Lessons Learned about Virtual Worlds for Learning

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Lessons Learned about Virtual Worldsfor
Learning

• Chris Dede
• Harvard University
• Chris_Dede_at_harvard.edu
• http//www.gse.harvard.edu/dedech

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Problems in Middle School -I

• Start with a Problem, Not with a Technology
• Higher order skills and deep content are driven
  out of the curriculum by broad, shallowstate
  curriculum standards and high-stakes tests
• Many middle school science teachers are
  unprepared for their subject, their students,and
  for their pedagogy
• Many middle school teachers are waryof
  technology and have low self-efficacyin using
  interactive media for active learning

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Problems in Middle School - II

• Middle school students are focused on peers and
  puberty
• Many students have given up on themselvesas
  successful learners (low self-efficacy)
• Particularly in SMET fields
• Particularly girls, minorities, low SES,and ELL
  students
• Many students think middle school is boringand
  perceive their education as meaninglessin its
  content and process
• Many students have high rates of absenteeismand
  mobility

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Opportunities in Middle School

• Many middle school students are sophisticated in
  how they learn outside of school
• Many middle school students are motivated by
  using information and communication technologies,
  particularly Web 2.0 tools/media
• Most middle schools now have at leasta
  marginally adequate technology infrastructure
• Most communities are intrigued by gaming, virtual
  worlds, and similar cool technologies

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Fundamental Precepts in Technology-Based Design -
I

• Technology aids learning through pedagogyand
  content a catalyst, not a cause
• No single type of instruction is best forall
  students Sleeping -------- Eating --------
  Bonding
• simple complex
• Need a low floor and a high ceiling

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Fundamental Precepts in Technology-Based Design -
II

• Need instructional strategies that can scaleto
  relatively barren educational contexts
• Engagement is central to learning, retention,and
  transfer
• Games in education are not necessarilya good
  idea
• Too many scoring systems now
• Too many winners and losers now
• Too much extrinsic motivation now

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The Importance of Purposein Virtual Worlds

• Watch video at http//www.youtube.com/watch?vv373
  r0to8Pk
• Table 1 summarizes significant educational MUVEs
  active in the past few years, their learning
  goals, their functionality, and their
  corresponding URLs.
• From Dieterle, E., Clarke, J. (in press).
  Multi-user virtual environments for teaching and
  learning. In M. Pagani (Ed.), Encyclopedia of
  multimedia technology and networking (2nd ed).
  Hershey, PA Idea Group, Inc.
• Link to article http//muve.gse.harvard.edu/river
  cityproject/documents/MUVE-for-TandL-Dieterle-Clar
  ke.pdf

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MUVE Developer Learning Goals and Objectives Functionality
AppEdTech Appalachian State University Distance education courses and services for graduate students AppEdTech is a graphical MUVE designed to support graduate students working over distance. Students control avatars that interact with other students, instructors, and artifacts.
AquaMOOSE 3D Georgia Institute of Technology Visualization of and experimentation on parametric equations AquaMOOSE 3D is a graphical MUVE designed for the construction and investigation of parametric equations.
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Quest Atlantis (QA) Indiana University Promotion of social and moral development plus academic content and skills QA is a graphical MUVE originally designed for children ages 9-12 to complete activities with social and academic merit in both formal and informal learning settings.
Revolution MassachusettsInstitute of Technology History Revolution is a multiplayer role playing game where students experience history and the American Revolution by participating in a virtual community set in Williamsburg, VA on the eve of the American Revolution.
River City Harvard University Scientific inquiry and 21st century skills River City is designed for use in middle school science classrooms. As visitors to River City, students travel back in time, bringing their 21st century skills and technology to address 19th century problems.
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Tapped IN SRI Online teacher professional development TI bundles synchronous and asynchronous discussion tools, a notes section, an interactive whiteboard, and file sharing space. After logging into the virtual space, users are teleported to the TI Reception Area and greeted by Helpdesk staff.
Whyville Numedeon, Inc Scientific literacy and socially responsible behavior Whyville is a graphical MUVE designed for children between middle childhood and adolescence. Users (a) communicate with old friends and familiar faces through synchronous chat and the Whyville-Times (b) learn math, science, and history through interactive activities, and (c) build online identities. As citizens participate in a variety of activities, they earn clams (the official monetary unit of Whyville), which they can use to enhance their avatars.
Second Life Numerous projects on a wide variety of themes
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Next Generation Interfacesfor Distributed
Interaction

• World to the DesktopAccessing distant experts
  and archives forknowledge creation, sharing, and
  mastery
• Multi-User Virtual Environment (MUVE)Immersion
  in virtual contexts withdigital artifacts and
  avatar-based identities
• Ubiquitous ComputingWearable wireless devices
  coupled tosmart objects for distributed
  cognition

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21st Century Pedagogy in RC

• Use of situated technologies to
  simulateauthentic contexts
• Watch video at
• http//louisville.edu/education/ciidl/summer08/Ded
  e-Video.wmv
• Experimentation unfettered by laboratory
  constraints
• Mediated collaboration in creating knowledge
• Scientific Inquiry
• Connecting personal understandingswith those of
  sound science
• Designing experiments
• Investigating phenomena
• Constructing meaning from data and observations
• Problem Finding

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Focus on A Particular Suite ofUnderstandings and
Performances

• Collaborative Problem Resolution viaMediated
  Interaction and Situated Learning
• Problem Finding Before Problem Solving
• Comprehension by a Team, Not an Individual
• Making Meaning Out of Complexity
• Utilizing sophisticated tools and representations
• Recognizing and matching patterns
• Judging the value of alternative formations
• Communicating to others with differing
  perspectives

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Low Floor,High Ceiling

• Travel Back in time to 1878-79
• Bring 21st century skills and
• technology to 19th century problems
• Commissioned by the Mayor to help town understand
  and perhaps solve a piece of the problem of why
  are so many residentsbecoming ill?
• Work as a research team
• Keep track of clues that hint at causes of
  illnesses
• Form and test hypotheses
• Make recommendations based on experimental data

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The Importance of Identity

• MUVEs allow students to assume an identity as a
  scientific investigator
• Students create their own avatar name
• Students choose virtual identities in worldto
  represent them
• Students experiment with identitiesother than
  academic loser
• Students take on role of scientist
• Students take on the role of hero

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Intrinsic Motivation through History The
Powers Mansion
The Opportunity to be a Hero
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Many Paths to Participationand Success

• River City Resident conversations
• Tacit Clues
• Appearance of river, trees
• Weather
• Sounds mosquito buzzing, coughing, water flowing
• Hospital Admission chart
• Environmental Health meter
• Clues associated with Pictures
• Sampling stations
• Water Purity
• Mosquito nets

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Teachers LeadingInterpretive Discussions
Teachers stay in the real world to provide
support to those in the virtual world, like Tank
Students travel between the real and virtual
worlds like Neo and Trinity
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Richer Means of Assessment

• Assessment data
• Pre-post content
• Pre-post affective
• Embedded assessments (formative)
• Performance assessment (summative)
• Contextual Data
• Attendance records
• Demographic data
• School data
• Observations
• Interviews

• Active Data
• Team chat
• Notebook entries
• Tracking of in-world activities
• Data gathering strategies
• Pathways
• Inquiry processes

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Event Logs as Observational Data

• Watch video (Tour of River City) at
  http//muve.gse.harvard.edu/rivercityproject/view/
  rc_videos.html
• Indicates with Timestamps
• Where students went
• With whom they communicatedand what they said
• What artifacts they activated
• What databases they viewed
• What data they gatheredusing virtual scientific
  instruments
• What screenshots and notations they placed in
  team-based virtual notebooks
• unobtrusive observational data

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Princess in River City
Session 1 your not supposed to ask some1 that who is in class your supposed to ask the ppl that with the around their names
Session 2 where should I go james i have found a lotu guys go to the wealthy homes me me there
Session 3 did u guys find something outI did
Session 4 There are a lot of people in the tenements really sick so I think it is the mosiqutos cause they can carry things from the dump
Session 5 I am at the library to see if I can get any information
Session 6 i dont think that it is the water it was just a hypopthesis saying if the pipe was made of of lead. she is just teaching her class?
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Shortys (1169) Team, Session 2
Shortys Team, Session 3
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Online Notebook
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What is a Game?

• Jesper Juul (Half-Real, 2005)
• 1) Rules Games are rule-based
• 2) Variable, quantifiable outcomesGames have
  variable, quantifiable outcomes
• 3) Value assigned to possible outcomesThat the
  different potential outcomes of the game are
  assigned different values, some being positive,
  some being negative.
• 4) Player effort That the player invests effort
  in order to influence the outcome. (i.e. games
  are challenging.)
• 5) Player attached to outcome That the players
  are attached to the outcomes of the game in the
  sense that a player will be the winner and
  "happy" if a positive outcome happens, and loser
  and "unhappy" if a negative outcome happens.
• 6) Negotiable consequences The same game set of
  rules can be played with or without real-life
  consequences.

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Concerns aboutEducational Games

• Salen Zimmerman (Rules of Play, 2003)
• A game is a system in which players engagein an
  artificial conflict, defined by rules,that
  results in a quantifiable outcome.
• The outcome is the primary goal
• Numbers tell you how you are doing
• 2nd place is the first loser
• To win, figure out the rulesand optimize your
  behavior
• Success in games is a precursorto success in
  life

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Beyond Winners and Losers

• The School Game
• Teacher sets rules
• One right answer via formulaic reasoning
• Failure is fatal, via dumbing downand opting
  out
• Assumption that winners and losers leads to
  engagement is true only for some students
• Game-Like Immersive Collaborative Simulations
• Multiple causal factors ensurevariety of paths
  to success Choice, not Control
• Everyone can triumph No one dies
• Hypotheses are not classifiable as winnersor
  losers Contributions to knowledge
• No finish line Self-actualization

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Life is not a Game

• Distorting life into a game leads to disastrous
  outcomes
• Wars that assume victory is possible
• Political processes that optimizedashboards
  rather thandevelop wise policies

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