The Current Applications of Education in Virtual Worlds



AssessmentAssessment topic 2 : Theoretical Review Due Date 10 April 2017Group Number 1Student numberSurname Name PERCENTAGECONTRIBUTION (100%)214503016MaharajhVashishtha100214513195SomersYashil100214513196SomersNihal 100214536008MoodleyPrianca100214544161NaidooAdelline100Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u The Current Applications of Education in Virtual Worlds PAGEREF _Toc479587613 \h 3Meeting spaces for university courses PAGEREF _Toc479587614 \h 3Information gathering PAGEREF _Toc479587615 \h 3Job training PAGEREF _Toc479587616 \h 3Virtual Laboratories PAGEREF _Toc479587617 \h 4Medical practice PAGEREF _Toc479587618 \h 4Developing entrepreneurial skills PAGEREF _Toc479587619 \h 5NASA PAGEREF _Toc479587620 \h 5The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Virtual Worlds for Education PAGEREF _Toc479587621 \h 5Advantages PAGEREF _Toc479587622 \h 5Anywhere and anytime access PAGEREF _Toc479587623 \h 5Different cultural integration PAGEREF _Toc479587624 \h 5Geographical benefits PAGEREF _Toc479587625 \h 6Free form of education PAGEREF _Toc479587626 \h 6Reduced language barrier PAGEREF _Toc479587627 \h 6Simplified teacher/student collaboration PAGEREF _Toc479587628 \h 6Effective real life simulations with limited liability PAGEREF _Toc479587629 \h 6Disadvantages PAGEREF _Toc479587630 \h 6Access to inappropriate content PAGEREF _Toc479587631 \h 6Distractions PAGEREF _Toc479587632 \h 7Cyberbullying PAGEREF _Toc479587633 \h 7Cyber-Security PAGEREF _Toc479587634 \h 7Technological reliance PAGEREF _Toc479587635 \h 7Computer literacy PAGEREF _Toc479587636 \h 7High data bandwidth PAGEREF _Toc479587637 \h 7Guidelines to effective/successful VW in education PAGEREF _Toc479587638 \h 8Tool support PAGEREF _Toc479587639 \h 8Learning support PAGEREF _Toc479587640 \h 8Lecturer assistance PAGEREF _Toc479587641 \h 8Requirements PAGEREF _Toc479587642 \h 8References PAGEREF _Toc479587643 \h 8Technologies have evolved in recent years, web 2.0 has been one of the most beneficial things to be introduced (Musser & O’Reilly, 2006). It not only allows users to communicate on a social level for entertainment purposes but provides a platform for so much more, such as education In order to understand what and how educational techniques work on students, it is fundamental that the student’s technical knowledge and preferred devices be accessed to ensure that it allows the user to be at ease with the interactions (Pechenkina & Aeschliman, 2017). The use of technologies encourage students to take part in activities and enhance the learning experience for the teachers and other students (Wu, Pan & Yuan, 2016). Virtual worlds is a new way in which educational system the current generation can use.A virtual world is a way for users to interact among each other, teachers and objects in a user friendly creative type of environment in which a character is created to represent you in the virtual world (Nick, et al., 2017) .Providing education via the virtual worlds is a better option as virtual world applications contain a sufficient amount of tools to account for the ways in which different students learn (Calongne, 2008) by providing teachers with countless methods to teach i.e. pedagogies (Collins, 2017). We begin by looking at the applications of these worlds in education context. There are a number of virtual worlds namelyThe Current Applications of Education in Virtual WorldsMeeting spaces for university coursesStudents can enroll in a particular course, set up online forums and meetings using the environment in virtual worlds by creating virtual classrooms, campuses and centers (Calongne, 2008). By providing a virtual classroom it adds an element of fun to learning compared to a normal means as the new form allows you to change the learning environment instantly (Calongne, 2008) e.g. UKZN can start a campus on second life by creating an island and developing actual blocks on the island that includes educational content rmation gatheringInformation can be found in various different places in the virtual world (Calongne, 2008). People can use virtual worlds to upgrade their current knowledge by virtually going to virtual field trips, museums and virtual libraries as well as creating book clubs with the new individuals they meet there (Vosinakis, S. & Avradinis, N., 2016) . By just flying around the virtual world, avatars can find information in other streets and buildings, to name a few. For example In Second Life the Mayo Clinic's island provide online libraries and discussions based on various diseases where users can interact to gain more information about a topic (Second Life, 2017)Job trainingIndividuals attending the army can training for their military service by undergoing training in a virtual world to see how to respond when a similar scenario occurs in real time and provide a means that assists training officer’s in-eye exercises and target training practices that are cheaper than replicating the scenario (Jonathan, et al.2017). Flight simulation helps pilot trainees and military trainees prepare for extreme conditions in the air that isn't usually encountered while physically training (Jonathan, et al.2017) so that if they do encounter it, they will be able to adopt what they learned timely. Military are not the only ones it can be used for. Universities can train potential teachers by means of a virtual world (eg, secondlife) by simulating classroom work interactions with students to help them understand how to respond to each scenario (Leonel, et al., 2016). Civil engineering and architecture student can use the virtual environment to help them understand the design process, develop the schematics and construction of buildings using a world referred to as OpenSimulator (Leonel, et al., 2016).Virtual LaboratoriesStudents in the science and engineering field can conduct experiments in a virtual world. They can be able to practice lab experiments and find out what the finished product. For example a chemistry student can add compounds together and create solutions. Academic researchers can use these labs to interact with others to help solve environmental issues dealt with today much faster (Wiedmann, T., 2017) and conditioning trial experiments on the virtual environmentMedical practice An online tool called p-health uses the virtual world environment to apply the guidelines they have learnt, enables group discussions among students and receive immediate feedback (Gorini et al., 2008).Examples of other application in the second life platform include the following private island developed; Brain Talk Industries island that allows for interaction to help individuals deal with neurological problems , ?Brigadoon private Island which is made for individuals with Asperger’s syndrome and Live2Give island for people who suffer with cerebral palsy all of which provide users with the necessary information need to cope with their disease an improve their condition (Gorini et al., 2008).Medical students (e.g. Pharmacy students) can access the various prescription medication available, be able to read descriptions, understand patient needs and built a clinic for medical science students within the virtual environment. They can be sorted in teams and given various problems to solve which can be possible due to the pedagogies available in the online environment, e.g. secondlife (Englund, Gustafsson & Gallego, 2017). An individual’s emotional health is another factor to consider.Mental health is also important and an island in second life has been created by ARCI to give abused children skills about life and help them to get out of the situation (Englund, Gustafsson & Gallego, 2017).Developing entrepreneurial skillsBy creating businesses in a virtual world, people can educate themselves so that they can understand and apply what they learn to a real life situation. Understanding the demand of the product or services they’re selling by creating online focus groups using popular platform i.e. Second Life (Stewart & Shamdasani, 2016) . The result of the discussion gives an individual an idea of potential customer’s perceptions and how people would respond to the launch of that particular product or service.NASASecond life users can communicate with scientists from NASA’s Jet propulsion laboratory on their island, Explorer Island. The users can then obtain more information on the surface of the moon on Lunar Exploration Island and the e-Education island for free a number of resources (Canright, 2009). Students interested in NASA can see if they’d like to pursue their careers in the field by learning more about it in this interactive environment.The above applications are just a few thing virtual world can provide for us. With any application of virtual worlds, there are both advantages and disadvantages The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Virtual Worlds for Education Advantages Anywhere and anytime access Virtual worlds are flexible and can be used at any time or everywhere (De Freitas, Sara, et al.) as long as there is a computer that can support the virtual world and an internet connection, promoting learning ubiquitous learning Different cultural integration The use of second life, allows individuals avatars to explore different countries islands and get a sense of the culture that encompasses different locations which in the real world would be not feasible to explore e.g. famous paintings, cuisine, monumental landmarks and architecture in Rome. They can also be used to recreate environments that have been destroyed over the years to help people learn about the past in a more interactive way (Ijaz, Bogdanovych & Trescak, 2016). For example rebuilding of the ancient Mayan buildings.Geographical benefitsThere are no restrictions to using virtual worlds as a learning tool due to not being able to physically attend as well as allows people from different locations and cultures around the world to interact with one another using this platform to form an integrated, interactive environment of learning (Dickey, 2005). Free form of education Users do not have to necessarily pay to explore and educate themselves on the virtual world. The environment is service based, which allows users to carry out different functions and adds value to the users experience depending on the degree of expenditure for these services (Nick, et al. , 2017). However some services are free, for example second life allows you to exploration certain online islands such as the default islands listed on the destination tab. Reduced language barrierSecond life has multilingual platforms which allows avatars to view informational content in their desired language. If a user is interacting with objects in an environment, these can allow for information to be translated to an alternate provided language (Stewart & Shamdasani, 2016).Simplified teacher/student collaboration Virtual world provide an online focus group type of environment that allows users to create groups to interact with each other about varies work related topics and learn by use if the tools available (Stewart & Shamdasani, 2016). Hence the teacher and students interact by means of this unique platform which facilitates bilateral communication as well as provides teachers with tools needed to promote the creation and curation of educational content (Ranjan Mohanty, 2011) such as quizzes. This allows students the opportunity to enforce the framework of pedagogy. ?Effective real life simulations with limited liability It create a real world type of environment that allows individuals to interact with varies objects by use of their avatar (Stewart & Shamdasani, 2016). By doing so it provides a safe place for mistakes to be made as there is limited cost impact it would have on an individual.Disadvantages Access to inappropriate contentThere are no limitations preventing children from entering into some adult worlds, as long as a verified person has agreed to control them (secondlife, 2017). Children can simply create an account and lie about their age and entering the adult worlds on their own. When creating focus groups in virtual world, human behavior is unpredictable, people could use the group not for its initial intended use (Stewart & Shamdasani, 2016). For example, posting explicate content on a page.DistractionsWhilst using a virtual world for educational purposes, an individual can become easily distracted by their current environment or become fascinated by what they can accomplish in the virtual world which doesn’t allow learning to occur (Ranjan Mohanty, 2011). In a world such as second life, one can easily get distracted by all the variety of islands to visit rather than focusing on the studies at hand.Cyberbullying Cyberbullying can happen anywhere online, even in an educational environment, as like bullying would take place in a real life school, except harmful words are said and threats are made (Futureofworking 2015)Cyber-SecurityLogging into a virtual world only requires a username and password (unless of course, 2 step verification is implemented). This means that anyone that gets a hold of a password can access an account that is not theirs and cheat.Technological relianceTechnology reliance is a disadvantage as well as an advantage- in the case of server’s being down, no education and learning can take place. An individual is also reliant on internet technology and hence if there is no connection, they cannot access the world puter literacyBefore attempting to use a virtual world to commence with studies, an individual firstly needs to become literate and learning how to adapt to the virtual world, and complete some basic training in the virtual world (Stewart & Shamdasani, 2016) High data bandwidthBecause of the large amounts of data being passed at the time this may cost a lot of money and time. The time can cause a lag in the world. A machine with a higher processing power may be required as well (Englund, Gustafsson & Gallego, 2017)Finally in order for us to ensure that the virtual world implemented is successful in education, the following guidelines need to be carried outGuidelines to effective/successful VW in education The guidelines below can be used as a guide for the effective and successful usage within the virtual world. We can categorise them under the following heading: Tool support Virtual Worlds possess the capability to present tool alongside original functional support. This, in turn, reduces the need for support throughout the course lifetime and collect (and fix) errors (Twining, 2010). Learning support Learning support aids the use of virtual worlds in education by providing links to teaching resources. This had led to the setup of supporting communication platforms such as forum, twitter, blogging, Edmodo, Moodle and Facebook pages. Content dominated in such networks include links to educational islands. Avatars can visit such islands and engage in content found across islands. Such islands include: EdTech island; Discovery Educator Network; Exploratorium, to name a few (Knittle, 2008).Lecturer assistanceLectures/Demonstrators of virtual worlds should be competent enough to assist students with the use of virtual worlds in education. Lectures should provide the students with online step by step tutorials to assist students so that they can become familiar with in-game techniques beforehand.RequirementsLastly, users of the virtual world should ensure that their personal desktop meet the minimum requirements of the virtual world computing specifications. Examples of such include Windows 7, 1GB of internal memory and internet connectivity (Linden Research, 2017). References Calongne, C. (2008). Educational Frontiers: Learning in a Virtual World. [Online] Educause. Available at: [Accessed 3 Apr. 2017]. Canright, S. 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