A revolutionary feature of virtual environments is the opportunity they provide for learners to t... more A revolutionary feature of virtual environments is the opportunity they provide for learners to transform the way in which they present themselves. Their virtual interactions are mediated through the personae of their avatar. This chapter considers the nature of an avatar and how it enables the expression, or creation, of an individual learner’s identity. For those whose see learning as a sociocultural process, the issue of identity and how it is negotiated is crucial. This chapter examines this issue in relation to the impact of trust, attachment and group affiliation. It concludes that, along with the positive opportunities that freedom of appearance and action bring, there are risks whose negative consequences can potentially extend beyond the virtual world.
Chapter 11 Using Second Life at the Open University: How the Virtual World Can Facilitate Learnin... more Chapter 11 Using Second Life at the Open University: How the Virtual World Can Facilitate Learning for Staff and Students Steph Broadribb, Anna Peachey, Chris Carter and Francine Westrap 11.1. Introduction In November 2008, the inaugural Research and Learning in Virtual ...
As I write this editorial, I am amazed at the world in which it is located–a place and space that... more As I write this editorial, I am amazed at the world in which it is located–a place and space that is constantly changing with the development of new technologies and the concurrent rise of complimentary new language and literacy practices. Ten years ago the term “new literacies” was only used by those prescient researchers who perceived that new technologies were going to shape language and literacies, such as Lankshear and Knobel's (1997) early work on literacies and texts in an electronic age. Others, such as the New ...
This presentation reports on the experiences of two practitioner groups working in virtual worlds... more This presentation reports on the experiences of two practitioner groups working in virtual worlds – a Human Resources department (HR) commissioning a training environment, and the developer implementing that commission. In 2008/9 the HR department at The Open University, a pioneer institution in the provision of e-learning in the UK (www.open.ac.uk), developed an innovative and successful pilot training programme using the virtual world Second Life as a role play setting for staff training in giving and receiving feedback (see Peachey et al, 2009). Anna Peachey at Eygus Ltd (www.eygus.co.uk) developed the diorama for the training, and worked with OU academics to create an appropriate and immersive setting for their needs. As a result of this collaboration, and other collaborations throughout the university, Eygus Ltd has developed a process strategy for working with academics in the production of virtual world content. This presentation provides a critical reflective account by both client and developer, offering a diverse set of insights into the development, negotiation and delivery of a technology mediated learning experience. As the OU HR department plan their e-training needs for 2010, and consider further virtual world activity within a blended programme, we will also reflect on how new developments are negotiated according to the process strategy arising from previous collaborations.
The ‘Nexus Narrative’ set of questions is based on work by de Freitas and Oliver, and Peachey, Livingstone and Walshe (references in ppt) and may be used freely as long as the source is fully acknowledged in all video, written and audio material, regardless of media.
During a number of discussions with different student groups about their experiences of learning ... more During a number of discussions with different student groups about their experiences of learning activities conducted in the virtual world Second Life, it has become apparent that the students who dislike the sessions are expressing a range of opinions towards the use of virtual worlds that goes beyond resistance to learning new technologies per se. We propose that it is important to explore this resistance, as it represents a significant potential hurdle for educators planning on using virtual worlds in their teaching. This study synthesises the experiences of two researchers/educators across a range of different learning scenarios and identifies common themes in their responses. The presentation will describe these themes, illustrated with extracts from students’ comments, and encourage delegates to share their own experience regarding similar forms of resistance and ideas for resolving them, if we agree that a resolution is possible. The elements of virtual worlds resisted by students are: Embodiment. A number report no feelings of identification with their avatars. Fantasy. Some students who are willing to participate within the virtual world only so as long as the environment, and the avatars they share the environment with, remain limited to real world constraints. Virtual. Some students see the virtual as inauthentic and invalid. They express disapproval of technology mediating experience and identity. Fun. Virtual worlds are superficially similar to games, and a number of students resist the use of games in education in any context. Culture. Second Life presents the potential for behaviour that differs from social norms. Some students are, or choose to be, offended by this. Reputation. The popular media tends to a polarised perspective on activity in virtual worlds, so that a common perception drawn solely from casual reading might be that virtual worlds are all about sex, or that Second Life is ‘over’.
A revolutionary feature of virtual environments is the opportunity they provide for learners to t... more A revolutionary feature of virtual environments is the opportunity they provide for learners to transform the way in which they present themselves. Their virtual interactions are mediated through the personae of their avatar. This chapter considers the nature of an avatar and how it enables the expression, or creation, of an individual learner’s identity. For those whose see learning as a sociocultural process, the issue of identity and how it is negotiated is crucial. This chapter examines this issue in relation to the impact of trust, attachment and group affiliation. It concludes that, along with the positive opportunities that freedom of appearance and action bring, there are risks whose negative consequences can potentially extend beyond the virtual world.
Chapter 11 Using Second Life at the Open University: How the Virtual World Can Facilitate Learnin... more Chapter 11 Using Second Life at the Open University: How the Virtual World Can Facilitate Learning for Staff and Students Steph Broadribb, Anna Peachey, Chris Carter and Francine Westrap 11.1. Introduction In November 2008, the inaugural Research and Learning in Virtual ...
As I write this editorial, I am amazed at the world in which it is located–a place and space that... more As I write this editorial, I am amazed at the world in which it is located–a place and space that is constantly changing with the development of new technologies and the concurrent rise of complimentary new language and literacy practices. Ten years ago the term “new literacies” was only used by those prescient researchers who perceived that new technologies were going to shape language and literacies, such as Lankshear and Knobel's (1997) early work on literacies and texts in an electronic age. Others, such as the New ...
This presentation reports on the experiences of two practitioner groups working in virtual worlds... more This presentation reports on the experiences of two practitioner groups working in virtual worlds – a Human Resources department (HR) commissioning a training environment, and the developer implementing that commission. In 2008/9 the HR department at The Open University, a pioneer institution in the provision of e-learning in the UK (www.open.ac.uk), developed an innovative and successful pilot training programme using the virtual world Second Life as a role play setting for staff training in giving and receiving feedback (see Peachey et al, 2009). Anna Peachey at Eygus Ltd (www.eygus.co.uk) developed the diorama for the training, and worked with OU academics to create an appropriate and immersive setting for their needs. As a result of this collaboration, and other collaborations throughout the university, Eygus Ltd has developed a process strategy for working with academics in the production of virtual world content. This presentation provides a critical reflective account by both client and developer, offering a diverse set of insights into the development, negotiation and delivery of a technology mediated learning experience. As the OU HR department plan their e-training needs for 2010, and consider further virtual world activity within a blended programme, we will also reflect on how new developments are negotiated according to the process strategy arising from previous collaborations.
The ‘Nexus Narrative’ set of questions is based on work by de Freitas and Oliver, and Peachey, Livingstone and Walshe (references in ppt) and may be used freely as long as the source is fully acknowledged in all video, written and audio material, regardless of media.
During a number of discussions with different student groups about their experiences of learning ... more During a number of discussions with different student groups about their experiences of learning activities conducted in the virtual world Second Life, it has become apparent that the students who dislike the sessions are expressing a range of opinions towards the use of virtual worlds that goes beyond resistance to learning new technologies per se. We propose that it is important to explore this resistance, as it represents a significant potential hurdle for educators planning on using virtual worlds in their teaching. This study synthesises the experiences of two researchers/educators across a range of different learning scenarios and identifies common themes in their responses. The presentation will describe these themes, illustrated with extracts from students’ comments, and encourage delegates to share their own experience regarding similar forms of resistance and ideas for resolving them, if we agree that a resolution is possible. The elements of virtual worlds resisted by students are: Embodiment. A number report no feelings of identification with their avatars. Fantasy. Some students who are willing to participate within the virtual world only so as long as the environment, and the avatars they share the environment with, remain limited to real world constraints. Virtual. Some students see the virtual as inauthentic and invalid. They express disapproval of technology mediating experience and identity. Fun. Virtual worlds are superficially similar to games, and a number of students resist the use of games in education in any context. Culture. Second Life presents the potential for behaviour that differs from social norms. Some students are, or choose to be, offended by this. Reputation. The popular media tends to a polarised perspective on activity in virtual worlds, so that a common perception drawn solely from casual reading might be that virtual worlds are all about sex, or that Second Life is ‘over’.
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In 2008/9 the HR department at The Open University, a pioneer institution in the provision of e-learning in the UK (www.open.ac.uk), developed an innovative and successful pilot training programme using the virtual world Second Life as a role play setting for staff training in giving and receiving feedback (see Peachey et al, 2009). Anna Peachey at Eygus Ltd (www.eygus.co.uk) developed the diorama for the training, and worked with OU academics to create an appropriate and immersive setting for their needs. As a result of this collaboration, and other collaborations throughout the university, Eygus Ltd has developed a process strategy for working with academics in the production of virtual world content.
This presentation provides a critical reflective account by both client and developer, offering a diverse set of insights into the development, negotiation and delivery of a technology mediated learning experience. As the OU HR department plan their e-training needs for 2010, and consider further virtual world activity within a blended programme, we will also reflect on how new developments are negotiated according to the process strategy arising from previous collaborations.
The ‘Nexus Narrative’ set of questions is based on work by de Freitas and Oliver, and Peachey, Livingstone and Walshe (references in ppt) and may be used freely as long as the source is fully acknowledged in all video, written and audio material, regardless of media.
This study synthesises the experiences of two researchers/educators across a range of different learning scenarios and identifies common themes in their responses. The presentation will describe these themes, illustrated with extracts from students’ comments, and encourage delegates to share their own experience regarding similar forms of resistance and ideas for resolving them, if we agree that a resolution is possible.
The elements of virtual worlds resisted by students are:
Embodiment. A number report no feelings of identification with their avatars.
Fantasy. Some students who are willing to participate within the virtual world only so as long as the environment, and the avatars they share the environment with, remain limited to real world constraints.
Virtual. Some students see the virtual as inauthentic and invalid. They express disapproval of technology mediating experience and identity.
Fun. Virtual worlds are superficially similar to games, and a number of students resist the use of games in education in any context.
Culture. Second Life presents the potential for behaviour that differs from social norms. Some students are, or choose to be, offended by this.
Reputation. The popular media tends to a polarised perspective on activity in virtual worlds, so that a common perception drawn solely from casual reading might be that virtual worlds are all about sex, or that Second Life is ‘over’.
In 2008/9 the HR department at The Open University, a pioneer institution in the provision of e-learning in the UK (www.open.ac.uk), developed an innovative and successful pilot training programme using the virtual world Second Life as a role play setting for staff training in giving and receiving feedback (see Peachey et al, 2009). Anna Peachey at Eygus Ltd (www.eygus.co.uk) developed the diorama for the training, and worked with OU academics to create an appropriate and immersive setting for their needs. As a result of this collaboration, and other collaborations throughout the university, Eygus Ltd has developed a process strategy for working with academics in the production of virtual world content.
This presentation provides a critical reflective account by both client and developer, offering a diverse set of insights into the development, negotiation and delivery of a technology mediated learning experience. As the OU HR department plan their e-training needs for 2010, and consider further virtual world activity within a blended programme, we will also reflect on how new developments are negotiated according to the process strategy arising from previous collaborations.
The ‘Nexus Narrative’ set of questions is based on work by de Freitas and Oliver, and Peachey, Livingstone and Walshe (references in ppt) and may be used freely as long as the source is fully acknowledged in all video, written and audio material, regardless of media.
This study synthesises the experiences of two researchers/educators across a range of different learning scenarios and identifies common themes in their responses. The presentation will describe these themes, illustrated with extracts from students’ comments, and encourage delegates to share their own experience regarding similar forms of resistance and ideas for resolving them, if we agree that a resolution is possible.
The elements of virtual worlds resisted by students are:
Embodiment. A number report no feelings of identification with their avatars.
Fantasy. Some students who are willing to participate within the virtual world only so as long as the environment, and the avatars they share the environment with, remain limited to real world constraints.
Virtual. Some students see the virtual as inauthentic and invalid. They express disapproval of technology mediating experience and identity.
Fun. Virtual worlds are superficially similar to games, and a number of students resist the use of games in education in any context.
Culture. Second Life presents the potential for behaviour that differs from social norms. Some students are, or choose to be, offended by this.
Reputation. The popular media tends to a polarised perspective on activity in virtual worlds, so that a common perception drawn solely from casual reading might be that virtual worlds are all about sex, or that Second Life is ‘over’.