Duncan, I., Jiang, S., & Miller, A. (2012). A taxonomy
of virtual worlds usage in education. British Journal of Educational
Technology, 43(6), 949-964. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2011.01263.x
This article considers the research
of over 100 published works covering the use of virtual worlds in education; in
specifically the advantages and disadvantages of Second Life. Of all the VW’s,
VLE’s, and MUVE’s being used today Second Life ranked the top in educational
use. Even in 2012 any virtual world is considered new and unexplored for its
potential as an educational tool, but simulating real-life scenarios has piqued
the interest of professional educators.
There were six categories of
research common in all the works reviewed for this article: varied populations
in virtual worlds, educational activities possible, learning theories
capitalized on, the rich learning environment, use or potential of supporting
technologies, and finally the research areas still needing to be explored. Of
all the positive attributes of the use of virtual worlds for education, the
collaborative resources were the highest in potential learning. Higher order
thinking skills was a dominate feature also.
There were several disadvantages
of using virtual worlds. Just a few are the need for current high end
technology hardware to run the graphics non-stop for a real-life experience and
the broadband connection has to be high speed. Disadvantages in the learning
process is the difficulty for some learners to concentrate on learning with all
the overwhelming, unguided movements along with other distractions in the
virtual world which include moving around and visual distractors. It is hard
for educators to monitor the educational process in a simulation.
Future research is needed to
harness the full potential of using virtual worlds for education. There are
many new technologies that would enhance the real-life experience such as
immersion technology, video helmets or gloves, motion detection or interactive
hardware such as the Xbox Kinect. But
these technologies also present a drawback in the need for speed in RAM and
broadband connections. Evaluation of the learning process also needs an upgrade
for educators to feel comfortable in grading and monitoring for cognitive
success.
Martin, S., & Vallance, M. (2012). Assessment and evaluate
virtual worlds learning experiences and second, creating better techniques of
creation of these virtual world environment experiences. Learning in the virtual world:
Tasks, taxonomies and teaching for real. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research,
5(2), 1-13. Retrieved from http://jvwresearch.org
According to this article, the
possibilities for successful learning in virtual worlds is rich but like other
trends in education it is a slow process getting started with the appropriate
tools and at the same time becoming proficient as educators in its uses and
applications. Two requirements were proposed to accelerate this new avenue to
teaching and learning. First, develop a better process of evaluating virtual
world experiences and second, maximize better techniques of creating these
evaluative virtual world learning experiences.
A widely accepted standard of
categorizing educational objectives, Bloom’s Taxonomy, was used as the basis of
researching and developing a better way to evaluate the educational experience
in virtual worlds. During the research process, the emphasis on remembering and
understanding was not as apparent by learners as applying and evaluating, since
virtual worlds primarily use an interactive environment. Researchers discussed
the difficulty in reviewing both procedural and conceptual knowledge using a
modified Bloom’s Taxonomy for their evaluating purposes. They are in the
process of developing a “BloomsPad” software to record specific moves and
decisions made as a learner moves and participates in a virtual world. These
data points taken during the virtual experience should prove to enhance the
educational evaluation of learner’s experiences through precise documentation.
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