A Virtual World of Possibilities

Dr Clare Jones Senior Law Lecturer at the Open University writes about the benefits of using virtual worlds in education.

Online learning is the future of education, (Designing digitally, 2020). Here at the Open University this is what we have been doing since our inception in 1969, but technology is allowing us to design more and more immersive educational spaces. Academics and industry alike are striving to create the best possible online learning environment for our students.

Seymour Paper, MIT mathematician, educator and computer scientist believes, “you can’t teach people everything you need to know. The best you can do is position them where they can find what they need to know when they need to know it”, (Designing digitally, 2020). Similarly, Brian Burke, Gartner Group VP of Research and author of Gamify – How Gamification Motivates People to do Extraordinary Things, argues, “Gamification aims to inspire deeper, more engaged relationships and to change behaviour, but it needs to be implemented thoughtfully. Most attempts at gamification currently miss the mark, but successful and sustainable gamification can … make learning a joy. The potential is enormous.” (Designing digitally, 2020).

With this in mind and that it has become increasingly popular to incorporate game play in learning and teaching we can also see the benefits our students gain from this form of active learning, situated leaning, experiential learning and constructivism and social learning are very apparent. It is accepted that babies and children best learn through play, through social interaction and by learning through doing. Kolb (1984) notes that “the process whereby knowledge is created is through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combination of grasping and transforming experiences”. Yet as we get older and move through the education system, learning becomes more static, with more self-directed and isolated learning activities and less collaborative learning activities. When we get to the university setting, then there is a resistance to group learning, and especially group assessments and there is a desire for the more so called traditional and static learning to take place.

Education, largely, has seemingly lost the ability to incorporate play and self-discovery as a mechanism of learning. So, the question is, how do we get game play and active learning into the university setting which is accepted by students and tutors as a valid method of education. Afterall, learning is and should be fun and when you undertake active learning, you retain more of the information and so it is much more effective (Chen 2009).

One way to get active learning into courses is by using virtual reality (McFaul & FitzGerald, 2020).  Pantelidis (1995) states that two of the benefits of using virtual worlds in education are that: “Virtual reality motivates students. It requires interaction and encourages active participation rather than passivity. Some types of virtual reality, for example collaborative virtual reality, using text input with virtual worlds, encourage or require collaboration and provide a social atmosphere.” Furthermore, “Virtual Reality with text access provides equal opportunity for communication with students in other cultures and allows the student to take on the role of a person in different cultures” (Pantelidis, 1995).

 In a virtual reality environment, students are represented by a graphic image of an avatar, and by using a depiction of the student-self in the environment it allows the student to feel present. Feeling present in the environment is important in the development of learning. The virtual reality world allows users a sense of being there (Sheridan, 1992), and by being there users have an individual response to being there thus creating memories of being there, (Slater 1999).  If others within the cohort are also present within the environment at the same time, then co-presence can be achieved, and this adds an extra layer of immersion and reality in the environment and as such active learning can and will take place (Biocca et al 2003).  Nowak (2001) and Goffman (1963) also talk about the importance of co-presence for learning. Virtual reality environments allow for both synchronous and asynchronous activities and learning to take place. Examples of activities that can take place in virtual reality environments are role plays, simulations, moots, debates, games, conversations, as well as lectures and seminars.

Some of the other benefits of using virtual realities in learning is that it allows the curriculum to come alive and be experienced through immersion (Moore, 1995). The curriculum is also able to be adapted to individual learners needs and capabilities. Virtual realties allow a more collaborative approach, not only between students but also between tutor and student and often this is a very rewarding learning relationship. Learning communities can be created within the virtual world which motivate and engages students in a common goal, (Harasim, 2001). The process becomes a more symbiotic and organic process, yet the outcomes show more deep learning having taken place. A successful learning community will support learning and allow active discourse (Jonassen, 1995), and virtual reality learning communities are even more collaborative and active because o the level of immersion and social presence associated with the environment.  For example, if a student is learning about criminal proceedings within a court setting, the virtual reality environment would allow the immersion of the student in a visual representation of the courts and/or the police station and have actors and bots to provide interactions, information and assess knowledge of the student. By the student walking through the experience they are learning actively about the criminal proceeding process.

Of course, for virtual reality experiences to be successful you need to have the buy in from students and from the tutors. It can be a steep learning curve for both in terms of using the technology and doing something different from before. Students and tutors need to be open to trying something new and giving it time to become familiar. Once virtual realities are given time to embed in learning practices then the immense benefits to the students learning experience is worth the preparation and commitment to the technology. Learning should not be static and dull, but creative and immersive. We learn best through active experiences and virtual realities provide us with an exciting opportunity to have this in our curricula.

Clare Jones

Dr Clare Jones is a Senior Law Lecturer at the Open University (clare.jones@open.ac.uk) @DocChambers; Open Justice Centre; Co-founder Law, Information, Future, Technology (LIFT) @OU_LIFT

References and further reading:

Biocca, F. Harms, C. & Burgoon, J. K. (2003) ‘Toward a more robust theory and measure of social presence: review and suggested criteria. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 12(5), 456-480.

Chambers. C. L. & Shufflebottom, (2010)  M. Innovation in Inclusion: A financial M-learning game Part 1'. The Law Teacher. March 2010 Vol, 44, 1, 17-31.

Chambers. C. L. & Shufflebottom, (2010) M. Innovation in Inclusion: A financial M-learning game Part 2'. The Law Teacher. July 2010, Volume 44 Issue 2, 117

Chen, C. J. (2009) Theoretical Bases for using virtual reality in education. Themes in Science and technology Education. Vol.2, No1-2.

Designing digitally (2020) Blog, 11 May 2020. https://www.designingdigitally.com/blog/2015/03/10-fascinating-online-learning-quotes Accessed 3 December 2020.

Goffman, E. (1963) ‘behaviour in public places’, New York. The Free Press.

McFaul, H. & FitxGerald, E. (2020) A reality evaluation of student use of a virtual reality smartphone application in undergraduate legal education. British Journal of Educational  Vol, 51 (2), p. 572 -5889.

Moore, P. (1995) Learning and teaching in virtual worlds: Implication of virtual reality for education. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 11(2).

Nowak, K. (2001, May) ‘Defining and differentiating co-presence, social presence and presence as transportation. Paper presented at the 4^th International workshop on presence. Philadelphia, PA.

Pantelidis, V. S. (1995). Reasons to use virtual reality in education. VR in the Schools, 1(1), 9. Retrieved from http://vr.coe.ecu.edu/vrits/1-1pante.htm

Slater, M. (1999) ‘Measuring presence: a response to the Witmer and Singer presence questionnaire. Presence Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 8(5) 560-565.