Large scale education in virtual worlds is an emerging phenomenon. The
subject has been discussed in the literature for almost two decades but
there is little agreement on how to design an effective virtual
environment for learning (Cobb and Fraser, 2005). Many of the existing
research projects have taken a social constructivist approach to
learning in virtual worlds (e.g., Dede, et al., 2003; Dickey, 2005a; 2005b; Bronnack, et al., 2006). Social constructivist learning looks at the students as “constructors and producers of personal knowledge” (Jonassen,
1996). Knowledge, from a social constructivist perspective, is more of a
social activity than an individual cognitive process. The students do
not just listen and receive information to create knowledge, but they
actively seek information, to build their own knowledge in collaboration
with others.
Bronnack, et al. (2006) wrote that “virtual
worlds … are uniquely situated to serve as rich environments for
engaging students in meaningful communities of practice”. The fact
that distributed learning provides more opportunities for engagement and
means for interaction with more individuals have been proved to be
beneficial to the learning experiences of students (Gilman, et al., 2007; Dickey, 2005a; Riedl, et al., 2005; Dede, et al.,
2003). Distributed learning basically means using multiple tools to
support learning. These tools in turn give students various ways to
participate with students finding those ways that suit them best.
Dede, et al. (2003)
studied students learning experiences with both asynchronous and
synchronous interactive media. Asynchronous online systems allow
participants to interact with each other without all participants online
at the same time. In contrast, synchronous systems require everyone to
participate at the same time. Examples of asynchronous online systems
are blogs, wikis and discussion forums. Some synchronous systems include
chat rooms and video conferences. In Dede, et al. (2003),
students reported that their distributed learning experience positively
affected their participation, engaging them in class–related material.
In addition, the use of synchronous media helped students to get to
better know and interact with their classmates. Most of the 30
respondents in Dede, et al. felt that something would be
missing if their learning environment was only virtual. However less
than half of the respondents chose face–to–face education as their first
choice of learning. Dede, et al. (2003) summarizes their results by noting that “the
full range of students’ learning styles is undercut when interaction is
limited to classroom settings rather than distributed across multiple
media”. Bronack, et al. (2006) studied the communication
between students and teachers and among students and discovered that
interaction was easier when using different interactive media.
Jones, et al. (2005)
examined how the immersive nature of virtual worlds might affect
students’ attitudes towards these learning environments. According to
Jones, et al., virtual worlds have the potential to bring the experience of distance education closer to face–to–face education. Jones, et al. noted
that each time students logged into their virtual world, they scattered
about in the environment to explore it. There was some difficulty in
getting all students to the same virtual place at the same time.
Delwiche
(2006) studied the use of Everquest and Second Life in two separate
courses and found that the learning curve for Everquest was quite steep.
He recommends that accessibility should be a deciding factor when
choosing which MUVE to use in education. Other important factors are the
genre of the MUVE and its extensibility. Students in Delwiche’s courses
wrote a course blog describing their experiences. Blog entries revealed
that students thought that the course had been informative and
enjoyable and that the students learned something. According to
Delwiche’s own assessment, the students had produced good quality
research during the course. From the students’ blog entries and from a
survey conducted after the courses, Delwiche could conclude that virtual
worlds are most effective when they are used as “a bridge between overlapping communities of practice”situated both in the physical and virtual worlds, but not completely in either.
Mayrath, et al. (2007)
shared their experience of using Second Life in education and gave an
extensive list of best practices for instructional activities. They
emphasized the importance of careful planning and preparation of courses
in Second Life as well as the need for on–going evaluation. Mayrath, et al. wrote that “course learning goals and students’ needs should be considered first and foremost when adopting new technology”. New technology should not be used just because it’s new and available.
Nummenmaa
(2007) studied emotions in a Web-based learning environment. She
discovered that interactions on the Web have an emotional aspect that is
derived from social interactions. Nummenmaa categorized the varied
behavior of students into three categories depending on their activity.
These partially overlapping categories are: 1) collaborative visible; 2)
non–collaborative invisible activities; and, 3) lurking. The emotions
of students affected their level of activity and participation,
suggesting that more effort should be placed on students’ emotions in
courses that occur in Web–based environments. Riva, et al. (2007)
found that the feeling of presence was greater in more emotional
virtual environments, suggesting the importance of design and appearance
in these environments. Engaging virtual environments may have a
positive effect on students’ emotions, which in turn affects students’
engagement and activity in courses (Nummenmaa, 2007).
Yellowlees
and Cook (2006) demonstrated that the environment and structures of
virtual worlds, such as Second Life, can be used efficiently to teach
and simulate activities that otherwise would be very difficult to
achieve in reality. Yellowlees and Cook built a house in Second Life
where visitors could experience visual and auditory hallucinations of
individuals with schizophrenia. Most (75 percent, n=549) visiting this
virtual house remarked that the experience improved their understanding
of schizophrenia.
Boulos, et al. (2007)
provided an overview of the potential of Second Life in health
education. They indicated that Second Life provides an environment where
students can practice skills and make mistakes without serious
consequences. The immersive nature of Second Life makes simulations very
realistic. As a result, Boulos, et al. think that Second Life may be an ideal place for simulation and practice.
The notion of distance
Distance
education (Keegan, 1980) is becoming increasingly common in higher
education. Various network–based methods are now used to complement
classroom education to reduce the affects of distance, making
it independent of time and physical location (Holmberg, 1995; Bates,
2005). Much effort has been placed in overcoming distance and studying
its effects on learning outcomes and satisfaction. Comparative studies
of classroom and distance education settings have largely found no
significant differences in outcomes or satisfaction (Gorsky and Caspi,
2005). However physical and temporal distances remain significant
practical variables, affecting the motivation to participate in distance
education.
According
to Paquette–Frenette (2006), physical presence serves primarily a
pragmatic function. In her study, students preferred physical presence,
because of perceived technical problems with remote connections. Another
advantage of physical presence was the possibility to ask peers for
explanations without interrupting the instructor. However, in this
study, unequal participation created significant problems. When some
students participate alone or in small groups at a distance while other
students are physically located together with the instructor, emotional
and social distance increases between the different groups.
In response Moore (1993) proposed that significant distance is not temporal or spatial but transactional.
Moore argued that transactional distance is a function of three
variables — dialogue, structure and learner autonomy. According to this
model transactional distance is a continuum between dialogue and
structure. More structure means less dialogue and vice versa. In spite
of issues related to this notion of transactional distance, distance
education is not solely dependent on physical distance (Dron, 2004;
Gorsky and Caspi, 2005). Instead of considering distance as a single
relational entity, another possible approach is to conceptualize it as a
function of physical and human distances. Within the framework
of Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory, human behavior is seen as
an interaction of 1) personal factors (cognitive, affective and
biological); 2) behavior; and, 3) environment. Hence distances can be
seen as measures of proximity and remoteness of these three elements.
The Bandurian environment has an instrumental effect on the (direct or mediated) context of learning in the form of physical distance.
It consists of elements from (physical) environmental and biological
factors of interactivity based on human behavior. Similarly learning is
affected by cognitive (Nooteboom, 2000; Duval, 2006) and emotional (i.e., affective; Hargreaves, 2001) distances between individuals as well as by social (Garrison, et al.,
2000) distance, which reflects overall behavioral proximity. Swartz and
Biggs (1999) have argued that computer–mediated learning runs risks of
building up emotional distance, because personal expressions are limited
by the lack of social abrasion to other means of nurturing social participation.
About the authors
Kim Holmberg is a researcher and lecturer at the Department of Information Studies, Åbo Akademi.Isto Huvila, PhD, is a researcher and lecturer at the Department of Information Studies, Åbo Akademi.
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