Authentic Virtual World Education: Facilitating Cultural Engagement and Creativity

207 Pages·2018·3.911 MB·English

by  Sue Gregory,Denise Wood (eds.)

Sue Gregory · Denise Wood E ditors
Authentic
Virtual World
Education
Facilitating Cultural Engagement and
Creativity
Authentic Virtual World Education
Sue Gregory Denise Wood
(cid:129)
Editors
Authentic Virtual World
Education
Facilitating Cultural Engagement
and Creativity
123
Editors
SueGregory Denise Wood
Schoolof Education Central Queensland University
University of NewEngland Rockhampton North,QLD
Armidale, NSW Australia
Australia
ISBN978-981-10-6381-7 ISBN978-981-10-6382-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6382-4
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2017949499
©SpringerNatureSingaporePteLtd.2018
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Preface
Imagine an experience, so immersive that your heart beats faster, your blood
pressurerisesand you cannot wait togetto class todo it again. Such has beenthe
attraction of the use of virtual worlds in higher education since their emergence in
the 1980s and their ascendance to the peak of their popularity in 2007.
Nowtenyearslater,theauthorsofthiseditedbooktakethereaderonajourney
of creative discovery as they share their research and teaching practice utilising
virtual worlds as platforms for engaging their students in immersive authentic
learning experiences across a broad range of disciplinary fields. The authors share
their pedagogical approaches to harness the affordances of virtual worlds to
introduce students to contemporary issues such as the environmental, social and
economic challenges facing humanity in the twenty-first century, engaging with
cultural diversity, therestorative effectsof natural environmentsandsustainability.
The affordances of virtual worlds as authentic environments that can provide
situatedlearninginsimulatedenvironmentsareshowcasedwithpracticalexamples
drawn from fields as diverse as teacher education, law, languages, sustainability,
computer architecture, business, international relations, health and the arts. The
authors show how they are combining their teaching in virtual worlds with
scholarship as they use their teaching and the virtual world platform as virtual
laboratoriesforinnovativeresearchintonewapplicationsoftechnologiestosupport
intrinsically motivating experiential learning as well as strategies for enhancing
feedback and assessment within these learning environments.
Theauthorsshareboththeirsuccessesandthechallengestheyhaveencountered
and propose strategies for mitigating the issues that can arise when engaging stu-
dentswithmedia-richonlinetechnologies.Theinsightsprovidedbytheauthorsare
therefore applicable beyond virtual world technologies and will be of interest to
educators, researchers and students across diverse disciplinary fields.
Armidale, Australia Sue Gregory
Rockhampton North, Australia Denise Wood
v
Acknowledgements
The editors wish to acknowledge all those who were involved in the development
as well as the review and editing process of this collection.
First and foremost, we thank the chapter authors for sharing their expertise and
insights through their excellent contributions.
We would also like to express our gratitude to the panel of assistant co-editors
and reviewers (Dr. Lisa Jacka; the late Dr. Clare Atkins, who passed away during
the production process and whose contribution in reviewing the book has been
invaluable; Penny Neuendorf and Prof. David Parsons) who gave generously
of their time to assist us in ensuring the quality of the book’s content.
SpecialofnotesofappreciationmustgotoNickMelchior,Editor,whoprovided
us with invaluable guidance and input whenever it was needed.
Finally, we recognise the assistance and support we received from the publishing
teamatSpringerNature.Theirknowledge,dedicationandefficiencyinresponding
to our queries and requests for help have made working with them an absolute
pleasure.
Sue Gregory
Denise Wood
vii
Contents
1 The Affordances of Virtual Worlds as Authentic, Culturally
Diverse Learning Environments.... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 1
Denise Wood and Sue Gregory
2 Pedagogy and Learning for Sustainability in a Virtual World
Scaffold... .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 9
Marcia Thorne and Colin Macgregor
3 Intercultural Competence and Virtual Worlds .... .... ..... .... 25
Debbie Corder and Alice U-Mackey
4 Virtual Worlds as Restorative Environments . .... .... ..... .... 45
Janice K. Jones, Helen Farley and Angela Murphy
5 Self-guided Exploration of Virtual Learning Spaces.... ..... .... 61
Torsten Reiners, Lincoln C. Wood, Marko Teräs, Hanna Teräs,
Sue Gregory, Vanessa Chang, Michael Steurer, Timothy McDonald
and Ali Fardinpour
6 Action-Based Learning Assessment in Virtual Training
Environments.. .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 79
Ali Fardinpour, Torsten Reiners and Lincoln C. Wood
7 Engagement in Second Life: Language Anxiety and
Motivation .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 95
Scott Grant, Hui Huang and Sarah Pasfield-Neofitou
8 Cognitive Engagement in Virtual Worlds Language Learning ........ 117
Michael Henderson, Lyn Henderson, Scott Grant and Hui Huang
9 Anticipating Engagement: Pre-service Teachers’ Perceptions of
Virtual Worlds .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 135
Lisa Jacka and Matthew Hill
ix
x Contents
10 Utilising Second Life Machinima-Facilitated Narratives to
Support Cognitive and Imaginative Engagement Across an
Undergraduate Curriculum ... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 153
Des Butler
11 Decision-Making Supported by Virtual-World Systems Vis-à-Vis
Enterprise Systems’ Uncertainty and Equivocality. .... ..... .... 175
Amit Rudra, Bjørn Jæger and Kristine Ludvigsen
12 Conclusion.... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 199
Sue Gregory and Denise Wood
Editors and Contributors
About the Editors
SueGregory isanAssociateProfessor,ChairofResearchandamemberoftheICTeducation
team in the School of Education at the University of New England, Australia, where she is
responsibleforleadinganddrivingresearchwithintheschoolandtrainingpre-serviceandpost-
graduate education students on how to incorporate technology into their teaching. She is a
long-term adult educator and, since 2008, has been teaching in Second Life, in which she has
createdandmanagesseveralinworldspacesincludingclassroomsandaplaygroundforstudents.
Sue’s research focus is on adult learning, authenticity, engagement, immersion, impact and the
efficacyofvirtualworldsforeducation;inparticular,shehasbeenexaminingstudentperceptions
oftheirlearninginavirtualworld.SueischairoftheAustralianandNewZealandVirtualWorlds
Working Group (VWWG) and recently led an Australian Government Office of Learning and
Teaching(OLT)-fundedprojectentitled“VirtualPREX:InnovativeAssessmentusinga3DVirtual
WorldwithPre-ServiceTeachers”.
Denise Wood isaProfessor,EngagedResearchChairandDirectoroftheCentreforRegional
Advancement of Learning, Equity and Participation (LEAP) at Central Queensland University,
Australia.ShehadledoverAU$6millioninnationalfundedresearchprojectsfocusingonlearning
andteaching, andtheinnovative useofinformation andcommunicationtechnologies, including
virtualworlds,toenhancelearningoutcomesandthesocialandeducationalparticipationofpeople
from underrepresented groups in Australia and South Africa. One of these projects, which is of
particular interest to this publication, was an Australian Leaning and Teaching funded national
project, “Facilitating flexible, enquiry-based experiential learning through an accessible,
three-dimensionalvirtuallearningenvironment(3DVLE)”,theoutputsofwhichincludedguide-
linesforacademicsteachinginvirtualworldsabouttheaffordancesandfeaturesofvirtualworlds
forlearningandteachinginhighereducation,casestudiesacrossarangeofdisciplinaryfieldsand
thedevelopmentofanaccessiblevirtualworldviewer.
Contributors
Des Butler Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Vanessa Chang Curtin University, Perth, Australia
Debbie Corder Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
Ali Fardinpour Wise Realities, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
xi
xii EditorsandContributors
Helen Farley University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD, Australia
Scott Grant Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Sue Gregory School of Education, University of New England, Armidale, NSW,
Australia
Lyn Henderson James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
Michael Henderson Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Matthew Hill Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia
Hui Huang Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Lisa Jacka Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia
Janice K. Jones University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD,
Australia
Bjørn Jæger Molde University College, Molde, Norway
Kristine Ludvigsen University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
Colin Macgregor James Cook University, Townsville City, QLD, Australia
Timothy McDonald Curtin University, Perth, Australia
Angela Murphy University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD,
Australia
Sarah Pasfield-Neofitou Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Torsten Reiners Curtin University, Perth, Australia
Amit Rudra Curtin University, Perth, Australia
Michael Steurer Curtin University, Perth, Australia
Hanna Teräs Murdoch University, Perth, Australia
Marko Teräs Curtin University, Perth, Australia
Marcia Thorne James Cook University, Townsville City, QLD, Australia
Alice U-Mackey Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
Denise Wood Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, QLD, Australia
Lincoln C. Wood University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand