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What is a virtual learning environment? Is a website a virtual learning environment? Is it an “online campus”? Does it involve 3D virtual reality? How have current trends in technology, such as social media and virtual worlds, affected the processes and objectives of education?
Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are designed information and social spaces that integrate multiple technologies and pedagogical approaches. In this course, we will examine a variety of VLEs, ranging from text-based fora such as Blackboard to 3D immersive worlds such as Second Life, and will focus on optimizing virtual world platforms for learning experiences.
We will explore the processes involved, the kinds of collaboration possible, and the methods adapted to accommodate teaching, learning and sharing in these socially engaged, networked spaces. The processes of instructing and learning have evolved to include a more dynamic role for the student, from passive to active authors of the space, and in general, educational trends have emphasized blended forms of learning, consisting of both theory and praxis across different media and disciplines. We will integrate these aspects, learning about VLEs while being inside them, eventually culminating in the development of educational projects for real-world implementation. Students will collaborate with each other, creating multi-modal educational projects that will be conceptualized and developed in a virtual space, while being implemented in real-world partnerships with nonprofit programs.
