Journal 3 Walk, Fly, or Teleport to Learning - NETS V

Yoder, M.B. (2009). Walk, Fly, or Teleport to Learning: Virtual Worlds in the Classroom. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37(2). Retrieved on September 23, 2009 from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=September_October_No_2_3&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&NavMenuID=4381&ContentID=24200&DirectListComboInd=D

Multiuser virtual environments (MUVEs) provide virtual learning experiences for students and teachers in today's technology-based classrooms. Some benefits of using MUVEs in the classroom are:

• they provide a game-like atmosphere that keeps students actively engaged in the learning process;
• they provide a forum for discussion of global issues and build sensitivity, understanding, and tolerance for different perspectives;
• they build decision-making skills through virtual practice, offering immediate virtual feedback on consequences of chosen actions.

Students can construct virtual cities and communities to explore issues like health care, family structure, community organization, and effects of the economy on daily living. There are many safe and effective sites for students, such as Second Life Teen Grid and Global Kids, that give students the opportunity to explore global issues and to develop skills they need to become agents of positive social change. Students can become involved not only in their schools and surrounding communities, but through the Internet, they can make positive contributions to the solution of problems around the world.

RezEd, the Hub for Learning and Virtual Worlds, supports teachers at all levels of technological expertise, those just learning about MUVEs, those ready to explore effective means of using MUVEs in their classrooms, and those who are ready and willing to share their MUVEs in cooperative learning situations with others on a global scale. Consulting and professional development opportunities are available to teachers interested in developing online games to promote global awareness, active citizenship, and 21st-century skill development. Through interacting and learning with their students using MUVEs, teachers can provide students with skills that will carry them into the future, and not be left too far behind in the process.

How can students benefit from using MUVEs in the classroom?
Virtual environments provide opportunities for experiential learning that students might otherwise not have access to outside the classroom. MUVEs also provide the opportunity for students to stay connected and keep up with classroom instruction when they are physically unable to attend class, due to illness, suspension or for whatever reason. Sites for students can be either public or private, open only to a particular class population.

How can I start using MUVEs? Is there a virtual place to start? Will it hurt?
Yoder refers teachers to Second Life resources for educators and to the "educationally oriented islands" on the Second Life Teen Grid for students, as well as the RezEd site for teachers, which seems to offer unlimited support and assistance. Some sites are free, others are not. The author mentions a steep learning curve in getting MUVEs up and running, but promises the effort and "techo pain" will be worth it in the end.