3D Learning ~ Second Life

The Educational Value of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs)

I have only been into Second Life a few times and I have come to understand to a small degree the advantages of being able to interact with peers and professors in a 3D learning environment. Having enrolled in and completed several online courses I have become familiar with learning management systems like Blackboard. I have also become quite adept at using Wikis for the purpose of required course discussion topics. While these have served their purpose for teaching and learning and I love the advantages of efficiency, ease of use, and convenience, I cannot deny the advantage of being able to interact with peers and teachers in real time. I think not having access to instant feedback to one's comments and questions is the only real disadvantage of online learning that does not employ 3D learning such as Second Life. While manipulating avatars and maneuvering through Second Life takes practice and time like anything else, I look forward to learning more about what I can learn from using this tool. I see the future use of this type of technology used increasingly for higher education, professional development and distance learning. Being able to interact with people from very distant locations is another huge advantage of VLEs, which will continue to become more popular as academic staff at universities demand them for use in their courses. I also believe VLEs are extremely attractive with regard to functionality and cost. Student access is unlimited and university space no longer essential. No real buildings or classrooms are needed. Students can stay at home to attend a lecture or participate in a discussion. What could be better? I think teachers can add and edit courses according to the needs of each class more easily, which means they can better meet the demands of covering course content in conjunction with addressing learners’ needs, which isn’t always the case with online courses using a CMS or LMS. Having to meet in an 3D VLE like Second Life at a certain time is just like attending a class, except you don’t have to spend your time and money getting there. The future of education definitely lies in virtual learning environments for many reasons, but simply having a greater/varied student base i.e. students from all over can enroll in a class together, regardless of where they live, and basic costs will be much lower, hopefully transferring to students by lowering tuition costs, are two. While institutions will have to incur some basic costs, many software packages available employ open source software so that it can be provided freely. One such example is Moodle, which I describe in detail in an earlier post. I think VLEs have the ability to provide students and teachers with the best tools and resources possible. I think that many courses will be more often blended in the future, but as technology advances, VLEs are going to take the place of traditional classroom settings. There are many organizations and studies dedicated to providing information on the value of VLEs. For example, CLIVE, Sun Microsystems, Media Grid, Arvel sig, and CATE. The Center for Learning in Virtual Environments (CLIVE) is a collaboration between The Center for Advanced Technology in Education (CATE) at The University of Oregon, Sun Microsystems, and MERLOT to create two complimentary spaces on the Web and within 3D space - for comparing, contrasting, and informing educators about the potentials and challenges for learning and teaching in Multi-User Virtual Environments. Check out the source below to learn more.

Source:
Center for Learning in Virtual Environments - CLIVE