scholarly journals Finding the discipline: Assessing student activity in Second Life

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Grant ◽  
Rosemary Clerehan
Keyword(s):  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
First Year ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Student Activity ◽  
Implementation Processes ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Second Language Learner

<span>For the second-language learner, the affordances of a virtual world have the potential to confer benefits conventionally aligned with real world experiences. However, little is known about the pedagogical benefits linked to the specific characteristics of the virtual world, let alone the issues arising for staff hoping to assess students' participation in these worlds. This case study is based on a two-part assignment in a first-year Chinese unit at an Australian university, exploring the virtual world assessment practices of one lecturer. The findings, while suggesting the strengths of the assessment regime with respect to many of the affordances and to alignment with policy, highlight deficient aspects of the design and implementation processes which can relatively easily be addressed. The case study reveals the critical importance of sufficient scaffolding and support, feedback and appropriate communication of students' achievement to them in order to promote further reflection.</span>

More than just Logging In

2013 ◽  
pp. 149-160
Author(s):  
Kae Novak ◽  
Chris Luchs ◽  
Beth Davies-Stofka
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Content Delivery ◽  
Immersive Learning ◽  
Delivery Vehicles

This case study chronicles co-curricular activities held in the virtual world Second Life. The event activities included standard content delivery vehicles and those involving movement and presence. Several international content experts were featured and allowed students to meet and discuss ideas on a common ground with these experts. When developing these events, the researchers wondered, could an immersive learning environment be provide a deeper level of engagement? Was it possible to have students do more than just logging in? During the events, the students discovered a whole new way of learning. Chief among their discoveries was the realization that in these virtual world educational events, students, scholars, and faculty can all be mentors as well as learners. In virtual worlds, the expert-on-a-dais model of teaching is rapidly replaced by a matrix of discussion, collaboration, and movement that quickly generates a pool of ideas and knowledge.

scholarly journals To Boldly Go: Feedback as Digital, Multimodal Dialogue

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Lamb
Keyword(s):  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Multimodal Feedback ◽  
Academic Knowledge ◽  
Opportunities For Learning ◽  
Multimodal Dialogue ◽  
Ongoing Dialogue ◽  
Academic Content

This article is concerned with digital, multimodal feedback that supports learning and assessment within education. Drawing on the research literature alongside a case study from a postgraduate program in digital education, I argue that approaching feedback as an ongoing dialogue presented in richly multimodal and digital form can support opportunities for learning that are imaginative, critical, and in-tune with our increasingly digitally-mediated society. Using the examples of a reflective blogging exercise and an assignment built in the Second Life virtual world, I demonstrate how the tutor’s emphasis on providing feedback in multimodal form, alongside more conventional print-based approaches, inspired and emboldened students towards the creation of apt and sophisticated coursework. At the same time, the crafting of multimodal feedback carries resource implications and can sit uncomfortably with some deep-rooted assumptions around language-based representations of academic knowledge. This article should be seen in the context of a growing pedagogic and institutional interest in feedback around assessment, alongside the emergence of new ways of communicating and consuming academic content in richly multimodal ways. In this setting, multimodality, technology, and interaction refers to the digitally-mediated dialogue that takes place between the student and tutor around assessment.

scholarly journals SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION BEYOND CRITICAL AGE: A CASE STUDY OF AN OLD SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNER

2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-43
Author(s):  
Jawaria Samiya Siddiqui
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Longitudinal Design ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Common Belief ◽  
Second Language Learner ◽  
Deviant Case

This paper investigates the factors that facilitate/hinder Second Language Learning. The two factors that the study focuses on are age and motivation. Role of motivation in relation to age is discussed of a deviant case using Qualitative Paradigm, and the data is analyzed using Narrative Inquiry, Case Study and Retrospective Longitudinal design to find out if motivation plays any significant role in terms of achieving successful second language competence. It is a common belief that people who start young to learn a Second Language perform better than the old learners. However, the results indicate that this is not true in many cases, as this study on a deviant case shows that motivation plays a very important role in achieving successful Second Language Acquisition. If the learners are intrinsically motivated and are motivated from the beginning of their learning journey irrespective of their age then learning becomes easier.

scholarly journals Technical Challenges and Solutions: Creating Virtual Environments for a Health Science Interprofessional Course

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika deJong ◽  
Dave Chodos ◽  
Pawel Kuras ◽  
Patricia Boechler ◽  
Eleni Stroulia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Health Science ◽  
Educational Settings ◽  
Technical Challenges ◽  
Virtual Interactive ◽  
Educational Practitioner

Virtual interactive environments such as Second Life are emerging as innovative tools that can support and enhance learning in various educational domains. However, for the educational practitioner new to these environments, developing educational settings and activities in a virtual environment can appear to be technically complex and beyond their area of expertise. This case study describes some of the technical challenges encountered and the solutions derived during the development of a virtual world for the delivery of a health science interprofessional communications course.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document