtual worlds in learning environments. Methods: This case study was part of a more extensive participatory action research project (PAR). In that four-year project (2010-2014), data were gathered from over 1500 ITE students and six faculty at a regional university in Australia. The inductive analysis of the data gave rise to several case studies, one of which is presented in this paper. The data sets were obtained from virtual world interventions, surveys and interviews. Results: It was found that virtual worlds can support teachers in developing...
Uploads
Papers by Lisa Jacka