Case study: AVATAR


AVATAR - Added Value of teAching in a virTuAl world

 

Case study compiled by: Cristina Stefanelli, FOR.COM (IT)

email: c.stefanelli@forcom.it 

twitter: @c_stefanelli

 

DRAFT

Status: 70% completed

 

Introduction

The lack of ICT use in teaching is a predominant issue in secondary schools throughout Europe. The AVATAR project was aimed at enhancing the level of ICT use in education by providing teachers with new methodological and pedagogical tools.

The AVATAR training course addresses secondary school teachers in Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Great Britain, Italy and Spain. The course covers the educational design of virtual world (VW) teaching, the management and construction of virtual objects and learning environments and examples for learning activities in virtual worlds.

The pilot course was delivered during January – May 2011. During the course, teacher trainees developed a project work or virtual  lesson plan/activity in Second Life related to a subject matter and test it on a group of their students.

 

 

1. Pre-course preparation

 

1.1 Decision making process 

 

1.1.1 The Challenges

- How do you motivate and engage secondary school teachers in virtual worlds teaching? 

- How do you design a teacher training course that truly empowers teachers giving them the knowledge and skills required to design and carry out teaching and learning activities in virtual worlds? 

- How do you support teachers and help them benefit from the potentials and overcome the pitfalls of delivering a virtual worlds course to their pupils? 

These are the question that introduces the preliminary results of the EU funded AVATAR “Added Value of teAching in a virTuAl woRld” project (http://www.avatarproject.eu).

 

1.1.2 The Research phase

The project envisages, as first step, conducting comparative research on existing V-learning platforms, assessing the quality of their didactic laboratory features and functions. Research results have been uses to define the guidelines of a suitable V-learning platform for the experimentation of the training course, to identify the most efficient didactic methodology that utilizes virtual worlds as a laboratory for instruction and has been ultimately used for the preparation of the training course.

 

Components of the research phase are:

a) Analysis of the Best Practices for teaching in a Virtual World

b) Interviews with Experts on virtual world teaching and learning

c) Analysis of suitable Virtual World platforms for teaching in secondary schools

 

a) Analysis of the Best Practices for teaching in a Virtual World

In the first project phase, learning theories and best practice within the field of virtual worlds teaching and learning was also studied to learn from existing practice. Best practices and tips for teaching in Second Life, didactic methods, learning perspectives and educational case studies were compiled in the document “Didactic Methods to Teach Using V-platforms” (University of Hertfordshire 2010).

 

The studies point to the extra competencies that pupils can achieve by participating in teaching and learning activities in a virtual world. Teachers are, furthermore, encouraged NOT to transfer existing teaching practices to the virtual world in question, but to adopt new methods and learning perspectives such as the “Six Learnings Framework” that endorses approaches which help realize and optimize the learning potential of virtual worlds (Lim 2009). The six perspectives are: 

Learning by exploring 

Structured or unstructured explorations of objects and landscapes in the virtual world and subsequent analysis of the data obtained. 

Learning by collaborating 

Learning in teams via problem-solving tasks or in other forms of structured inquiry.

Learning by being 

Explorations of self and of identity. Role-playing e.g. in a virtual setting designed to resemble an existing and/or historic location. 

Learning by building 

Learning by building objects and/or scripting them. 

Learning by championing 

Learning by studying a certain cause and attempting to raise awareness and educate the general public about this particular cause. 

Learning by expressing 

Focuses on the representation of in-world activity to the ‘outside world, i.e. This allows for reflections and for practicing presentation skills using different forms of communication. (Lim 2009:2-3)

 

b) Interviews with Experts on virtual world teaching and learning

The following video interviews have been conducted with secondary school teachers, educators, project managers and experts on virutal world teaching and learning during the period 2010 - 2011

 

Interview 01 More information & Video

Interview by: For.Com, Italy

Interview with: Andrea Benassi
Details of Interviewee: Andrea Benassi is an Educational Researcher and an expert in virtual worlds
Institution: ANSAS, the Italian Institute for Educational Development in Florence. 
Virtual Worlds discussed: Second Life

 

Interview 02 More information & Video

Interview by: For.Com, Italy
Interview with: Andrea Benassi
Details of Interviewee:Andrea Benassi is an Educational Researcher and an expert in virtual worlds
Institution: ANSAS, the Italian Institute for Educational Development in Florence. 
Virtual Worlds discussed:Second Life, Open Sim, Wonderland, Active World

 

Interview 03 More information & Video

Interview by: For.com, Italy
Interview with: Maria Guida
Details of Interviewee: Maria is an expert on virtual worlds, a teacher of maths and physics and a teacher trainer for learning technologies
Institution:Liceo Scientifico Statale, Sorrento Italy
Virtual Worlds discussed: Second Life

 

Interview 04 More information & Video

Interview by: For.com, Italy
Interview with: Luisa Panichi
Details of Interviewee: Luisa is an expert on virtual worlds and an educational researcher. She also teaches English as a foreign language.
Institution: ANSAS, the Italian Institute for Educational Development in Florence. Language Centre, University of Pisa 
Virtual Worlds discussed: Second Life

 

Interview 05 More information & Video

Interview by: BFU, Bulgaria
Interview with: Stanislav Simeonov
Details of Interviewee:Lecturer in Computer Networks, Operating Systems and Computer Architecture
Institution: - 
Virtual Worlds discussed:Custom built virtual environment for a training course. Kaneva? Second Life?

 

Interview 06 More information & Video

Interview by: UH, England
Interview with: John Woollard
Details of Interviewee: Lecturer in Information Technology, School of Education
Institution: : University of Southampton, England
Virtual Worlds discussed: Second Life

 

Interview 07 More information & Video

Interview by: UH, England
Interview with: Fiona Littlejohn
Details of Interviewee: Fiona is a research assistant and an expert in the use of virtual worlds for education
Institution: University of Edinburgh, Scotland 
Virtual Worlds discussed: Second Life, Teen grid, Open Sim

 

Interview 08 More information & Video
Interview by: UH, England
Interview with: Dr. Trevor Barker
Details of Interviewee: Trevor is a principal lecturer in the School of Computer Science and carries out research into the use of virtual worlds in education
Institution: University of Hertfordshire, England 
Virtual Worlds discussed: Second Life

 

Interview 09 More information & Video
Interview by: Eric Dell, UH, UK
Interview with: Fiona Grindy
Details of Interviewee: Fiona Grindy is the Project Co-ordinator for Second Life projects 
Institution: University of Southampton 
Virtual Worlds discussed: Second Life

 

Interview 10 More information & Video
Interview by: Eric Dell, UH, UK
Interview with: Alex
Details of Interviewee:Alex is a student teacher and virtual world enthusiast
Institution: University of Southampton 
Virtual Worlds discussed: Second Life, IMVU

 

Interview 11 More information & Video
Interview by: FHU, Austria
Interview with: Thomas Kretschmer
Details of Interviewee: -
Institution: - 
Virtual Worlds discussed: Second Life

 

Interview 12 More information & Video
Interview by: UNED, Spain
Interview with: Sara Montero Sanchez
Details of Interviewee: Sara is a researcher on a project on Virtual Worlds and Education
Institution: Long Distance University, Spain
Virtual Worlds discussed: Wonderland

 

Interview 12a More information & Video
Interview by: UNED, Spain
Interview with: Luis Sotillos
Details of Interviewee: Director, researcher on virtual words
Institution: Nueva Tierra Network Company, Research on Second Life, presenter, teacher in some courses
Virtual Worlds discussed: Second Life

 

Interview 13 More information & Video
Interview by: SDU, Denmark
Interview with: Inge Knudsen
Details of Interviewee: Inge is a teacher in a corporate training centre. She both teaches about Second Life and creates learning environments.
Institution: Business College Horsens, Denmark Virtual Worlds 
Virtual Worlds discussed: Second Life

 

Interview 14 More information & Video
Interview by: SDU, Denmark
Interview with: Signy Oskarsdottir
Details of Interviewee: Signy comes from Iceland and teaches business methods at Hбskуlinn б Bifrцst http://www.bifrost.is/ (Bifrost University), she uses Second Life for communication and lectures
Institution: Hбskуlinn б Bifrцst http://www.bifrost.is/ (Bifrost University) 
Virtual Worlds discussed: Second Life

 

c) Analysis of suitable Virtual World platforms for teaching in secondary schools

As a starting point of the project a research and comparative analysis have been conducted on existing virtual world platforms assessing the quality of their teaching/learning features and functions. The analysis also focused on the user friendliness of the platform and the important aspect of access for pupils below the age of 18. The following platforms were included in the analysis: Second Life, Second Life Teen Grid, Active Worlds, Open Sim, Unity3D, Blue Mars, Sirikata and There.com. The platforms were assessed according to the criteria listed below: 

 

Essential Criteria 

• Multi user world 

• Persistent state world 

• Integrated building tools 

• Text communication 

• Easy to run client for school machines 

• Suitable for people below 18 

• The developer must have experience and tools to build the environment in the specified time 

 

 Desirable Criteria 

• Ease of access for the development team 

• Web on prims 

• Voice chat 

• Low bandwidth

• Language support 

• Intuitive building tools 

• Ability to restrict access and building rights 

 

Cost Criteria 

• Free or very low cost client 

• Legal, open source end solution 

• Server provisions – bandwith, setup and maintenance costs 

 

The virtual world that most optimally supports the educational design of the project, namely Second Life, has been selected for the next phase of the project. 

Originally, the idea was to train the participants in Second Life (access for people aged 18 and above) and then let the participants use Teen Grid (access for 13 to 17 year olds) with their own pupils. Unfortunately, Linden Lab has decided to close down Teen Grid by the end of this year by which time people aged 16 and 17 will be allowed to enter Second Life Main Grid (Korolov 2010). This gave rise to a number of discussions on how the AVATAR project which is aimed at the secondary school sector could continue. It was decided to delimit the project to teachers with pupils aged 16 and above. The latest news, however, reports that 13 to 15 year olds can also be transferred to Second Life Main Grid, but under special circumstances (Linden 2010). 

The above illustrates some of the challenges connected to working with open source platforms and connected to working under a tight schedule. Fortunately, it has been possible to adjust the project plans along the way to take into account the altered situation.

 

1.2 Aims/objectives

The AVATAR course addresses a specific target group: secondary school teachers in Europe. The main benefit created by the project is to empower educators by giving them the confidence and skills to successfully customize and incorporate this tool so it best fits their teaching needs and is relevant in regards to their students.

In the four months the course covers educational design of virtual world teaching, the management and construction of

virtual objects and learning environments and examples of learning activities in virtual worlds. During the course, teachers develop a project work and use it directly in the classroom with their students. The project work incorporates a practical application of knowledge and skills gained during the course with regards to the creation of a virtual world learning environment and learning activities for a specific subject.

The overall learning objectives of the AVATAR course are for the participants to:

- develop skills and confidence in using various social internet resources as well as massively multi-user online worlds such as Second Life (SL)

- develop a deeper understanding of these environments and their uses with regard to learning scenarios

- gain knowledge of teaching methods, best practices and educational design usable in virtual worlds

- identify and reflect upon the efficacy of the outcomes of different learning activities carried out in-world

- design strategies, activities and resources for learning different subjects in virtual worlds

- integrate virtual worlds as an innovative means in their daily teaching

- experience virtual worlds with their students

- evaluate the educational use of virtual worlds in their classrooms

 

The experimental/target group constitutes about 120 teachers from 5 partner countries for the purpose of conducting an effective evaluation of the V-course and didactic methodology encompassing teachers who represent different cultural and linguistic backgrounds and who works in diverse EU regions and school districts.

National groups of teachers were moderated by national moderators (virtual world’s experts) who communicate in their native languages. Participants also partake in transnational activities and reflection in English.

Course participants were grouped together by school subject (e.g. science, etc) and design and develop a project work with other teachers in their same subject group. Subsequently the implementation and testing of the project work on their students will be considered as an indirect result of the project and reinforce the significant outcome of the development of new skills of EU teachers. 

 

1.3 Funding

The AVATAR project was awarded an European Commission grant under the Lifelong Learning Programme Comenius (Project number 502882-LLP-1-2009-1-IT-COMENIUS-CMP) during the period 1 December 2009 – 30 November 2011. AVATAR multi-actors include seven organizations from six European countries: Consorzio FOR.COM (Italy), FH Joanneum University of Applied Sciences (Austria), Burgas Free University (Bulgaria), University of Southern Denmark (Denmark), Universidad Nacional de Educaciòn a Distancia (Spain), University of Hertfordshire Higher Education Corporation (UK), SOPHia In Action Consulting (Italy).

The Avatar Consortium stipulated an exploitation agreement as an extension of a fruitful collaboration set in the frame of the AVATAR. The agreement states that the AVATAR course contents, including modules, recorded lessons and guided tours, are licensed under a Creative Commons Licence “Attribution-Non commercial- Share Alike 3.0 Unported License” (CC BY-NC-SA). The full licence can be consulted on http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/. This will allow a wider audience to access, use and benefit from the course contents. Users will be free to copy, distribute and transmit the course contents and to remix and adapt them, given that they distribute the resulting work under the same or similar license.

 

1.4 Environment

The AVATAR V-platform is composed by individual builds/locations and it has been built in Second Life. The table below provides a brief description of the individual builds/locations that are part of the AVATAR estate: the HUB, the Resource Centre, the Dissemination Path, the Sandbox and the Auditorium.

ADD IMAGES

 

Fig. 1: The plan of the AVATAR estate

 

Fig. 2: The HUB is the point of entry into the AVATAR estate. It is intended to offer information about the AVATAR project, partners, destinations and short user guides.

 

Fig. 3: The Resource Centre offers textures, scripts, object accessories and teaching aids for teachers and students to collect free of charge at their own initiative and short user guides.

 

Fig. 4: The Dissemination Path is situated around the outer edge of the Sandbox facing the surrounding ocean. It provides teachers and classes with campsites for presenting and sharing their activities in-world.

 

Fig. 5: The Sandbox is the place where teachers and students can place and/or create objects. There they can experiment with various building tasks in Second Life, gather to discuss their explorations and carry out project works  

 

Fig. 6: The Auditorium holds up to 100 users simultaneously and is used for presentations, seminars and conferences.

 

The V-platform is accessible in Second Life searching for “AVATAR project island”.

 

1.5 Learners

 

1.6 Logistics-timetabling

 

1.7 Course syllabus  (didactics)

Introduction

The AVATAR training course addresses secondary school teachers in Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Great Britain, Italy and Spain. The course covers the educational design of virtual world (VW) teaching, the management and construction of virtual objects and learning environments and examples for learning activities in virtual worlds. During the course, teacher trainees will also develop a project work or virtual  lesson plan/activity in Teen Second Life relative to a subject matter and test it on a group of their students.

 

Purpose of the Course

The lack of ICT use in teaching is a predominant issue in secondary schools throughout Europe. The AVATAR course aims at enhancing the level of ICT use in education and providing teachers with relatively new methodological and pedagogical tools.

Virtual Worlds, for example Second Life, can be used as an innovative teaching tool for teachers and educators that guarantees an efficient teaching method capable of offering students key skills and information regarding different subject matter, while incorporating collaborative learning and a learning-by-doing approach.

 

Overall Learning Objectives

The overall learning objectives for course participants are to:

 

Learning Perspectives of the Course

The course has 3 basic learning perspectives, namely collaborative learning, learning through reflection and learning by doing.

Course work consists of:

 

Delivery Method

The course is delivered through an e-learning and v-learning platform including individual tutorials, group activities and practical tasks.

Each country class of trainees are moderated by a national tutor.

 

Course Modules and Activities

 

Course chart

 

1.8. Advertising of the course

Local meetings have been held in each partner country before the course.

 

2. During the course

2.1 Technical issues and support

2.2 Interaction

 

2.3 Resources

Resouces and Links

Course module

Second Life training

 

2.4 Ethical issues

 

3. Post-course

3.1 Assessment

 

 

3.2 Evaluation

Based on indicators, an external evaluator designed a survey to evaluate the methodology and contents of the project. It was done collecting participants’ (teachers) opinions about the Course by means of an online survey.

The Evaluation report of V-course methodology and contents provides a detailed insight in the applied didactic methodology, the quality of the contents and activities, experimentation results, as well as the usability and transferability of the developed course modules and contents.

 

3.3 Dissemination 

 

References

Lim, Kenneth (2009). Editor’s Corner: The Six learnings of Second Life: A framework for designing curricular interventions in-world. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, Vol. 2. No. 1, Pedagogy, Education and Innovation in 3-D Virtual Worlds. Available on http://homepage.mac.com/voyager/SLEDcc08_kenlim_paper.pdf. Accessed on June 25, 2012.

 

Project Publications

 

Professional Papers and Articles

Special issue of eLearning Papers nº 25 with the title “Game-Based Learning: new practices, new classrooms” was published in July 2011. It features 9 articles reporting on research results and on-going projects in this area. AVATAR’s contribution is in the section “From the field articles”.

 

PIVEC M., STEFANELLI C., CHRISTENSEN I.M., PAUSCHENWEIN J. (2011), AVATAR – The Course: Recommendations for Using 3D Virtual Environments for Teaching,  Special issue of eLearning Papers nº 25 Game-Based Learning: new practices, new classrooms. elearningeuropa.info. ISSN 1887-1542.

Available at http://www.elearningpapers.eu/en/node/107280 ;

Full text: http://www.elearningeuropa.info/en/download/file/fid/23296

 

International Journal Publications

AVATAR’s contribution in Special issue of eLearning Papers nº 25 was also published in The Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education (TOJDE) in August 2011, with the permission of the authors and eLearning Papers. Reference below.

 

 

 

FormaMente is the official journal of GUIDE, the Association of Global Universities In Distance Education. It is an international academic publication dedicated to the multidisciplinary research in ICT. Reference above.

 

International Conference Publications

(UNED), Proceedings International Conference DIM- ICT Classroom Didactics and Multimedia, 19 March 2010, Barcelona;

  • Tiberio Feliz Murias, Sonia Mª Santoveña Casal (UNED), El proyecto Added Value of Teaching in a Virtual World (AVATAR) (Valor añadido de la enseñanza en un mundo virtual) Added Value of Teaching in a Virtual World project (AVATAR). Proceedings International Congress Media Literacy and digital cultures, 14 May 2010, Seville;
  • Tiberio Feliz Murias, Sonia Mª Santoveña Casal, Proceedings I National Conference of Teachers Training, 16 June 2010;
  • Tiberio Feliz Murias & Sonia Santoveña, Evaluation and Quality in a European Project. The case of Added Value of teAching in a virTuAl world. Proceedings EADTU's annual conference 2010, 27-29 September 2010;
  • Trevor Barker, University of Hertfordshire, Transferring Skills and Learning between Real and Virtual Worlds. Proceedings Online Educa Berlin Conference, 1-3 December 2010, Berlin, Germany, [CD Rom]
  • Inger-Marie Falgren Christensen, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark, Empowering Teachers in Secondary School – Designing a Course on Virtual Worlds Teaching. Proceedings Online Educa Berlin Conference, 1-3 December 2010, Berlin, Germany, [CD Rom]
  • Monova-Zheleva M.H., Zhelev Y.P. (2011). МЕТОДИ И МОДЕЛИ ЗА V-ОБУЧЕНИЕ В РАМКИТЕ НА ПРОЕКТ AVATAR [Methods and models for v-learning implementation in the avatar project framework], Proceedings of the XIII International Conference “Management and Sustainable Development”, 25-27 March 2011, Yundola (Velingrad Region), Bulgaria
  • Pivec M., (2011). AVATAR Course: Experience Report of an Interdisciplinary and Intercultural Journey. Global Learn Asia Pacific 2011 Proceedings: Global Conference on Learning and Technology Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning (ICL2011), 11th International Conference Virtual University (vu'11), 28 March – 1 April 2011, Melbourn, Australia, pp 1237-1244
  • Fedele F., Feituri M., Guida M., Mascitti I., Panconesi G., Stefanelli C. (2011). Insegnare ad insegnare nei mondi virtuali: il progetto AVATAR. Paper to the AICA “Didamatica 2011” Conference, 4-6 May 2011, Turin, Italy. [on line proceedings] ISBN: 978-8-89054-062-2
  • Mascitti I., Fedele F., Degasperi P., Feituri M., Stefanelli C. (2011), Added value of teaching in a virtual world. Proceedings of the EDEN Annual Conference “Learning and sustainability”, Published by the European Distance and E-learning Network , 19-22 June 2011, Dublin, Ireland, [CD Rom]. ISBN 978-963-87914-6-7
  • Mascitti I., Fedele F., Degasperi P., Feituri M., Stefanelli C. (2011),Added value of teaching in a virtual world. Book of Abstracts of the EDEN Annual Conference “Learning and sustainability”, Published by the European Distance and E-learning Network, 19-22 June 2011, Dublin, Ireland, pp 26. ISBN: 978-963-87914-5-0
  • Mascitti I., Fedele F., Degasperi P., Feituri M., Stefanelli C. (2011),Training teachers to use virtual learning environments: the AVATAR Project. Proceedings of the 2011 International Conference on Engineering and Mathematics, 23-24 June 2011, Bilbao, Spain, Published by Purple gate Publishing, pp 5-8. ISBN 978-84-937328-5-1 
  • Mascitti I., Fedele F., Di Marco D., Fasciani M., Stefanelli C., Feituri M. (2011), Learning perspective from the Metaverse: the AVATAR and the ST.ART projects. Proceedings of the MCCSIS - Multi Conference on computer science and informational systems, e-Learning 2011, Published by IADIS - International Association for Development of the Information Society, 20-23 June 2011, Rome, Italy, Volume II, pp 187-191. ISBN 978-972-8939-38-0
  • Mascitti I., Fedele F., Di Marco D., Fasciani M., Stefanelli C., Feituri M. (2011), Learning perspective from the Metaverse: the AVATAR and the ST.ART projects. Proceedings of the MCCSIS - Multi Conference on computer science and informational systems, e-Learning 2011, Published by IADIS - International Association for Development of the Information Society, 20-23 June 2011, Rome, Italy, [CD Rom]. ISBN 978-989-8533-00-5
  • Monova-Zheleva M.H (2011).ПРИЛОЖЕНИЯ НА ВИРТУАЛНИТЕ СВЕТОВЕ В ОБУЧЕНИЕТО [Applications of virtual worlds in education], Proceedings of the Interaction Theory - Practice: Key Issues and Solutions, 24-25 June 2011, Burgas, Bulgaria 
  • Fedele F., Feituri M., Guida M., Mascitti I., Panconesi G., Stefanelli C. (2011). Nuovi Mondi per insegnare: l’esperienza del progetto AVATAR. Proceedings of SIEL 2011 - VIII Congresso della Società Italiana di e-Learning, 14-16 September 2011, Reggio Emilia, Italy, Published by Ledizioni LediPublishing, pp 631-638. ISBN 978-889-5994-76-5
  • Pivec M., Pauschenwein J., (2011). AVATAR Course: Teacher Training for Teaching in 3D Virtual Worlds. Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning (ICL2011), 11th International Conference Virtual University (vu'11), 21-23 September 2011, Piešt'any, Slovakia, pp 46-50, [CD Rom] ISBN 978 -1-4577-1746-8
  • Mascitti I., Fedele F., Di Marco D., Fasciani M., Feituri M., Stefanelli C., (2011). Teaching and learning in-world: lessons learnt from the AVATAR and the ST.ART projects. Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning (ICL2011), 11th International Conference Virtual University (vu'11), 21-23 September 2011, Piešt'any, Slovakia, pp 232-236, [CD Rom] ISBN 978 -1-4577-1746-8