Begin with the end in mind ...

Engaged & motivated students meeting learning outcomes

Teaching & learning that offers students the opportunity to explore & extend themselves

Setting the scene

• Traditional secondary school setting with 6 x 50min lessons

• Subject specific & not interdisciplinary

• Content driven curriculum & lacks flexibility

1:1 Tablet PCs

• access to a diverse range of software which is leveraged for use in conjunction with VLE task design

• access to VLE asynchronously & from different locations

Using 3D Virtual Worlds for Learning & Teaching @FHS

Focus on the social commitments aspect of QA & use in a Year 7 tutorial class as part of PGD program.

Incorporate into the Middle School Visual Arts Program to offer enrichment & extension opportunities with the design, construction & exhibition of digital sculptures

Feedback from th

e Tech Desk

• Build in infras

tructure & lead

time

• Clear directive

& expectation f

rom

appropriate HODs

/ LTs

• An information

pack ready @star

t of

project advising

what needs to b

e

permitted throug

h the firewall &

to

allow internal t

raffic to access

necessary server

s

• Full details

of all soft

ware program

s that

will be used

• IP addresses

of servers

that need to

be

accessed

• Different pr

otocols & po

rts required

to run

software

Have a school

tech be:

• a part of int

roduction prog

ram,

• be consulted

during plannin

g, &/or

• have access t

o a central he

lp area

Getting StartedDeb: steep learning curve to understand what a virtual learning environment is and how it can be used as a teaching & learning tool; deep & thorough understanding of curriculum learning outcomes and key skills

Jacq: familiar with VLEs & some of their educational uses and tools; no specific subject knowledge

Our Plan• Quest Atlantis with 7K Tutor Group beginning T4• Development & design of a unit of work ‘Art Elements &

Principles’ for OpenSim immersion with proposed MS Digital Art class in early commencement period.

What really happened?• Myriad of ongoing technical issues – “the stuff” – lag, access,

permissions• Responsibilities of senior classes, VCE teaching and assessment &

reporting• QA trialled for 4 weeks & a decision made not to continue• Art Elements & Principles unit well underway; VGS@FHS island now

available

Big QuestionHow can VLEs be used as a teaching & learning tool that will enhance learning outcomes through greater levels of student engagement and how do they fit our curriculum?

Suggest reading & digital resources prior

to commencement

Acknowledge & allow for the time and

resource commitment required to establish

infrastructure

A technical kit with contacts, clear specifications and list of all software &

web based applications;

Tech staff involvement in project introduction; active

consultation during implementation

Torley Linden & Noob Be Gone ‘how to’ videos

List of Educational

Communities in SL & RG; wikis /

blogs

PD should include IT Curriculum/ Teaching

support staff

DEECD team of experienced VLE users; teachers; techs to coach

implementing school teams

Using Quest Atlantis in the year 7 tutorial program with a focus on

SOCIAL COMMITMENT

The unique quality of missions / quests and the focus on social commitments made Quest Atlantis very suitable for the personal growth & development program in Year 7.

• Technical issues = frustration• Motivation to engage inworld• Students didn't want to read the quests “too

long”• Teacher stress on in-world etiquette for

chatting may have been inhibiting• QA back story generally not of interest• Some did missions and enjoyed them• Most students really wanted it to work – our

experience could have been very different

“why would i want to chat in QA when they are sitting right beside me?”

“everything is monitored”

• The VW only a tool – to be used in the delivery of the curriculum content. • We immediately noticed how easy it was to be distracted from our purpose whilst

inworld• Acquisition of skills to be immersed in a VW took many hours &lots of

concentration – and it can divert focus from the curriculum content. • Can legitimately incorporated into the visual arts because it is a visual 3D

environment which has the capacity to offer enrichment and extension opportunities in the delivery of the art curriculum as students have the potential to build and construct sculptures which ordinarily would not be possible due to the constraints of materials, location and space. Assessment: in a VLE the establishment of rubrics would provide the criteria and the guidelines for student learning.

• Anticipate that the VLE will provide greater scope for peer assessment – again, legitimate not tokenistic. This is because they would be required to base their assessment on the guidelines that are well established in the faculty and are aligned with the mandated VELS reporting and assessment requirements.

• We would use these existing rubrics and guidelines and tailor them to meet specific projected learning outcomes.

• Our response to the incorporation of a VLE is soundly based in the Art curriculum because of the visual and interactive nature of the environment.

Using Open Sim in the Middle School Visual Art Program

Notes:

resources

• Art Elements & Principles• Rubrics• VELS standards

VGS@FHS wiki