Virtual Worlds: Learning and Teaching in a Digital Age

Well, well, and here I was thinking that today’s lab observation was a bit pointless, since nothing seemed to be worth observing. How wrong I was!

There is currently a great collaboration going on between two students, with a third helping with the testing. The two students (one 1st year and one 2nd year I think) both very well versed in scripting, are two of the 4 (?) who answered the lecturer’s call for those who are good at scripting to volunteer helping others in the lab. The reason why, is that this cohort has very mixed skills and mixed backgrounds and some students in the module have never scripted before.

Those two students, though, went a step further, and are creating a beacon which any of the student avatars in world (or VW as I like to call it, as opposed to AW – VW = Virtual World, AW = Analogue World) can touch and then call for help, which the two students’ avatars will “hear” and answer.

A lot of excitement, high energy, fun and laughter, searching for script examples and ideas, working on the script itself, testing, and the unparalleled experience of success, when it all works. Evidenced in a proud shout of “Yes!” and a ‘victory dance’. In AW, mind you.

Those two students, BTW, sat at first in different lab rooms and then moved across to work AW together. So much or me thinking there was not much collaboration going on.

And the best bit of this rather fascinating observation? Those students are not working on the beacon and its advanced scripting for a mark, nor points, nor anything at all, but because they can. Because it’s kudos and it’s fun (as evidenced indeed AW) and because it is something new to achieve and it gives a sense of pride and success.

Now, how often do you find your students doing extra work because they can and because they want to, and enjoy it all in the process and benefit their fellow students? Hm?

In fact, there was so much excitement going on, that one of them came back into my room, jubilant, and exclaiming: “there is really cool stuff going on next door, it works!”

Kudos, chaps, and well done. Studying can be hard work and fun, aye? And give a sense of real achievement, even when it isn’t about marks.