VirtualPREX: Providing Virtual Professional Experience for Pre-Service Teachers
Professional experience (or practicum) is problematic within teacher education courses because preparation for, and the quality of, placements can be inconsistent. Preservice teachers can commence their first placement without some of the requisite skills and off-campus pre-service teachers do not always have opportunities to practise any ski lls at all pre-placement. VirtualPREX is an innovative approach to professional experience preparation, providing opportunities for practice in a virtual world such as Second Life . In this chapter the authors outline the rationale for this innovation and then report on the data from the pilot trials of the VirtualPREX role plays where pre-service teachers role-played the teacher and students in a Second Life virtual classroom. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the next steps in the project.
Grappling with Multiplicity: A Framework for Teacher Formation
On enrolment in a teacher education course, pre-service teachers embark on a complex voyage of self and professional discovery. In an attempt to assist them grapple with the multiple definitions of a 'good' teacher, the authors developed a conceptual framework that captures core elements of change, transition and transformation. Frameworks, whether descriptive, explanatory or predictive, inform the knowledge base for educational research and practice. Irrespective of the degree of sophistication of the framework, from a simple concept to a more multi-layered consideration, there is the capacity to present complexity in a more manageable form. The ideas, concepts and constructs charted through the authors' framework include notions of teacher, teacher identity, professionalism, theory-practice divides, critical reflection and professional teaching standards. Grounded in the concepts of 'self', 'other', and 'context', the framework provides a pedagogical tool for addressing all aspects of a mandatory unit of study related to professional classroom practice.
Comparison of Role-Plays in a Virtual World
Gregory and Masters have been exploring the affordances of teaching in a virtual world since 2008, having taught more than 650 students between them. They have explored a variety of teaching strategies for use in Second Life and the students, from the University of New England, have always provided their perceptions of their learning either after an activity or at the end of their learning. Within this chapter is a comparison of two research projects, undertaken in 2009/2010 and 2011/2012, examining the use of role-playing in a virtual world. The authors present their findings from the data reporting student perceptions of their role-play experiences. The role-plays reported in this chapter were first conducted in Second Life with on-campus students prior to extending the teaching to off-campus students. This was to ensure that the learning experiences were appropriate and would work effectively when real-time trouble-shooting could be used. Both quantitative and qualitative data support the findings reported here. It can be concluded that role-play in a virtual world provides an authentic learning experience for students, particularly if they are not provided with the opportunity of experiencing this technique in a face-to-face setting.
Introduction: Utopia and a Garden Party
The editors of this eBook have come together to review and edit the works presented at the 2nd Global Conference on Experiential Learning in Virtual Worlds in Prague, Czech Republic. Using utopian paradise and garden party metaphors, the editors hope to bring awareness to readers on the vast opportunities that virtual worlds have to offer for educators. Presentations involved discussions surrounding the software packages used, the implications for its users and the identities of the users themselves. Overall, this eBook has something for everyone - from those exploring virtual worlds for the first time to online residents looking at the implications of current research, this eBook promises to deliver valuable insights on the influence of virtual worlds in the field of education.
Professional experience preparation: Does distance make a difference?
Professional experience (or practicum) is one aspect of teacher education that crosses several perceived boundaries including those between theory and practice, university and school. A further boundary in many institutions is believed to exist between on-campus and off-campus (distance education/external) study. Crossing these boundaries presents challenges with both preparation and support for professional experience. These challenges have been exacerbated as higher education institutions pursue new ways of delivering courses in an era of rapid change and increased accountability. Professional experience is regulated by state accreditation bodies and by the Commonwealth Government and new national teaching standards and national accreditation of teacher education courses are currently being implemented. This is resulting in further examination of how professional experience can be enhanced for all stakeholders. At a university where more than 75% of students study off-campus it is imperative that approaches to professional experience actively engage the students in a positive and productive manner. At the end of 2010, all teacher education students at the University of New England who had completed at least one school placement were invited to participate in a pilot survey. This survey was designed to explore their perceptions of the effectiveness of their preparation for placement and the support structures available during placement. The survey was also designed to ascertain whether there was any difference in perception not only between on- campus and off-campus students, but also across courses and across age groups. The discussions presented here focus on student perceptions of their preparedness for professional experience placements. In particular, the perceptions of off-campus students are compared and contrasted with those of the on-campus cohort. While there has been a general presumption that on-campus students would feel better prepared than off-campus students, the data show nuances in the perceptions based not predominantly on mode of study, but rather other determinants such as age. These data will provide directions for enhanced preparation for all students.
Virtual classrooms and playgrounds - Why would anyone use them?
A virtual classroom and playground have been created in Second Life, which are replicas of real life classrooms and school playgrounds. This paper discusses the creation of a virtual classroom and playground and explains why the decision was taken to base them on exemplars from the real world rather than allow imagination to run riot. It outlines the journey of Jass Easterman and Tamsyn Lexenstar, avatars and our personae as educators in Second Life, as they began to create the environment. In particular, the paper discusses the rationale for the creation of this Second Life area: the need to be able to educate our distance education students in an interactive environment so that they can be engaged more fully as part of an education community. By utilising the Second Life environment, education students from the University of New England will be able to use resources within this virtual environment as they would if they were in a real-world classroom or playground. The opportunity to interact with other students and educators, use a variety of resources and undertake role-playing exercises has the potential to improve learning outcomes and to develop teaching skills. At present, students can only access online resources via one of two Learning Management Systems. This new scenario provides students with the opportunity to become immersed in a virtual environment, interacting with others so that it will seem like they are really there, all from their own home.
Utopia and a Garden Party
This eBook has something for everyone - from those exploring virtual worlds for the first time to online residents looking at the implications of current research, this eBook promises to deliver valuable insights on the influence of virtual worlds in the field of education. ... The papers that are collected here represent some of the innovation and wisdom presented in Prague on March 12th-14th, 2012 for the Experiential Learning in Virtual Worlds second annual conference.
Hands across the Ether: Preparing External Students for Professional Experience
Professional experience can be an emotional time for any pre-service teacher. For distance education students, the natural tension of working in an unfamiliar setting is exacerbated by the "tyranny of distance": they find their own placement, have rarely had face-to-face contact with any university personnel, are often without a peer support group, and have not had the advantage of preparatory lectures at university. In 2008, the Professional Experience Office at the University of New England began trialling a variety of measures to assist external students before and throughout their professional experience. This article describes the initial trial of an online support structure, using the Sakai Open Source Learning Management System, and begins to evaluate the efficacy of that trial. The support structure provided students with a variety of resources that had to be studied before professional experience began and with a structure that was designed to guide them through a reflective process for their teaching portfolio. There was also the opportunity for the students to be involved in electronic forums where they could ask for advice from university personnel and interact with their peers. Evaluation of this online approach revealed that the support and feedback accessed asynchronously by pre-service teachers before, when, and after they were in-the-field had the potential to strengthen and enhance their teaching during the professional experience placement. However, there were technical difficulties that sometimes caused more frustration rather than the structure providing assistance. It was also clear that greater assistance was required when students were engaged in professional experience placements.
"A Life-Changing Experience": Second Life as a Transformative Learning Space
Higher education teaching traditionally occurred, and to some extent still does, in face-to-face physical settings (often lecture theatres) with an academic and a group of students. In recent decades, the emphasis has shifted to learning communities and the mode of delivery has evolved from traditional face-to-face to online. This occurs either blended with face-to-face or exclusively online, most commonly through the medium of a learning management system. For students who have been studying by distance education, this has frequently been an isolating, if not alienating, experience. At the University of New England, Australia, transformative learning spaces have been created in the virtual world of Second Life. These spaces have proven to engage students in their learning and provide opportunities for interaction that can span both time and space. In doing this, learning communities and a sense of belonging have been fostered. Data from four research projects are presented in this paper, demonstrating how virtual world learning spaces have transformed learning for students. From the data, it is argued that learning in a virtual world lessens the sense of isolation and heightens the sense of belonging to a learning community. It is also argued that virtual world learning increases engagement and provides opportunities for students removed from each other geographically to work together to meet learning outcomes. The paper is concluded with a discussion of how virtual world learning spaces have the capacity to provide for global sharing of both learning and teaching.
Real thinking with virtual hats: A role-playing activity for pre-service teachers in 'Second Life'
Role-plays in a virtual world hold tremendous potential for higher education because they allow synchronous, immersive participation by students located across the globe. They also have the added advantage of allowing students to adopt roles and carry out tasks that are not possible in the real world. In this article, a project that involved pre-service teachers carrying out role-plays based on de Bono's 'Six Thinking Hats' framework is presented. A pilot study was carried out over two years with on-campus students, who performed the role-plays both in a real-life, physical setting and within the virtual world of 'Second Life'. The activity has since been extended to off-campus students exclusively using 'Second Life'. The authors report selected quantitative and qualitative survey data from the pilot study that provide insight into students' perceptions of this style of learning, and discuss the challenges that were encountered and how they were overcome. The future of virtual world-based role-playing as a strategy for teaching and learning is discussed, with a focus on its application to distance education contexts.