In reading "Another Life: Virtual Worlds as Tools for Learning," the writers posed the following rhetorical question to the educational community concerning the use of MUVEs like Second Life in education:
"What can this technology do that will enhance the learner's experience that my current learning technology portfolio cannot?"
Some of the answers the authors came up with include a new sense of self, the death of distance, the ability to practice, increased collaboration, and enhanced experience. I think this question can be aptly applied to other emerging instructional technology areas, such as Web 2.0 and online learning, as well. What do these newer technologies offer that enhance teaching and learning?
This summer, I taught an online undergraduate educational technology course for the first time. Throughout the semester, I found myself asking a variation of the above question, "How can I best utilize the online platform to teach this course?" While the objectives of the course stayed the same as in previous semesters of teaching it face-to-face, I modified my teaching methods and learning activities to better accomplish these objectives in the online environment.
 One activity that went very well involved the use of teams. The course is run on the IntraLearn course management system which has a Teams feature that places students in cooperative groups and provides them with group chat rooms and discussion boards. I assigned the task of completing a WebQuest about WebQuests. Because the students collaborated online, I was able to view the chat session archives and discussion boards to observe how the teams accomplished the assignment. I think that the online format was more time efficient as students from several states and varying schedules came together synchronously and asynchronously to work together.Labels: MUVE, online learning, SecondLife, Web 2.0 |
