Teaching in Virtual Worlds: A 2013 Snapshot

Clare Sansom

Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of LondonFellow of the Centre for Distance Education

What is a virtual world?

An immersive online environment or alternate reality People move and interact in-world as player

characters or avatars Generally richly 3D graphics based Technology based on or derived from

games such as World of Warcraft But now often used for serious purposes,

particularly education

The most popular (and populated) world:Second Life

Launched in 2003 by California-based Linden Labs A fully commercial Internet company Basic use is free Offers educational discounts (but these vary)

“Millions” of user accounts; currently about 50-60,000 avatars active online at any time

Gartner’s Hype Cycle

2007: Peak of Inflated Expectations?

Gartner estimates “by the end of 2011, 80 percent of active Internet users will have a ’second life’ [that is, will be active in virtual worlds] but not necessarily in Second Life”. 2007: ~330M Internet users 2011: >> 250M virtual world users - ???

The journal Nature hosts lectures and discussions in Second Life

John Kirriemuir of Virtual World Watch publishes first of 10 snapshots of virtual world use in UK higher education

And Birkbeck College dips its toe in the water…

Birkbeck’s Experience

Piloted Web 2.0 technologies to facilitate learning in a distance learning MSc course

Included meetings of a “focus group” of past and present students in Second Life Hoped to try interacting with 3D molecular

models Mixed experiences

Some very positive: particularly one ex-student with Asperger’s syndrome

Some “couldn’t see the point” Many unable to access due to technical issues

Steep learning curve for staff and students

2011-12: Trough of Disillusionment?

User numbers vastly down on Gartner’s expectations

Linden Labs removes many of Second Life’s academic discounts

John Kirriemuir notes “some diminution” in VW use by UK academics in his 10th (and last) snapshot

Birkbeck has abandoned the experiment But the technology still has important

educational advocates

… Or plateau of productivity???

The 2013 Snapshot

Eight in-depth interviews with academics with extensive experience of virtual world use in academia All but one UK based

Shorter interviews with academics who choose not to use the system

A short literature survey

The Interview Questions

Which virtual worlds have you used for teaching and/or research?

What is your institution’s official position? Has it changed recently?

What successful case studies are there (particularly in teaching)? Any unsuccessful ones?

Which teaching scenarios or pedagogical approaches are supported most effectively by virtual worlds?

What are the main challenges to virtual world adoption in HE?

What are the main competitors to this technology? How do you see virtual worlds being used in

education in 5 years time?

Which virtual worlds are used?

All participants had used (or tried) Second Life

Some have used… Open Sim: a wholly open source Second

Life equivalent Wonderland (a little) Unity 3D: a virtual world “engine” for

creating closed virtual environments Used for specific “game” scenarios

A Taxonomy for Virtual Worlds

Fewer participants

More participants

Open ended Narrative driven

Second Life

Unity 3D “scenarios”

Institutional “Buy-In”

A very mixed picture A few very keen – e.g. University of

Edinburgh The Virtual University of Edinburgh Parallel graduation ceremonies held in Second

Life Some still interested but less involved

The Open University Some have no interest, with involved

academics “very much on a limb” The University of Greenwich

The Virtual University of Edinburgh

Successful Case Studies I

Managing major incidents

Accident investigation and “triage”

Court based scenarios for law students

“Real Life” scenarios that are difficult in real life

“you can’t replicate the sense of immersion that Second Life offers the students even with role play”.

Successful Case Studies II

Procedural learning Preparation for field or practical work

Enabling students to make the best use of their time in field or lab

Learning how to operate intricate and expensive equipment

Learning and Practising Methodology

Virtual Genetics Lab., University of Leicester

Successful Case Studies III

More “open ended” scenarios work well in psychology and social science disciplines if the aim is to explore the students’ own perception of their in-world identity

These rely on student understanding more than the other case studies

Exploring Digital Identity

Image © Andromeda Media Group

And what doesn’t work?

Virtual “chalk and talk” – replacing lectures for students at a distance Immersion doesn’t add value beyond

more accessible technologies Unplanned open-ended “activities”

“I just went into Second Life and wandered around, I didn’t know what to do there” (Disappointed student)

Most explorations of molecular structure Perhaps a surprising addition

So… what’s wrong with molecular structure?

Steep learning curve for creating “interactive” molecules

Graphics programs offering more complex rendering are far simpler to learn and use

Immersion fails to “add value” Games can sometimes work well

Second Life Standard molecular graphics

Protein structures viewed in…

Pedagogy in Virtual Worlds

Mark Childs (Coventry) identified four pedagogical approaches Associative (transmitting information) Cognitive (problem solving) Social constructivist (forming ideas by discussion) Connectivist (emerging from interaction between

people) Most successful case studies fit into the cognitive

or social constructivist categories Using well defined contexts or situations

Game-based scenarios offer benefits over both more restricted and more open-ended approaches

Challenges to Virtual Worlds

Financial Steep increase in “building” charges for

educational establishments Led to many institutions disinvesting Now partially reversed

Across-the-board funding difficulties led to re-focus on “core” activities

Institutional Overall scepticism, particularly from key senior

staff Poor digital literacy

Technological Technology difficult for educators to learn to

use well Students unable to access due to firewalls or

inadequate kit Software still “clunky”: early adopters

expected it to improve more quickly Students!

Some like the approach, others hate it… All (or almost all) prefer mobile technology for

learning

Competitors to Virtual Worlds

And perhaps most of all…

Almost all students prefer to use their smartphones for… almost everything

The strongest competitor is mobile

… And the Future?

“change will be evolutionary rather than revolutionary”

“virtual worlds will settle down in their niche, with appropriate applications that work well”

“more blended learning, combining the real and the virtual… augmented technology”

“A complete virtual city… Linden Labs is working on this, but it will take much more than 5 years”

“Broadband speeds will eventually become fast enough for virtual worlds to go mainstream”

“A virtual world that runs on a smartphone will be very popular, but it will be very difficult to write one without using Java”

Some Conclusions Virtual worlds, recently over-hyped as

educational tools, are settling down into a “plateau of productivity”

This will involve Task- and game-based scenarios Closely linked to situations that students and

professionals will meet in “real life” Learning through collaboration

Appropriate design is crucial Students with disabilities can find them

particularly helpful Mobile, virtual reality based learning is an

aspiration worth aiming for

Acknowledgements

Jean-Claude Bradley, Drexel University, USA David Burden, Daden Ltd. Mark Childs, Coventry University Sara de Freitas and colleagues, Serious Games

Institute, Coventry Liz Falconer, University of the West of England,

director of MA in Education in Virtual Worlds Jim Gritton, University of Greenwich Shailey Minocha, Open University Austin Tate, Virtual University of Edinburgh