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Steven Hornik

The Journal of Virtual Worlds and Education - 1 views

Kim FLINTOFF

EDTECH Island Home - EDTECH Island - 2 views

James OReilly

MIT OpenCourseWare | Mechanical Engineering | 2.626 Fundamentals of Photovoltaics, Fall... - 0 views

shared by James OReilly on 25 Aug 09 - Cached
Russell D. Jones

How Education Enterprises Use Virtual Worlds | Second Life Grid - 1 views

James OReilly

Workplace Learning 2.0 - From the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies (C4LPT) - 1 views

Eloise Pasteur

Holmberg - 0 views

shared by Eloise Pasteur on 10 Nov 08 - Cached
  • Learning in virtual worlds
  • The notion of distance
  • Of the respondents 28 were female and two were male. The youngest respondent was born in 1984 and the oldest respondent was born in 1952. Half of the respondents were born before 1967.
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  • Respondents didn’t feel that using the Second Life client was too difficult. The majority of the respondents answered that moving (73.3 percent) and navigating (66.7 percent) in Second Life was easy or fairly easy. Almost all of the respondents felt that it was easy to take part in Second Life–based lectures and discussions, and that they gained additional information from other students in discussions.
  • Respondents were asked to estimate the usability of Second Life as a learning environment by comparing it to other learning methods. When compared with face–to–face education, the respondents felt that learning in Second Life was somewhat more difficult. Face–to–face education was considered overall as a “better” (versus worse, as literally asked in the survey) form of education. But learning in Second Life was considered to be clearly more fun. Nevertheless, 60 percent of the respondents answered that lectures in Second Life could replace face–to–face lectures. This question raised strong opinions.
  • In addition, 83.3 percent of the respondents thought that the barrier to participate in discussions or to ask a question was lower in Second Life than in face–to–face lectures
  • When compared to Web–based learning platforms, Second Life was not considered to be neither easier nor more difficult. But even in this case, learning in Second Life was considered to be a lot more fun (a response from over half of the respondents). In contrast to the comparison with face–to–face education, Second Life was considered to be a “better” form of education than learning from Web–based learning platforms.
  • One–third of the respondents considered Second Life to be “better” — against 13.3 percent of the respondents that thought Second Life was “worse” — than Web–based learning platforms. The respondents graded a lecture in Second Life to be “better” than webcasting and discussion boards, almost as good as videoconferences, but clearly not as good as face–to–face lectures and meetings.
  • A question about how the students experienced the presence of other students gave very mixed answers. Compared to Web–based learning environments the interaction between the students was thought to be more comfortable by almost 50 percent of respondents. It was considered to enhance interaction and the feeling of presence was stronger. Most of the students (56.6 percent) felt that other students were actually present in the virtual classroom. The respondents said that it was “fun” to meet all of the other students in the same location without having to leave their homes and that the campus–like atmosphere made it feel “real”.
  • Second Life was also considered to be a functional environment for teamwork. Assignments that students resolved in teams were considered to be fun and productive. The respondents felt that their teams produced more than they would have done individually. Students also felt very strongly that they were part of the team (56.7 percent).
  • When the respondents were given a chance to freely express their opinions about their experiences in Second Life, it became apparent that using Second Life in education may even have somewhat surprising positive consequences. One of the respondents wrote that using Second Life in education had brought her closer to her 16–year–old son’s world.
  • Another surprising observation outside the survey was that some of the students used Second Life on their own time to improve their language skills. One of the students told us that she spent a lot of time in the French–speaking areas of Second Life exercising both her written and spoken French. This discovery strengthens our belief of the huge potential that Second Life has for language education, an area certainly requiring further research.
  • In general, Second Life was considered to enhance interaction between students and between the instructor and the students especially when compared to Web–based learning environments.
  • Provided that participating face–to–face education does not require too much traveling and learning outcomes are satisfactory, Second Life does not necessarily provide any significant benefits, at least not when using it only as a platform for lectures and teamwork.
  • When considering distance only as a physical measure of separation, Second Life provides a means to overcome it. The existence of multimodal and non–interfering means of communication and socialization by using chat, instant messages and voice calls in personal and group interaction provides users a wider range of possibilities to communicate than in face–to–face sessions. Of these varied means, each student can select an option one that feels most comfortable, an observation also made by Paquette–Frenette (2006). In this study, all of the students were participating at a distance through Second Life, avoiding problems noted in Paquette–Frenette (2006).
  • The mixed responses to questions about Second Life being comfortable or better than other environments of learning indicate a variety of emotional and cognitive reactions. This study did not give clear answers to the interplay of different distance variables (Nooteboom, 2000; Duval, 2006; Hargreaves, 2001; Garrison, et al., 2000) in Second Life–based learning. However, the results indicate that the feeling of presence and distance is a multidimensional issue that needs further attention in future studies.
  • In comparison to lectures, the benefits of using Second Life in teamwork were more obvious. The physical presence of avatars, the possibility to communicate in real time and the existence of a shared local space explain why Second Life produces a more realistic feel of presence than discussion forums or chat rooms. In a sense, Second Life brings distance education closer to face–to–face education, supporting Jones, et al. (2005). The strong feel of presence noted by respondents and the immersive nature of Second Life seem to do just that.
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    Respondents didn't feel that using the Second Life client was too difficult. The majority of the respondents answered that moving (73.3 percent) and navigating (66.7 percent) in Second Life was easy or fairly easy. Almost all of the respondents felt that it was easy to take part in Second Life-based lectures and discussions, and that they gained additional information from other students in discussions.
robertvan41

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robertvan41

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Uyendt (*-*)

Acne scarring: Causes and types - Health care A to Z - 0 views

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usasmmcity

Buy Google Reviews-⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 5 Star Review... - 0 views

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    Buy Google Reviews Are you a business proprietor looking to boost your online presence and character? Look no further than the power of Google reviews. In today's digital age, online reviews play a crucial role in shaping consumer perceptions and influencing their purchasing decisions. That's where "Buy Google Reviews" comes into play-a highly effective strategy that allows businesses to purchase positive reviews for their Google My Business listing. In this article, we will explore why buying Google reviews can be a game-changer for your business, providing insights into the benefits, potential risks, and tips on effectively utilizing this strategy. So, whether you're a small local business or an established corporation, let's delve into the world of buying Google reviews to help you make informed decisions and propel your brand to new heights. What Is Google Reviews? In today's digital world, customer reviews have become an integral part of our decision-making process. When we're searching for a product, service, or even a place to eat, we often turn to online reviews to gather insights from others who have had firsthand experiences. One of the most prominent platforms for reviewing businesses is Google Reviews. Google Reviews is a feature offered by the tech giant, Google, that allows users to share their opinions and experiences about local businesses, products, and services. It is an essential component of Google My Business, a tool that enables organizations to manage their online presence, including their business information, reviews, and Google Maps listing. Whenever a user searches for a specific business on Google, they can see a range of information, including the address, phone number, website, and, most notably, the overall rating based on Google Reviews. These ratings often appear in the form of a five-star scale, reflecting the average score from user-generated reviews. Google Reviews offer an open platform for customers to exp
Eloise Pasteur

Drawing a Roadmap: Barriers and Challenges to Designing the Ideal Virtual World for Hig... - 0 views

  • So why should higher education be concerned about virtual worlds for those under eighteen? There are several reasons.
  • First, an increasing number of colleges and universities are enrolling students who are younger than eighteen.
  • Second, allowing interaction between high school and postsecondary students increases the potential for mentoring and outreach. As institutions become more competitive, many are trying to attract high school students earlier, sometimes starting when they are freshmen.
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  • Third, a secure multi-age virtual world would provide educators with a rich environment in which to study instructional practices.
  • Individuals using computer resources belonging to The University of Arizona must act in a responsible manner, in compliance with law and University policies, and with respect for the rights of others using a shared resource. The right of free expression and academic inquiry is tempered by the rights of others to privacy, freedom from intimidation or harassment, protection of intellectual property, ownership of data, and security of information.” Although this policy seems fairly straightforward, the ten “Acceptable Use Guidelines” meant to clarify this policy instead introduce confusion. For example, Guideline 3, which instructs the computer user to “clearly and accurately identify one's self in electronic communications,” adds: “Do not forge or misrepresent one's identity. Concealing or masking the identity of electronic communications such as altering the source of an email message by making it appear as if the message was sent by someone else is a violation of this policy.”14 So a student knows that altering the sender of an e-mail is against policy, but what about creating an avatar? And what about the faculty member who asks students to create an avatar with a totally fictitious name? Are the faculty member and the students in violation of this policy?
  • an instructional technologist at the University of Arizona,was supporting the implementation of Second Life in a General Education class. She was concerned about the interesting style of dress, or lack thereof, that is often seen in Second Life and felt she needed to develop a dress code for the virtual class.15 But when the vice-provost for instruction and I were discussing the process for modifying the current dress code of the university, we discovered that the university does not even have a dress code for everyday life.16
  • For example, at the University of Arizona, faculty have expressed frustration because they cannot learn how to sit down in virtual worlds or because they cannot figure out how to correctly set the hair on their avatar. Because of these frustrations, they tend not to invest the time needed to explore the world as an instructional resource. However, as the NMC’s Levine has pointed out: “In our first life, it generally takes us maybe eighteen years . . . to get to be fully functional adults. It’s an evolutionary process. A virtual world that had a short learning curve would be something not very interesting. So I think an ideal virtual world needs some of that complexity.”17 The challenge thus becomes how to select a virtual world that has the necessary complexity to keep users engaged while developing strategies and structures to support them as they learn.
  • Even more important is that if an institution wants to implement a virtual world of any type, it needs to convince faculty that the early adopters are, in fact, not all mad and that the tool does have value. Instruction may just be in a form with which the faculty is unfamiliar. Therefore the institution must begin by offering faculty, staff, and students the time and support to perform simple tasks like learning how to navigate the environment. Faculty must then be assisted in visualizing something outside of their understanding of what it means to be a teacher.
  • Perhaps as important as setting goals and providing resources is developing realistic assessments of the project’s success. For example, in a virtual world such as Second Life, what are the metrics that will be used to determine the institution’s return on investment?
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    A thoughtful analysis of the education institution's barriers to engaging in Second Life or other virtual worlds.
Eloise Pasteur

The Jigsaw Classroom: Overview of the Technique - 0 views

  • Here is how it works: The students in a history class, for example, are divided into small groups of five or six students each. Suppose their task is to learn about World War II. In one jigsaw group, Sara is responsible for researching Hitler's rise to power in pre-war Germany. Another member of the group, Steven, is assigned to cover concentration camps; Pedro is assigned Britain's role in the war; Melody is to research the contribution of the Soviet Union; Tyrone will handle Japan's entry into the war; Clara will read about the development of the atom bomb. Eventually each student will come back to her or his jigsaw group and will try to present a well-organized report to the group. The situation is specifically structured so that the only access any member has to the other five assignments is by listening closely to the report of the person reciting.
  • To increase the chances that each report will be accurate, the students doing the research do not immediately take it back to their jigsaw group. Instead, they meet first with students who have the identical assignment (one from each jigsaw group). For example, students assigned to the atom bomb topic meet as a team of specialists, gathering information, becoming experts on their topic, and rehearsing their presentations. We call this the "expert" group. It is particularly useful for students who might have initial difficulty learning or organizing their part of the assignment, for it allows them to hear and rehearse with other "experts."
  • What is the benefit of the jigsaw classroom? First and foremost, it is a remarkably efficient way to learn the material. But even more important, the jigsaw process encourages listening, engagement, and empathy by giving each member of the group an essential part to play in the academic activity. Group members must work together as a team to accomplish a common goal; each person depends on all the others. No student can succeed completely unless everyone works well together as a team. This "cooperation by design" facilitates interaction among all students in the class, leading them to value each other as contributors to their common task.
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    The Jigsaw classroom can be applied to give structure to group work at any level with a bit of imagination and just might be a good tool to use in Second Life - it certainly rings many of the bells for good class practise that I can think of.
Eloise Pasteur

Educational Frontiers: Learning in a Virtual World (EDUCAUSE Review) | EDUCAUSE CONNECT - 0 views

  • With very little time and a lot of content to cover, one way to accomplish this change is to use game-based metaphors that capture students’ interest. But there is no need to actually create a game to leverage the concept of game-play for class activities. After all, class activities come with goals, feedback, rewards, and recognition, and these translate well in this visual, exploratory environment. The virtual world looks like a game setting and is one in which instructors can guide, observe, and provide feedback and rewards for class activities.
  • Students worry that the class structure will be poorly defined and managed. A well-structured course includes a syllabus that defines the course objectives, learning objectives, goals, measurements, a schedule of activities and assignments, and rubrics for assessment. Virtual world courses add information on how projects will be delivered, how class discussions will be evaluated, and how students can benefit from feedback to improve the quality of their work throughout the course. Other benefits include discovering new ways to study, discuss, create, and express the course subject under the supervision and support of the instructor. In virtual worlds, the instructor’s role shifts from being the “sage on the stage” to being the domain expert—the authority who stimulates and supervises exploration while providing structure, guidance, feedback, and assessment. Demystifying complexity is not an easy task!
  • Exams or assessments of competency shift to projects and solutions to problems that are expressed in context, offering new ways to visualize, experience, and assess the solutions. This method does not replace traditional methods of evaluation, but it does offers additional ways of assessing what students know and can apply. For example, CS 382, a software design class at Colorado Technical University (CTU), created a 3D game maze and populated it with traps, sensors, flags, a scoreboard, treasures, and other game features and then played the game on the last night of class. The goal of the class was to learn to model a variety of software designs using drawings in a design specification. The students exceeded the class requirements: they designed, prototyped, and tested their designs. They discovered a minor flaw, and one student fixed the problem while the class tested it during the next run of the game. These students were so immersed in the learning experience that they did not realize they had accomplished the goals of several classes in a single term. Virtual environments are stimulating, creative landscapes. When virtual worlds are populated with the right mix of content and discovery, students remain long after class ends.
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  • Finally, as students become active participants in virtual world classes, the student who is on “cruise control” is at risk. Students shift from being passive listeners to engaging in group interaction and activities and demonstrating that they understand the course content via the completion of projects, papers, labs, and case studies. Many classes that include case studies use role-play, putting learners in roles and contexts in which they explore the content and make decisions based on the forces and constraints placed on them. One example of a class role-play is shown in Figure 2, which depicts Ramapo’s immersive literature activity in which Suffern Middle School students enact the courtroom scene from John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. The students’ exploration of the content benefits from this social learning environment.
  • In their “lessons learned” papers, the students noted that the virtual world classes enhanced their learning experience and their perceptions of self and gave them new skills to demonstrate their mastery of the course content. The sense of presence and the customization of their avatars were high on their list of priorities for learning and participating in virtual world classes.
  • Classes in virtual worlds offer opportunities for visualization, simulation, enhanced social networks, and shared learning experiences. Some people learn best by listening to the course content, others by seeing and visualizing the content in context, and the rest by using a hands-on approach to demonstrate course competencies. In virtual worlds, we can leverage a mix of content and activity to support all learners: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Virtual worlds support these different learning styles and give students opportunities to explore, discover, and express their understanding of the subject. Naturally, the tool’s capabilities do not guarantee a great learning experience. The success of a course depends on effective course design, delivery, and assessment. Course designers, instructors, and IT professionals are challenged to create stimulating content, deliver it reliably, and ensure a stable virtual world learning environment. Do the benefits outweigh the risks associated with venturing into a virtual world educational platform? For me, the virtual world is my preferred learning and teaching environment. And I am not alone. Over 400 universities and 4,500 educators participate on the Second Life Educators List (SLED).1 All of us are studying how to leverage the benefits of learning in a virtual world in order to assist our students in today’s educational frontiers.
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    Reflections from someone who has taught several courses in Second Life about the teaching experience.
Eloise Pasteur

Gamasutra - Analysis: Games Create 'Passion Communities' For Learning - 0 views

  • Gee sees the current U.S. educational system as inadequate to the task of addressing the problems of an increasingly complex world. He stated that “21st century learning must be about understanding complex systems,” and he believes many video games do a better job at this than the antiquated sender-receiver teaching model that dominates American classrooms.
  • “This is an alternative learning system that teaches more effectively than most schools,” Gee observed. “We need to learn how to organize a learning, passion system community. Game designers know how to do this.”
  • Passion communities encourage and enable people of all ages to do extraordinary things. Gee believes the 'amateur knowledge' that arises from this immersive involvement often surpasses 'expert knowledge,' and cited fantasy baseball as an example. The boundaries between the 'fantasy' game and the 'real' game have been blurred because fantasy players' expertise in statistical analysis has had a measurable impact on how MLB teams evaluate players.
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  • Passion communities exist, according to Gee, to “give people status and control, not always money.” He recounted the story of a young girl who began making clothes for her Sims characters. When she wanted more textures than the game provided, she taught herself to use Photoshop to create her own. Eventually, she moved to Second Life and began selling her own original designs. When asked if she planned to pursue her interest in fashion, she said no. “I want to work with computers because they give you power.”
  • Gee sees two separate educational systems operating today: one a traditional approach to learning; the other what Gee calls “passion communities.” In Gee's view, the latter produce real knowledge. Video games, virtual worlds and online social networks provide environments in which these passion communities can form and thrive
  • “Education isn't about telling people stuff, it's about giving them tools that enable them to see the world in a new and useful way.”
  • Gee sees broad implications for students in this regard. “Give students smart tools and let them use them and modify them to suit their purposes.” Such self-motivated learning moves students away from merely consuming knowledge and encourages them to produce knowledge and apply it in meaningful ways.
  • Gee clearly situates video games within an overall theory of learning and literacy with genuine power to transform students and equip them to address complex problems.
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    Video games are better learning environments than traditional classrooms (to those on the "education in SL list, "Well, D'uh!") but still worth reading and thinking about. Derived from a lecture by Prof. Gee
Brenda yarmark

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Nancy Noah

Writing creative MBA thesis paper - 0 views

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    MBA thesis writing forms a critical part of the entire MBA program. MBA thesis writing can be the cause of a student's completion or non completion of his or her MBA program. First and foremost, MBA thesis writing is not graded by an ordinary lecturer. Instead, MBA thesis writing papers are supervised by a single lecturer, but it is a panel of lecturers who decide whether or not work by a student is satisfactory or not. Secondly, MBA thesis writing must not just consist of an ordinary topic whose content is not convincing or that does not provide a feasible, valid and reliable solution to a current problem in the MBA thesis writing field. On the contrary, thesis papers writing must contain a topic that is not too shallow or too wide. Instead, an MBA thesis writing paper topic must be within a scope or limit that allows only the use of the most satisfactory content. In the case of a highly narrow thesis statement, the MBA thesis writing papers are too shallow and leave out highly relevant content thereby, making them unsatisfactory and worth the lowest grades the rubric criteria has to offer. Too wide thesis topic, on the other hand, is not the best. Although they allow the student to have too much content to meet the number of pages requirements, much of the content is irrelevant and way overboard of what is being sought. Thirdly, MBA thesis writing papers are not should seek to follow the right format. MBA thesis paper format means seeking to accomplish university specific thesis writing format and academic writing thesis requirements. This format is recommended to make MBA thesis papers from a given university to standout. However, such specifications must not underestimate the value of conventional academic writing standards and requirements. Format will also entail observing academic writing styles as required by the academic field within which the thesis paper falls into. For instance, the format of a thesis paper must observe proper citation and referen
James OReilly

Second Life - The Long Goodbye « That'SLife - 18 views

shared by James OReilly on 05 Sep 10 - Cached
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  • There comes a time when you have to admit you were wrong, or perhaps misguided, or simply that you were a little bit ‘out of time’, or perhaps – better said – that somebody let you down and maybe it wasn’t your fault. And this is one of those times, because it’s goodbye to Second Life for me, at least in its current incarnation – in terms of teaching and training – and I’d like to try and explain why…
  • the reason I did all this is not because I was convinced that SL was the future of education, but rather that I thought it was the future of the web (not SL, you’ll understand, more the notion of 3D)
  • here was still one thing that didn’t change – it was cripplingly difficult to get started with SL for the casual visitor (unlike, say, Skype or Adobe Connect) and the ‘first hour experience’ was terrible.
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  • you get a system which doesn’t lend itself to much use over and above the committed
  • On a scale of 1-100 I’d put SL at the 100 end of the scale in terms of people being willing to invest the time and effort…
  • The period in which I found myself having less time to invest in SL also coincided with the new viewer which brought HTML on a prim to SL and made a lot of tools (mine included) largely redundant. And I’m very happy about that – media is now much easier to use in SL, as is any web content, and this has changed the lives of many educators who now don’t have to fudge solutions in-world.
  • Of all the improvements (the changes to the forums, the blogs, the bloody shopping site and all the rest) why is it that the overall experience isn´t really that much better than it was two years ago?
  • I can’t help thinking I get more out of blogs and Twitter (in terms of professional development), and more out of other social platforms (and I’d include Elluminate and Adobe Connect in there too) than I can see myself getting out of SL these days.
  • “Second Life: Overcoming the Entry Barriers in Hogher and Further Education”
  • Looking back at that chapter now I can’t see a great deal of change, and those entry barriers are, at best, a real detractor in terms of getting educators in, but – at worst – they are very good reasons not to even start.
  • SL is too  demanding and too unreliable for most educators. It pains me to say this, but I just don’t think it’s improved enough, or become easy enough for most people to bother. There are better ways of doing most things you can do in SL in terms of education, and – almost five years down the line – as far as I’m concerend SL hasn’t delivered enough to make it worthwhile.
  • I still think the future of web interactions is 3D, and I still think avatars are a grand idea, and I still love the concept of a vast space to be wandered and enjoyed… but I have to conclude that in pure terms of investment (time and money) SL doesn’t make much sense, at least for most educators.
  • I think mobile has come on in leaps and bounds in the past couple of years, and the possibilities are very exciting. Plus, you don’t need high-end equipment and shedloads of patience with mobile, most of the time.
brandywright021

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Eloise Pasteur

Research Article: A Second Life PCR lab evaluation - 1 views

  • This study examines students’ reactions to the virtual biosciences laboratory developed in Second Life® (SL) at the University of East London. Final year undergraduates and masters students studying biotechnology took part in a trial of a virtual Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) experiment in Second Life and evaluated their experience by anonymous questionnaire. Learning gains were measured at various points during the study using pre- and post-tests, and interaction with demonstrators was monitored and compared during the real life (RL) practical. Both groups showed a significant increase in learning gain over the pre- and post-tests, although no difference in gains between the two groups was detected. However, students who conducted the PCR experiment in SL required significantly less demonstrator assistance during the subsequent RL practical. The SL practical was well received by students, with 92% of participants reporting that they would like to use the system again and many requesting other experiments to be made available in this manner in the future.
  • The aim of this study was to determine whether conducting the PCR experiment in the virtual world of Second Life produced similar learning gains to those observed in the physical world laboratory and to see if working in the Virtual Lab enhanced students understanding of the experiment. The student perceptions of the Virtual Lab as a teaching mechanism and the perceived impact on their learning was examined through questionnaires.
  • The SL group completed a pre(virtual) Lab quiz and then individually registered for Second Life to create an avatar under instructor supervision. Each student completed some orientation exercises on UEL Island to become adequately skilled in using the Second Life environment (e.g. flying, putting on clothing etc.). The student avatars then met in the Virtual Lab to perform the PCR experiment. This was initially demonstrated by a member of staff before each student completed the virtual experiment themselves. Throughout this teaching session the students received face to face and virtual communication from their instructor.
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  • Participants in both groups then completed the physical world PCR practical individually in the laboratory. During the physical world practical the number of questions asked of staff and demonstrators by students in each group was recorded. After the real-world practical all participants completed the in-class quiz once again as a measure of overall learning gain.
  • Pre-, mid- and post-tests were used to examine the learning gains seen in the students at each stage of the teaching process. The learning gains of each group at the three stages of testing are illustrated in Figure 2. Using a mixed (or split-plot) ANOVA there were found to be no significant difference between the learning gains achieved by the SL and non-SL groups, with both groups achieving the same mean increase in test score between the pre and post tests. Interestingly however, there was a significant difference between the scores achieved by students in the SL and non-SL groups overall (p<0.001), with the initial average pre-test score of the SL group being significantly higher than the initial average pre-test score for the non-SL group. Quiz scores increased significantly across the study for students in both groups (p<0.001).
  • The number of questions asked by students during the physical world laboratory practical was recorded for the non-SL and SL groups. As can be seen in Figure 3, the non-SL group (Demonstration) asked significantly more questions (p<0.001) during the practical than the SL group. Furthermore, the staff supporting the practical sessions reported the SL group students to be more organised in their conduct during the class and appeared to take less time to complete the task.
  • Overall, satisfaction with the Virtual Lab was high. Ninety-two percent of respondents said they would use Second Life again and many had commented during the teaching session that they would like to see other experiments in the Virtual Lab. There were no significant differences in opinion between the sexes and between those who are re-sitting the module (11 students) and those that were not. Students who had already completed one Semester of the course joining the programme in October 2008 (21 students) found the in world instructions on how to complete the Virtual Lab experiment more useful than those (29 students) who started in Semester B, February 2009 (p<0.05).
  • A moderate negative correlation was found between age and overall satisfaction (r= -0.54, p<0.001). Younger students were generally more satisfied with Second Life than older students.
  • Those who had used Second Life before the study (16 out of 50 students) differed significantly in their expectation of in-world feedback whilst undertaking the Virtual PCR experiment from those who had no prior Second Life experience (p<0.05). Of the 16 students that had used SL before 6 students answered Q11 of the questionnaire (Table 1) with 3 or lower while only 4 students out of the 34 who had not used SL before answered Q11 in this way. Those who had used Second Life before thought that they had not received sufficient feedback during the experiment.
Irfan Alam

Learn Quran Online: 3 Efficient Ways to Learn It by Heart - 0 views

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    Quran is the holy book in Islam religion and it is believed universally that Quran is the blessing of Allah (The Almighty). His blessings are transcribed here in the form of verse. Muslims read this holy book as an emblem of their submission to their religion and to express the respect toward the code of life as described in Quran. Not only Quran helps an individual to be a better person by mind, many of the dictums expressed in Quran have been proven as scientific that make us aware about the divine power of this holy book. It is strongly believed that reading Quran by heart helps a human being to be a better individual by thought, action, and spiritual level of mind. But how it is possible to learn Quran by heart? It is possible even if you do not have any teacher at your home. In these cases you can learn Quran online with the help of some quality virtual resources.
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    Quran is the holy book in Islam religion and it is believed universally that Quran is the blessing of Allah (The Almighty). His blessings are transcribed here in the form of verse. Muslims read this holy book as an emblem of their submission to their religion and to express the respect toward the code of life as described in Quran. Not only Quran helps an individual to be a better person by mind, many of the dictums expressed in Quran have been proven as scientific that make us aware about the divine power of this holy book. It is strongly believed that reading Quran by heart helps a human being to be a better individual by thought, action, and spiritual level of mind. But how it is possible to learn Quran by heart? It is possible even if you do not have any teacher at your home. In these cases you can learn Quran online with the help of some quality virtual resources.
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