When I think about virtual worlds like Second Life, I can't help but wonder if this kind of platform will be the norm for work and school a few years down the road. There are a number of events which could push distance learning via online virtual worlds into the mainstream: an epidemic or other national incident which kept people home for a long period of time, or an economic crisis or qualified teacher shortage (among American teachers) that forced fundamental educational change, or the continued growth of the homeschool movement. But would kids handle distance education well?
My initial instinct is to say no, they are not developmentally prepared for the independence that distance learning requires. Currently K-12 distance learning seems to be mostly home schoolers and advanced high school students. However, that's distance learning as it has been, not as it can become. In an immersive environment, with constant feedback required from the students, students might actually be more engaged, and the teachers more a part of the students' learning process than even now.
Imagine, for example, a setting in which middle school teacher and students could log in for their scheduled class in Second Life. Teacher is aware that each of the students have completed their required pre-class viewing of a video on the American Revolution and have also completed the K and W of a KWL chart, which the teacher looks over before beginning their time together. The avatars for each person actually have a small video box where the head should be, showing a streaming video of the child or the teacher as they sit at their computers around the world. Audio is also enabled, so they can talk to one another as they walk around a recreation of Boston on the eve of the Boston Tea Party. Teacher takes the form of Samuel Adams as she asks and answers questions from the students. The whole time, the teacher is monitoring the participation of each student and makes a mental note to review her response to one student to make sure she answered all parts of his question. A student who has become disruptive is disconnected from the experience; a note is sent to his parents automatically and he will have to take part in a future repeat performance of the simulation - once he and his parents have signed a behavior contract, that is. During their experience, they also make some great interdisciplinary connections with language arts (speechmaking), science (oceanography), and math (weights and measures). The teacher smiles as the students change avatars to join the Sons of Liberty in tossing tea.
In earlier considerations of distance learning for children, two of the primary objections were supervision and interaction. With increasingly cheap and powerful video conferencing, and the advent of immersive virtual environments, these are easier to surmount. A well-designed experience could actually offer better supervision and interaction than is currently possible in the brick and mortar schoolhouse. Second Life isn't there yet, but it's getting there. I was part of a very very cool meeting using the Flashmeeting platform that was incredible; I've also seen Elluminate used to great effect.
What modifications would make distance learning a good tool for younger students? What would be the remaining difficulties?
Monday, September 17, 2007
Can kids do well with distance learning?
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High school students can be very successful in distance learning. Do they prefer it over sitting in a classroom? My survey of over 25 kids thus far this year as a mentor/site coordinator for virtual learning is that prefer to be in a classroom when given the choice. Two reasons they choose a virtual class is due to a scheduling conflict or to take a class not offered by the school.
Students who do not fall under the "advanced student" category can experience virtual classes as electives through VHS (www.govhs.org). Topics are of high interest and lend themselves well to an array of electives no high school would begin to be able to offer.
For young children being independent isn't necessarily a prerequisite to distance learning. Yes, they need to be independent in knowing how to perform basic computer tasks, post a comment, open another screen, etc. On the high school level, virtual classes are heavy on the printed word. For younger children this could be adapted to more visuals, videos, audios,etc.
At what age is it appropriate to offer a virtual environment for learning? Interacting with others through the written word is the sole communication in most distance learning at this point. Once students learn how to im on a computer, they are ready to communicate with others in a virtual classroom!
Virtual teachers are very accessible in virtual classes using email, a "pager", or the traditional toll free number for students to contact them at any time and all of my students have utilized each at one point or another.
From learning Chinese to AP Physics with virtual labs to a BioEthics class...virtual learning opens so many doors.
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