Virtual Education: Teaching Media Studies in Second Life

Abstract

Following the adoption of the virtual world Second Life by tertiary educational institutions worldwide, a limited study was conducted at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to test the feasibility and desirability of employing a virtual environment to conduct classes. 30 tutorials were held in Second Life over a period of five weeks in support of a course on Media Studies with 60 students. Feedback was gathered continuously from students and the lecturer via informal interviews, feedback forms, and participant observation. The results proved most of the initial hypotheses wrong, but supported the value of virtual teaching and learning in a well-supported institutional environment. The paper emphasises the need to integrate virtual environments into the educational framework of courses and for a careful consideration of the educational aims and uses of virtual worlds within specific courses.

The computer-mediated communication (CMC) classroom: a challenge of medium, presence, interaction, identity, and relationship

“…An astute educator can work with these influences to facilitate a polite, inclusive CMC classroom culture that is less hierarchically structured, facilitates more equal participation, and helps introverted communicators feel at ease while engaging in discussion (Ho & McLeod, 2008;Rice & Markey, 2009). Students can learn not only from the teacher, but from each other, and through personal exploration and discovery (Chodos, Naeimi & Stroulia, 2009;dos Santos, 2009;Esteves, Fonseca, Morgado, & Martins, 2009;Herold, 2009;Jarmon, Lim, & Carpenter, 2009). …”

“…Further CMC social interaction takes time and effort to convert nonverbal cues into verbal ones and interpret the social information available in contextual cues (Walther, 1992), but effective social interaction can be facilitated through training and experience (Cornelius & Boos, 2003;Jenks, 2009). Instruction in the use of a CMC medium within an educational context is particularly important (Dippold, 2009;Dresner & Barak, 2009;Herold, 2009). With adequate instruction students can learn to use CMC to engage in self-reflective thinking, selfdirected learning, and collaborative class participation (Nov & Rafaeli, 2009;Yildiz, 2009).…”

Training Evaluation in Virtual Worlds: Development of a Model

“…Unmeasured trainee characteristics (micro-organizational variables) and work environment variables (macro-organizational variables) may negatively impact the perceived effectiveness of VWs for training. Given that many virtual world studies utilize university student samples, the fact that many ignore work environment characteristics (e.g., Cobb, et al, 2009;Herold, 2009;Hudson & deGast-Kennedy, 2009;Lester & King, 2009;Mamo, et al, 2011;Mills & de Araújo, 1999;Mitchell et al, 2011;Schwaab, et al, 2011;Sutcliffe & Alrayes, 2012) may be unsurprising. However, even within student populations, the university, department or major a student belongs to may promote a culture in support or condemnation of technology in general or VWs in particular.…”

Escaping the World: A Chinese Perspective on Virtual Worlds

“…by having their avatar wear very revealing clothes, or by choosing a dark-skinned avatar (for details, see Herold, 2009;. These little 'rebellions' excited many of the students, as they allowed students to continue to feel safe in the knowledge that they had not 'really' rebelled, while providing them with the satisfaction of having 'virtually' rebelled.…”