Rhetoric and reality: Critical perspectives on education in a 3D virtual world

Sue Gregory; Brent Gregory; Denise Wood; Des Butler; Sarah Pasfield-Neofitou; Merle Hearns; Sarah de Freitas; Helen Farley; Ian Warren; Lisa Jacka; Frederick Stokes-Thompson; Robert Cox; Patricia Crowther; Clare Atkins; Marcus McDonald; Torsten Reiners; Lincoln Wood; Jenny Sim; Scott Grant; Chris Campbell; Matthew Hillier; Grant Meredith; Caroline Steel; Jay Jay Jegathesan; Jason Zagami; Suku Sukunesan; Belma Gaukrodger; Stefan Schutt; Karen Le Rossignol; Matt Hill; Pete Rive; Xiangyu Wang

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Rhetoric and reality: Critical perspectives on education in a 3D virtual world

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Rhetoric and reality: Critical perspectives on education in a 3D virtual world

Sue Gregory, Brent Gregory, Denise Wood, Des Butler, Sarah Pasfield-Neofitou, Merle Hearns, Sarah de Freitas, Helen Farley, Ian Warren, Lisa Jacka, …

ascilite 2014 Conference Proceedings, pp.279-289

Annual conference of the Australian Society for Computers in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE), 2014 (Dunedin, New Zealand, 23-Nov-2014–26-Nov-2014)

ASCILITE

2014

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Abstract

3D virtual worlds

Second Life

Gartner's hype cycle

reality

The emergence of any new educational technology is often accompanied by inflated expectations about its potential for transforming pedagogical practice and improving student learning outcomes. A critique of the rhetoric accompanying the evolution of 3D virtual world education reveals a similar pattern, with the initial hype based more on rhetoric than research demonstrating the extent to which rhetoric matches reality. Addressed are the perceived gaps in the literature through a critique of the rhetoric evident throughout the evolution of the application of virtual worlds in education and the reality based on the reported experiences of experts in the field of educational technology, who are all members of the Australian and New Zealand Virtual Worlds Working Group. The experiences reported highlight a range of effective virtual world collaborative and communicative teaching experiences conducted in members' institutions. Perspectives vary from those whose reality is the actuation of the initial rhetoric in the early years of virtual world education, to those whose reality is fraught with challenges that belie the rhetoric. Although there are concerns over institutional resistance, restrictions, and outdated processes on the one-hand, and excitement over the rapid emergence of innovation on the other, the prevailing reality seems to be that virtual world education is both persistent and sustainable. Explored are critical perspectives on the rhetoric and reality on the educational uptake and use of virtual worlds in higher education, providing an overview of the current and future directions for learning in virtual worlds.

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Title: Rhetoric and reality: Critical perspectives on education in a 3D virtual world
Authors: Sue Gregory (Author) - University of New England
Brent Gregory (Author) - University of New England
Denise Wood (Author) - Central Queensland University
Des Butler (Author) - Queensland University of Technology
Sarah Pasfield-Neofitou (Author) - Monash University
Merle Hearns (Author) - Manukau Institute of Technology
Sarah de Freitas (Author) - Murdoch University
Helen Farley (Author) - University of Southern Queensland
Ian Warren (Author) - Deakin University
Lisa Jacka (Author) - Southern Cross University
Frederick Stokes-Thompson (Author) - University of South Australia
Robert Cox (Author) - University of Canberra
Patricia Crowther (Author) - University of Canberra
Clare Atkins (Author) - Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology
Marcus McDonald (Author) - RMIT University
Torsten Reiners (Author) - Curtin University
Lincoln Wood (Author) - Auckland University of Technology
Jenny Sim (Author) - University of Auckland
Scott Grant (Author) - Monash University
Chris Campbell (Author) - The University of Queensland
Matthew Hillier (Author) - The University of Queensland
Grant Meredith (Author) - Federation University
Caroline Steel (Author) - La Trobe University
Jay Jay Jegathesan (Author) - The University of Western Australia
Jason Zagami (Author) - Griffith University
Suku Sukunesan (Author) - Swinburne University of Technology
Belma Gaukrodger (Author) - Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology
Stefan Schutt (Author) - Victoria University
Karen Le Rossignol (Author) - Deakin University
Matt Hill (Author) - Southern Cross University
Pete Rive (Author) - Auckland University of Technology
Xiangyu Wang (Author) - Curtin University
Publication details: ascilite 2014 Conference Proceedings, pp.279-289
Conference details: Annual conference of the Australian Society for Computers in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE), 2014 (Dunedin, New Zealand, 23-Nov-2014–26-Nov-2014)
Publisher: ASCILITE
Date published: 2014
Copyright note: The author(s) assign a Creative Commons by attribution 3.0 licence enabling others to distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon their work, even commercially, as long as credit is given to the author(s) for the original creation.
Organisation Unit: Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic); University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Students)
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99513897202621
Output Type: Conference paper

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