Virtual Learning Environments in Education

Is Forsyth County ready for this?

Our students sure are!!

Vickie SextonITEC 7445 Summer 2013

What is a virtual environment?

A virtual environment or “world” is a digital place where people using characters called avatars. These avatars, meet and interact with each other. Unlike a digital game, a virtual world is not pre-scripted. Because users may create anything they can imagine.

“Students can immerse themselves into the highest levels of project-based learning.

Educators can create learning interactions such as games, simulations, brainteasers, interactive diagrams.

Educators can embed these interactions into online courses to improve learner engagement.”

Why use virtual worlds for teaching?

quote from Jill HobsonDirector of Instructional Technology, FCSS

They are an excellent tool for creativity, construction, role playing, experimentation and learning to work with others, all of which are integral parts in effective instruction.

Projects are authentic and meaningful and require problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

This type of instruction meets the needs of different kinds of learners in the classroom, even students who an unable to physically attend school.

These environments can be accessed online at any time—no time, space, physical constraints.

Why use virtual worlds for teaching?

Supporting the vision for technology in the Forsyth County School System

“Our vision is to use classroom technology to engage students in asking questions and choosing tools to facilitate real world problem solving.”

 Forsyth County Schools websiteTechnology & Information

Department

If managed correctly, with separate grids for elementary, middle, and high school levels, virtual 3-D learning environments can be used at all levels of education. As long as students can manipulate the mouse and keyboard, they can experience virtual learning.

Age Appropriate

Internet access (which our system already has in place in the form of desktops connected to the Internet as well as a wifi connection for laptops and handheld devices in every school)

Server capacity (which our system already possesses)

Equipment/software requirements

The Instructional Technology department at the district office will be responsible for offering and carrying out training and maintenance of the private OpenSim virtual environment for staff/students.

Professional learning opportunities for staff and administration will be offered training sessions at the district office quarterly to be able to offer these type of learning opportunities for their students.

A calendar will be set up for IT department to be able to go out to the schools and work with classes/teachers on standards-based projects.

Technical support for staff, administration, and students

Student safety (inappropriate intruders to the learning environment via the Internet)

Lack of proper management tools

◦ To prevent outside entrance, the system should: -have its own “island”, with each level –

elementary, middle, and high- having its own grid◦ To ensure proper management and control, the

system should: -be hosted by an OpenSim provider such as

Dreamland Metaverse or MediaGrid.

Limitations in a school environment

A private OpenSim grid allows you to have an exclusive online community (ie. Forsyth County School System).

You are in complete control of your own virtual world. You can make all rules for your world and it's residents (ie. students/staff).

Your OpenSim grid can use it's own ”brand” name and grid web site. A hosting service provides, services, and stores all information about

users, inventories, assets, groups, messages, etc. and guarantees privacy.

It includes all the cool features like ‘HyperGrid’, money, voice, virtual field trip, etc.

You are able to add as many regions to the central grid as you need as use increases and you have more users.

A hosting service will also offer various integration options needed for the maintenance of your virtual environment, including creating or updating user account, supporting default avatar appearances, displaying grid map or grid statistics.

Advantages of a private OpenSim grid:

Example of pricing through Dreamland Metaverse:Standard OpenSim Standalone Region ◦ Region powerful enough to satisfy above average

requirements◦ 1024 MB memory ◦ Allows 40 visitors at a time ◦ Intel quadcore server, separate OpenSim process◦ Web control panel, service management, 7x24

availability◦ No setup fee, monthly rent $ 45-90, per region x 12

regions = approx. $540 -1080/month (based on estimates that about 4+ classes at any given time will be using it at each level)

◦ All other technical requirements are already in place at all district schools.

Cost

Tutorials Student-created presentations/discussions Historical re-creations Simulations and role-playing Language learning practice Data visualization Virtual “field trips” Economics experiences

Uses in the classroom

“The potential of generating authentic learning experiences in the NOBLE world are endless. Students can take virtual field trips to Mars, Paris, or the Grand Canyon. They can fly into a giant model of an ear and explore the eardrum. They can reenact historical events like a Viking raid or the Lincoln-Douglas debates. They can role play characters from novels, experiment with different professions, conduct mock trials and interview famous people.”

Steve MashburnCoordinator for Online Education, FCSS

and “Gridmaster” of NOBLE (New Opportunities for Better Learning Environments), an endeavor that

uses OpenSim, a 3-D virtual world technology, to deliver project-based Learning Adventures.

Uses in the classroom

Students are “able to provide a wide varietyof functions for interaction with the world and collaboration between users. These ranged from text chat, voice, communication, avatars, body language support, video, photo and text sharing, various ways of navigating through the world.

flexible artifact creation and manipulation and even world manipulation and extension as well as augmented reality supporting collaboration with users in the outside world.”

Research to support effectiveness of virtual learning environments

Stanford University, 2005

The wide variety of possible roles for VEs in education include:◦ Supporting social awareness of students◦ Increasing communication and discussions

possibilities on a wide scale◦ Supporting constructivist learning of ecological and

cultural concepts◦ Increasing information available to users and

possibilities for collaborative culmination of knowledge◦ Making available virtual experiences for learning

difficult concepts◦ Incorporating aspects of direct learning into indirect

learning and the other way around.

Researchers at Stanford University concluded the following about using virtual environments in education:

Since our system already has the technology in place to support this type of virtual learning.

Research must first be done to select the OpenSim hosting service that will customize our grids to suit our intentions for educational, ensuring no outside interference.

Once grids are in place, professional learning and/or sharing sessions at each school (or at the very least, with each administrator) in the district should take place to spark interest in the program to showcase its potential for authentic, project-based learning.

Implementation plan

The district should “start small” piloting the program with technology-receptive educators first. Collaboration in planning project-based learning will be needed between instructional technology staff and these

Training of students as well as implementation should be done collectively.

Professional development should be offered to interested parties in the district to be taught by the district’s instructional technology staff.

Modeling of these “tech pioneers” should motivate other teachers into trying the virtual environment as an authentic, learning experience that meets the needs of all kinds of learners.

Implementation plan (cont’d)

After researching this emergent technology, one in which I have just enough experience with to be intrigued, I was amazed at what an authentic, engaging learning experience it could be for education.

However, I would never attempt to put students any kind of platform like this on the Internet without having the ability to block out any interference from the outside world. Therefore, I would stress the importance of a web-hosting service where the school system can rent or buy their own regions and be able to use it specifically for educational use.

Reflection

A world in every classroom: Noble vw to provide immersive learning for 38,000 students in metro-atlanta. (2012, April 19). Betterverse: Nonprofits in the Virtual World, Retrieved from http://www.betterverse.org/2012/04/a-world-in-every-classroom-noble-vw-to-provide-immersive-learning-for-38000-students-in-metro-atlant.html

Atlanta puts OpenSim in every classroom. (2012, March 16). Hypergrid Business. Retrieved from http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2012/03/atlanta-puts-opensim-in-every-classroom

/ CLT, M. (Editor) (2007). Educational uses of second life [Web].

Retrieved from http://youtu.be/qOFU9oUF2HA Dreamland metaverse - opensim & osgrid region & grid hosting.

(2013). Retrieved from http://www.dreamlandmetaverse.com/

References

Fowler, V. (2009, May). [Web blog message]. Retrieved from http://vfowler.com/2009/05/benefits-of-using-second-life-as-an-educational-tool/

Hobson, J. (2013, July 11). Interview by V Sexton []. Questions about the uses of virtual environments for teaching.

Liebregt, M. (2005). Collaborative virtual environments in education. Unpublished manuscript, University of Twente, Stanford University, Stanford CA, Retrieved from http://www.stanford.edu/dept/SUSE/projects/ireport/articles/3D/2005_02_C_Liebregt,%20M.Collaborative_Virtual_Environments_in_education.pdf

Linden Research Labs. (2011). Second life education: the virtual learning advantage. Second Life Education. Retrieved from http://lecs-static-secondlife-com.s3.amazonaws.com/work/SL-Edu-Brochure-010411.pdf

Mashburn, S. (2013, July 12). Interview by V Sexton []. Questions about implementing noble in your school system.

References (cont’d):