Learning theory

Case MIL09: Didactic Design Discussion – 3

Mariis2 Comments

On Monday November 30th my co-facilitator, Mew Aeon was in charge of the 3rd Didactic Design Discussion in the MIL course. Unfortunately it was one of those nights where the technology really became an obstacle for me, since I was logged out of SL several times, but judging from what I did experience and the students’ comments they enjoyed the discussion very much.

The purpose of these discussions is to stimulate the students’ critical thinking and didactic-pedagogical imagination and Mew chose to present two different models for Didactic Design. The first one, the so called Didactic Relation Model, originally developed by Norwegian educational researchers Bjørndal & Lieberg (1978) and further developed by 2 other Norwegians Hiim & Hippe (1998), is intended as a planning tool for teachers and is widely used in Scandinavia. The Didactic Relation Model illustrates the relations between learning conditions, external factors, goals, content, learning processes and assessment. In Mew’s version he added a learning theoretical layer and included Didactic Design as explicit goal for the use of the model. For the discussion Mew had prepared the model in a 3D version:

The second model Mew presented was a revised version of Wenger’s (1998) model of Four dimensions of design for learning that shows four dualities between which one will find inherent tensions that need to be  addressed in the designing process. Besides these dualities Mew had added 4 more elements (meaning, time, power and space) that he found valuable to focus on when he originally redesigned Wenger’s model as part of his Master Thesis  work – the report (in Danish) can be downloaded here.

For each of the elements Mew gave examples from SL and since both Wenger’s CoP theory and the concept of Legitimate Peripheral Participation are highly popular among MIL students it seemed to promote a vibrant discussion. After the theoretical discussion Mew took us on tour to three different locations based on design ranging from very respectful remediation to radical, NpIRL remediation:


Sistine Chapel

Exploratorium


Organica


After the session Mew and I stayed a bit to discuss his impressions, since this was his first formal lecture in-world. The keywords were riotous or unmanageable compared to real life, because there were so many simultaneous things going on; the text and voice chat, activity and movement of the avatars while trying to focus on the content of the presentation, looking at notes and managing the slides and steering the 3D model. I clearly recognize these sentiments from my first in-world teaching experience, but the good news are that it gets better – and even though it was different from teaching in real life, Mew definitely got “hocked”, so despite my technical problems, I believe it was a very good night :-)

/Mariis

3D remediation – people

Mariis1 Comment

As I continue my work with the model for 3D remediation strategies, I’ve decided to replace the numbers in the four quadrants with indicators of the four corners of the world thinking they don’t imply a fixed sequence in the same way as numbers or letters tend to do. Having done this, I’ve also abandoned the idea of merging my model with Kolb’s learning cycle. Though I do believe that Kolb’s model has been subject to misinterpretations over the years, I’m not interested in forcing one specific learning theory upon my model. Indeed, I think one of the major affordances of 3D user generated VW, as compared to conventional proprietary 2D CMS/LMS/VLE, is the fact that you can design for teaching and learning based on any theoretical foundation. Diversity and countless possibilities are keywords in platforms like SL and with my model I aim at showing this diversity. When you first enter SL it appears to be pretty uniform with lots of beautiful Barbie-Ken-avatars and by and large respectfully remediated places, which unfortunately also is the way the official Linden Lab prefers to promote SL, but there is so much more to this wonderful world …

In connection with my analytical unit, People I’ve identified four archetypical ways of customizing the avatar:

  • Avatar as Real Life-human – respectfully remediated based on an augmented approach.
  • Avatar as Non-human – respectfully remediated based on an immersive approach.
  • Avatar as Pseudo-human – radically remediated based on an augmented approach.
  • Avatar as Sentient object – radically remediated based on an immersive approach.

I’ve also identified a number of seeming dichotomies that one should be aware of when contemplating using SL for teaching and learning. With the addition of these elements in the red People’s sphere the model now look like this:

I don’t mean to imply that the possible tension between e.g. professionalism and play only occurs between the NW-SO corners – I believe this tension (as well as the other tensions) can be identified within the whole sphere. Being a work in progress I’m currently settling for identifying key elements  and placing them in the model, but if thorough investigations prove these elements to be relevant and viable I will improve the graphics.

As a preliminary demonstration of how the model can be used, I’ve identified four examples of the avatar types within my current research cycle, the MIL09 case:

NW: Mariis Mills, my main avatar who is a respectful remediation of my real life person. Though I have to admit, that she looks both younger and cuter, I do sense that my students recognize her as a reflection of me.

NO: Mew Aeon, my co-facilitator who at present chooses to represent himself as a cat because it goes well with his first name and playful nature.

SW: Mariis Placebo, my main alt who is currently a humanoid super heroine with butterfly wings and special powers. I use her when I need to work undisturbed in-world and she’s also member of a number of groups that are only peripherally connected to my field of study.

SO: At a certain point MIL student, Jorn Jinx showed up as the – in Denmark – very famous teddy bear, Bamse. Though Bamse clearly is an object, it is usually referred to as a male persona and associated with the ability to feel and perceive subjectively.

I think the avatars above represent the more moderate examples of the four achetypes, but it will certainly be possible to identify more extreme cases as in this excellent interview moderated by Hydra Shaftoe (a wolf) for Nokia on the topic of Perceptions of Non-human avatars or as in this Orange Island Identity Summit, where e.g. qDot Bunnyhug is represented as a sentient rectangular box.

By definition a model is a simplified summary of reality designed to aid further study, and I really do not perceive the world of SL to be as simple, clear-cut and uncomplicated as the model may give the impression of. I do, however find it useful in trying to identify different aspects of possible remediation strategies. With a final example of an avatar remediation that fluctuates between Real life-human and Non-human I’ll finish this post with a photo of my centaur friend, Birkenkrahe:

/Mariis

Case MIL09: Didactic Design Discussion – 1

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In the MIL course my co-facilitator Mew Aeon and I currently are running in SL the students are expected to analyze SL as teaching and learning environment, and in order to stimulate the students’ critical reflections we have prepared 4 discussions on different topics related to ICT-based Didactic Design. Last night we had the first discussion and for this I had prepared some slides (in Danish) focusing on two main topics; the field of Didactics and target groups.

8 students are enrolled in the course and since 3 of them did not have the possibility to participate in our recent f2f kick-off introductions  I had decided to repeat some central points. First of all there is the term ICT-based Didactic Design, which my colleague, Professor Birgitte Holm Sørensen from the Danish School of Education defines like this:

The process by which the purpose, the goals and the content is determined, and where the planning, the organization and the arena for teaching and learning is shaped based on theories and in relation to ICT-based practice in a context.

Via course readings the students are introduced to various didactic theories and models – one of the latter being the so called Didactic Triangle (usually attributed to German Pedagogical Philosopher Johann Friedrich Herbart 1776-1841) that depicts the basic relationships between teacher – content – student. Though all of us can agree that the field of Didactics includes more elements than the relationships in the Didactic Triangle it does, in my opinion, highlight the fundamentals and creates an excellent starting point for discussions on some of the key issues in Didactics.


Key issues in Didactics: content and actors

Now, what I find particularly interesting when you combine ICT with Didactic Design is that ICT not only serve as materials but also as arena or “room” for teaching and learning –an aspect which clearly is amplified when using 3D virtual technology like SL.  Most MIL students can be characterized as being tech-savvy educators/trainers for whom it is relevant to further enhance their competencies in integrating ICT in their practice and we naturally ended up discussing what impact especially web 2.0 tools/services will have on the way we think and practice didactics.

As I see it Web 2.0 tools/services have the potential of changing our perspectives and thus practices regarding:

  • Users – both the students and the teachers with regard to relations/roles/responsibilities
  • Participation – as we shift from consumption to (co-)production
  • Multimodality – new possibilities to design for teaching and learning processes
  • Networks and connections – from local to global citizenship
  • Knowledge management – both from an information and communication perspective and with regard to security and ethics


How does web 2.0 change the way we think and practice didactics?

For the last decade the Danish pedagogical debate has been focusing on learning and learners (in opposition to teaching and teachers) – and this shift in perspective has been highly welcome and much needed. On the other hand this shift seems to have placed the role of the teacher in some sort of vacuum (are teachers obsolete in the future as polemically stated by David Gelernter ?) making the challenges related to especially ICT integration more difficult and complex than necessary. When discussing target groups we therefore also encourage the MIL students to carefully consider the roles of the teachers. Much as anticipated we did not reach any solid conclusions on any of the topics, but I do believe the discussions inspired the students and I’m looking forward to the next session later this week.

As part of our focus on target groups who could benefit from an environment like SL, we ended the night by visiting Health Info Island, including The Path of Support and finished off by investigating the Virtual Guide Dog.

/Mariis

LOM nr. 3: Læringspotentialet i virtuelle verdener

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Online tidsskriftet Læring og Medier nr. 3 handler denne gang om læringspotentialet i virtuelle verdener.


Om artiklerne:

Rejseguide til Second Life I erkendelsen af at mange har en mening om virtuelle verdner og at kun få har faktiske erfaringer, indledes LOM #3 med Inger-Marie F. Christensens rejseguide ”Turen går til Second Life”. Artiklen er optaget uden for review. Formålet med denne artikel er at give et overblik over Second Life for at gøre det muligt for førstegangsbesøgende at orientere sig og planlægge meningsfulde besøg in-world. Artiklen er opdelt i to sektioner. I første sektion har forfatteren samlet en række praktiske oplysninger om bl.a. avatarfænomenet, installation af Second Life, tidsforskel, valuta samt kommunikationsformer og transport/navigation in-world. I anden del af artiklen har en række dedikerede og entusiastiske Second Life brugere bidraget med slurls til og en kort beskrivelse af deres favoritsteder. Der er noget for enhver smag.

Interview med og rundvisning ved avatar Gunhild Soderstrom – 2 Second Life-optagelser
Første optagelse tager seeren med på en rundvisning in-world, hvor Gunhild Soderstrom præsenterer Percipitopia, der bl.a. byder på en rekonstruktion af den irske filosof George Berkeleys hjem ”Whitehall” på Rhode Island og The White Room of Disorientation, der illustrerer Berkeleys ”Theory of vision”. Rundvisningen afsluttes med en solopgang ved klippen Hanging Rock, hvor Berkeley efter sigende har udtænkt flere af sine teorier. Bag avataren Gunhild Soderstrom gemmer sig lektor i filosofi Cynthia Grund fra SDU, som avataren Inga Miles alias Inger-Marie Christensen i anden optagelse har interviewet i Second Life. Det er blevet til en diskussion om læringspotentialet i virtuelle verdner og om Cynthias konkrete Second Life projekt Percipitopia, der er et eksperiment med 3D mediering af museumsundervisning. Begge produktioner er optaget uden for review.

Rum og rammer i det virtuelle
Efter det indledende afsnit omkring Second Life og det efterfølgende eksempel og interview optaget i Second Life, introducerer Simon Heilesen i ”Rum, rammer og biblioteker i den virtuelle verden” til, hvordan den virtuelle verdens miljø anvendes og opleves i en faglig sammenhæng. Heilesen tager udgangspunk i det danske biblioteksprojekt Info Island DK i Second Life, og sammenligner det med en række andre typiske biblioteker i in-world i relation til design. Han konkluderer, at den virtuelle verden kommer med en række betingelser af både mental og metaforisk art, som både sætter ramme og betingelser for anvendelsen og udfoldelsen.

Litteraturundervisning og virtuelle verdner
Artiklen ”Verklig fiktion om virtuell verklighed” af Ylva Lindberg tager udgangspunkt i spørgsmålet om, hvorfor og hvordan humaniora skal integrere ny teknik, underforstået den virtuelle verden repræsenteret af Second Life. Lindberg tager afsæt i et konkret forsøg på at anvende Second Life i litteraturundervisningen og argumenterer for, at den virtuelle verden er et oplagt sted at lade litteratur og teknik mødes. Afslutningsvis binder Lindberg litteraturen og den virtuelle verden sammen på ny vis, idet hun viser, hvordan to konkrete romaner omhandlende virtuelle verdener, kan knytte an til væsentlige indsigter og diskussioner om litteraturens genstand.

Virtuelt læringsmiljø til sygeplejestuderende
I artiklen ”CaseConnexion – udvikling af et virtuelt læringsmiljø til sygeplejestuderende” videregiver Line Zimmer Rasmussen og Linda Hauschildt Nielsen deres erfaringer i forbindelse med udviklingen af et interaktivt 3D læringsmiljø. Læringsmiljøet indeholder hospitalsstuer og patienter, som gør det muligt for sygeplejestuderende at omsætte teori til praksis, og tager udgangspunkt i problembaseret læring, hvor de studerende arbejder med cases og opnår øvelse via simulationer. Artiklen indeholder didaktiske refleksioner over valg af platform samt over de principper, der ligger til grund for det konkrete design af læringsmiljøet, herunder overvejelser mht. professionstænkningens indflydelse på disse designprincipper. Artiklen afsluttes med vigtige anbefalinger ift. hvordan undervisere og studerende klædes på til at gennemføre succesfulde læringsforløb in-world.

Hvad mener de studerende selv?
Lillian Wiese har foretaget en analyse af en gruppe studerendes oplevelser i Second Life med henblik på at vurdere, hvor velegnet den virtuelle verden er som platform for udvikling af et 3D-online læringsmiljø baseret på edutainment og pervasive learning. I artiklen ”De virtuelle verdeners læringspotentiale” videregiver hun resultaterne samt egne konklusioner og anbefalinger. Endvidere peger Lillian Wieses analyse af de studerendes oplevelser på nødvendigheden af at skabe gennemtænkte forløb med interessante og veltilrettelagte aktiviteter. Hun anbefaler, at der skabes trygge rammer både psykisk og fysisk og peger på behovet for mentorer og coaches.

Det er fælles for artiklerne i dette nummer af LOM, at de alle illustrerer, hvordan en remediering af undervisning og andre praksisser til en 3D virtuel verden kræver nytænkning frem for overførsel af traditionelle processer og rammer. Nytænkningen viser sig altafgørende for at kunne skabe meningsfulde forløb for deltagerne. CaseConnexion er et glimrende eksempel på, hvordan de virtuelle verdners helt unikke karakteristika anvendes til at skabe immersiv læring, der sætter det sensomotoriske i spil og giver de lærende mulighed for at opnå praksiserfaring.

Det samme gør sig også gældende i VIA University College projektet ”Innovative Learning”, der er nævnt i artiklen ”Turen går til Second Life”, og som netop har modtaget ”Den Nationale e-Læringspris 2009”.  Innovative Learning er et 3D læringsmiljø, der er konstrueret som en byggeplads, og hvor tømmerlærlinge uddannes indenfor sikkerhed og miljø. Her viser Second Life sit potentiale som læringsplatform for unge og ældre, der ikke har gode erfaringer med det overvejende boglige uddannelsessystem i Danmark. Virtuelle verdner er unikke på den måde, at de ikke primært er baseret på sproglige erkendelsesformer, men tværtimod har en stærk visuel og kropslig dimension. Måske er det netop virtuelle verdner, der kan være medvirkende til at give det danske uddannelsessystem et løft og bidrage til at opfylde målsætningen om, at flere unge skal igennem dels en ungdomsuddannelse og dels en videregående uddannelse.

/Mariis

Book release: ICT and Learning – reflected practice

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Together with colleagues Ulla Konnerup, Søren Skøtt Andreasen & Lone Dirckinck-Holmfeld I’ve co-edited an anthology entitled “ICT and Learning – reflected practice”.  What makes this anthology unique is that all the authors are alumni from the Masterprogramme in ICT and Learning (MIL).  Through 7 articles the authors discuss and reflect upon the use and purpose of ICT in different learning contexts covering the educational sector and one public hospital. The anthology is in Danish – and so will the rest of this post be …


Front cover by Helle Fibiger

Ikt og læring – reflekteret praksis er en antologi, der er blevet til på baggrund af masterprojekter udarbejdet i forbindelse med afslutning af Masteruddannelsen i Ikt og læring (MIL). Ideen til antologien kom fra alumner, som fandt det relevant at sætte fokus på den iderigdom, kreativitet og nye viden, der skabes i udarbejdelsen af disse afgangsprojekter.

Gennem antologiens syv artikler fremlægger, diskuterer og reflekterer de 13 forfattere en række vidt forskellige cases, som dog alle har koblingen af ikt og læring til fælles. Forfatternes meget forskellige teoretiske inspirationskilder, metodiske fremgangsmåder og brug af diverse typer af ikt viser bredden inden for dette spændende felt som er i konstant udvikling.

Antologien henvender sig derfor også bredt til alle, som interesserer sig for ikt og læring, hvad enten der er tale om teoretikere, praktikere, undervisere, studerende, arbejdsgivere og ansatte, for hvem reflekteret brug af ikt er en del af den daglige praksis i et samfund, hvor livslang læring om noget er på dagsordenen.

Emneord: Ikt, livslang læring, pædagogik, design, praksis, refleksion

Antologien’ s pris er kr. 198,- og den kan bestilles via Aalborg Universitetsforlag.

/Mariis