on campus
3-dimensional argument
Realistic virtual worlds allow some unique advantages but not enough people are sold on them, for now. By Antonia Maiolo
Virtual worlds are fast emerging as the latest learning and social space for the most prestigious universities around the world, an ICT lecturer says.
“ Online [ three-dimensional ] virtual worlds( 3DVWs) have … tremendous potential to provide unique learning opportunities for tertiary education,” Griffith University’ s Dr Amir Ghapanchi says.
Within 3DVWs, users can communicate in an online environment that has the same look and feel of a computer or video game but simply acts as a social space.
Interactions in the multi-user, 3D environments occur between avatars – 3D representations of the user in a virtual space. Students and teachers can personalise their avatar in any shape imaginable.
Ghapanchi says that this technology has challenged education designers’ ideas about what forms a learning space can take, creating more opportunities to expand learning environments.
Academics at several top institutions – including Harvard University, the University of Michigan and the University of California – have already adopted 3DVWs, with several Australian institutions getting in on the action, too, Ghapanchi says.
Their potential for supporting and enhancing tertiary learning is great, as it is now possible for students to attend a virtual lecture, discussion, exam, or lab in 3D.
Ghapanchi believes virtual worlds have clear advantages over traditional classroom settings. In particular, they can provide teachers and students separated by distance with an interesting environment that gives users the means to display nonverbal communication cues, such as gestures and emotional states, in real time.
There are many 3DVW platforms on the market – including Second Life, Active World, There and 3DMee – that“ sell” their virtual lands to universities and other customers.
Charles Sturt University uses a Second Life virtual world for its
information studies course, associate professor Barney Dalgarno, from the faculty of education, says.
“ My colleague Lyn Hay led a project in which an island in Second Life was created to allow distance students in the course to meet to discuss the course and browse through various online resources provided within the environment,” Dalgarno says.
In the past, CSU has also used a virtual chemistry laboratory to help prepare distance students at their residential schools.
Dalgarno, who conducted a study on 3DVWs and their use in the higher education space in Australia and New Zealand, found that the benefits of virtual environments also include: improved spatial knowledge representation, experiential learning, high engagement, learning in realistic contexts and collaborative learning.
Further, he found that virtual worlds save time, energy and travel costs and enhance social interaction. However, Dalgarno says there are still some usability issues that prevent 3DVWs from living up to the goal of providing simulated environments for authentic practice-based education.
The main limitations his study found include internet speed, firewalls, inadequate graphics hardware, the cost of using the platform and the learning curve for students and teachers. In fact, Dr Sue Gregory, senior lecturer in ICT education at the University of New England, who co-authored the study with Dalgarno, says there aren’ t as many institutions using virtual worlds as there were four years ago.
Gregory, who has been researching 3DVWs since 2008, says despite the benefits, an increased uptake of virtual worlds by more higher education providers is unlikely unless those researching virtual worlds can disseminate their results and initiate a change.
The biggest benefit can be seen in her study results, which reveal those students who used a virtual world“ out-performed their peers who chose not to learn in this environment”.
She says UNE has been using virtual worlds as a teaching and learning tool since 2008 in education, pharmacy and accounting, and that they have been excellent in lectures, tutorials, discussions and virtual tours to real or fantasy locations.
“ There are an established few [ universities ] that continue to teach and research in the virtual world and this longitudinal research will assist in promoting the affordances of virtual worlds,” Gregory says, adding that an adequate support structure within universities is needed in order to continue using virtual worlds in teaching and researching. ■ campusreview. com. au | 29