Research aims
In recent years, there are many reports about the impact of 3-D virtual worlds on teaching and learning in higher education(2007). However, there are few empirical studies that inform instructional design and learning assessment in virtual worlds (Chittaro & Ranon, 2007). Thus the main aim of this study is to explore the nature and process of learning in Second Life in graduate interdisciplinary communication course. What’s more, what is the actual instructional effectiveness of Second Life as an experiential learning environment (Kolb, 1984). for interdisciplinary communication?
Four research questions were put forward before the study:
1. How does learning occur in SL?
2. What types of learning do students experience often in SL?
3. Does learning in SL transfer to real life?
4. Do students perceive SL as instrumental in learning?
Research methods
This study using six different data collection and analysis methods which are as follows:
(1) Content analysis of student worldview journals (journal data)
Using journal data to understand what kinds of learning were reported by students in SL.
(2) Surveys
Two surveys were conducted during the study, which contains both five-point-scale Likert items and open-ended items.
(3) Focus group discussion (focus group data)
Focus group discussion with all five students were conducted at the end of the semester and it addressed learning in SL from various perspectives.
(4) Final public presentation speeches, Second Life snapshots, and Second Life video (final speeches data)
The final presentations were videotaped in a computer lab and also a screen-casting software to capture the students activities in SL. Snapshot images of student’s working in SL were also collected.
(5) Student team’s SL grant proposal (post-course) (grant proposal data)
After the classes, the student team maintained a close working relationship and wrote an extensive 54 page grant proposal for funding to create a non-profit with an SL focus, and a brief sections from this grant proposal is in the analysis.
(6) SL-related written feedback on course instructor surveys (course feedback data)
Students were invited to hand write additional feedback about the course.
Research results
There are two parts of the research results. The first part is about answers of research questions which raised before the study:
Research question1 How does learning occur in SL?
Focus group participants reported that learning in the course was facilitated by various of supportive characteristics of SL. One of the major function that students commonly mentioned was that the 3-D virtual environment in SL fostered real life applications of the theories and strategies studied in the course curriculum, a key indicator of successful
experiential learning.
Research question 2: What types of learning do students experience often in SL?
According to the research, the type of learning that occurred most often in SL was an increased awareness of one’s own and others’ perspectives, and this type of learning happened in the context of interactions with other avatars in SL.
Research question 3: Does learning in SL transfer to real life?
Some participants claimed that their SL learning experiences not only transferred into their real lives, but also in a broader and fresher perspectives.
Research question 4: Do students perceive SL as instrumental in learning?
According to the surveys, students’s expectations about the effectiveness of SL for their learning were positive before they participated in any SL activity, and the post-activity survey also indicates that students’ expectations were met and they had positive learning experiences.
Another part of the research results:
This is the most important result of this study: the study demonstrates the effectiveness of the SL environment for a project-based experiential
learning approach, particularly as students were able to learn by doing and by applying learned concepts to the real world. Besides, some SL’s special characteristics contribute to its suitability for project-based experiential learning.
Reference
Chittaro, L., & Ranon, R. (2007). Web3D technologies in learning, education, and training: Motivations, issues, and opportunities. Computers and Education, 49(1), 3–18.
Gartner, Inc. (2007). Gartner says 80 percent of active Internet users will have a ‘‘Second Life” in the virtual world by the end of 2011. Business Wire. Retrieved December 15, 2007
From <http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070424006287&newsLang=en>.
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Leslie, J., Tomoko, T., Michael, M., Avani, T. (2009). Virtual world teaching, experiential learning, and assessment: An interdisciplinary communication course in Second Life. Retrieved from Science Direct website: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131509000141
No comments:
Post a Comment