Understanding Learning in Virtual Worlds by Mark Childs & Anna Peachey

Author:Mark Childs & Anna Peachey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer London, London

4.5 Discussion

In this inquiry, one key finding was, individually, students assumed a myriad of roles to solve the problems. Some began as the leader, then switched to the encourager then perhaps back to the leader, etc. Furthermore, the majority of the students appeared to engage in the content and the context of the learning using the entire dimensions of reasoning skills as postulated by Hara et al.’s (op cit) framework. Also according to Hara et al. the frequency of the social cues might be an indicator of the level of learner engagement on the learning task. As one can see from the data set, the frequency of the social cues were high throughout these courses as the students continued to solve the problems, even as the student messages became less formal perhaps due to students feeling success collectively in solving the learning tasks or perhaps they were just more comfortable with each other (Kang 1998).

Consequently, in studies comparing face-to-face to computer-mediated communication (Walther 1996), it has been reported that students do develop social relationships similar to those in a face-to-face class but generally it takes longer. However, the data from this inquiry found that students after just a short time frame settled into an engagement that was focused on solving the problem(s) yet went outside the arena of the virtual world to have phone conversations and hold discussions via emails. One participant noted that “Outside of the [virtual world], more productive communication occurred via text messaging and e-mail chat programs… I received a number of text messages during dinner!” Thus, it can be concluded that a 3D virtual learning environment can enhance the reasoning skills of the participant, if designed in such a fashion that a significant amount of engagement between the participants is provided to resolve the issue. The design of the pedagogy of the virtual world is essential to these myriad applications of reasoning skills.

To assess the extent of knowledge creation between the learners, Nonaka and Takeuchi’s (op cit) knowledge creation theory was utilised. Those researchers theorised that the active creation of knowledge progresses through four phases, and that while not every instance of socially constructed knowledge may move spirally through each successive phase equally, they are nonetheless consistent with much of the literature related to constructivist knowledge creation. As Wulff et al. (2000, p 150), noted, the instructor can aid the development of collaboration within a constructivist approach by “redistribut[ing] learning control and power by supporting and/or developing interaction-exchange formats, such as synchronous and asynchronous chat sites and display rooms to cultivate social and individual presence”. This non-foundational view of learning allows students to learn in a collaborative fashion, rather than with the traditional foundational view in which knowledge is disseminated from the teacher (Bruffee 1999). This was the focus for the creation of this 3D learning environment. The effective learning through constructivism, in which the students attempted to construct meaning in the virtual world around them, occurred in the environment allowing for the creation of knowledge for the learner (Fosnot 1996).

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