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Hsiao-Cheng (Sandrine) Han/ Kristy Handrick

University of British Columbia

Faculty of Education

Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy

Creating teacher-free learning environments in the virtual world: Possibilities and difficulties

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• Virtual learning environment • Activity lead by instructors

• Discussions are important

• Time spent on building virtual learning environment• One environment for all purposes

• One environment for only 1 purpose

• Role of instructor• Designing virtual learning environment

• Lead in class activity and discussions

Research Background

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• In class

• Active

• Vivid

• After class

• Deserted place

• Unknown purpose

• With large amount of information

Usage of virtual learning environment

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• UBC EDCP 585, visual learning in3D animated virtual worlds, course content and design

• Difference between 2013 & 2014 courses

Course background

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Year 2013 2014

Number of students

9 students 10 students

Students’academic background

1 Math education, 1music education, 5 civic education, 1 art education, 1 adult language education

6 Art education, 1museum education, 1 educational technology, 2 math education

Students’cultural background

5 students from China, 1 from Japan, 1 from Ukraine, 1 from Ghana, and 1 from Canada.

2 from China, 1 from the US, 1 from Taiwan, 2 from Canada, 1 from Ghana, 1 from Iran, 1 from Pakistan, and 1 from Guatemala

• 2013 focus

• Cultural authenticity

• Imagery authenticity

• 2014 focus

• Real and virtual

• Gamifiedpedagogy

Difference between 2013 course and 2014 course

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• Elements of a teacher-free learning environment• Gamified pedagogy

• From short term goals to long term goals

• Rewards • Showcase • Practice area

• Storyline • Clear instruction

• Visual clues

• Gamified pedagogy (Han, in press) • using a spiral curriculum

for students to learn advanced tasks by starting with basic skills;

• setting clear short term and long term goals;

• rewarding students when they achieve each level;

• forming a learning community with a showcase for student work; and

• providing a safety net for students to explore and practice

Gamified Pedagogy: Elements of a teacher-free learning environment

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• 6 student chose to create teacher-free virtual learning environments.

• Design elements and principles

• Storytelling

• Expression training

• Texture and shapes

• Leadership

• Asia-pacific virtual museum

Teacher-free virtual learning environment by students

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Nasim’s Design island

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Siobhan’s Storytelling island

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Liz’s Expression Training island

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Colette’s Texture and shapes island

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Junsong’s Leadership island

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Annie’s Virtual Museum

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• Fun, engaging

• No time limitation

• Pressure free assessment

• Station activities,

• Role play,

• Hands-on practice

• Learning maze

• Showcase

• Treasure Hunt

• Asynchronizeddiscussion

Possibilities of creating teacher-free virtual learning environments

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• Creating storyline for courses are not easy

• Creating activities for courses are not easy

• Creating interactive objects requires higher building and scripting skills

• Users might just want to run through the process and randomly clicking, without paying attention on the course content.

• Users might feel lonely when they are learning in the virtual world.

Difficulties of creating teacher-free virtual learning environments

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• Creating teacher-free learning environments in the virtual world is not impossible.

• It requires some teaching experiences, imagination, creativities, careful design, and understanding gamified pedagogy.

Conclusion

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• Thank you

• sandrine.han@ubc.ca

Questions? Comments?