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Session 30
Meeting
Students’ New Value Equation for Education in the Virtual World
Session Description:
Virtual worlds are growing
explosively—a reported 11+ million users in Second Life (SL)
alone. By 2011, 80% of all Internet users will have some form of
3D virtual identity. Simultaneously, students are demanding a
new value equation in education.
Faced with these dynamics, how do educators meet the changing
needs of students and integrate the technological advances that
students value to support teaching and learning?
Loyalist College is responding with a move to redefining how and
where learning is facilitated.
Loyalist embarked on an innovation in 2006 earning us the title
of the first Canadian college to build a campus and teach in the
virtual world of SL. Extending our natural campus into the
virtual world is enhancing our students’ experiences, augmenting
course materials and facilitating the learning experience beyond
the traditional classroom, laboratory and shop.
Loyalist’s development in SL helps us meet the students’ demand
for a new value equation. Markedly different from the
traditional model, students are engaged in the learning process
as active participants, collaborating to ensure content is
timely, relevant and memorable.
The virtual world provides an exciting mode of delivery,
fostering creativity in our faculty as they develop content
suitable for this medium and enhance typical classroom material.
The simulation and roleplay capabilities of SL allow the college
to create learning environments and scenarios not possible to
students in the real world. Simulated exercises in the virtual
world also enable students to shed their inhibitions and fully
participate in roleplays, further adding to their experiences.
Students have the opportunity to develop interactive and
collaborative relationships through their classroom exercises,
roleplay experiences and, generally, as a resident moving
through the college’s virtual campus. These are essential skills
for students to gain in our progressively interconnected
society.
Presenter: George Burton
Since joining Loyalist College in 2005 as Vice President of
Enrolment Management and Student Services, George Burton has
focused on implementing learner-centered strategies resulting in
increased student enrolment, enhanced student engagement and
improved student success and retention rates.
Prior to joining Loyalist College, Mr. Burton was the Executive
Vice-President with a large multi-national media research and
software development/data service company and has held positions
at George Brown College and Canadore College.
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