Jess’ E-Learning Blog

I made a bit of an idiot out of myself at class a few weeks ago when we had the presentation in Second Life and our lecturer told us that DoCS is interested in using virtual worlds in training. I just went ahead and blurted out “why?” in front of everyone. To me it was simply black and white - virtual worlds don’t check the ‘must be able to function with limited resources’ box so let’s move on – so i thought what I said was completely logical and warranted.

Until I remembered that what I saw in black and white, DoCS and Anne want us to see in shades of grey. So, just because the technology isn’t up to scratch, doesn’t mean that I should void the whole option. Second Life is great because it provides a social learning environment through interaction with others, which is something the NGO learners relate well to and enjoy. In addition, while a lot of e-learning technologies can feel quite isolating, having your own avatar and being able to see other people’s avatars may facilitate a sense of community and personalism in this type of learning.

I still think that there are problems with using virtual worlds. While download pressures may decline in time, issues such as NGO learner’s trust in and knowledge of computers may not improve. If this is the case, it means that the learners will find it difficult to adapt to the idea of a virtual world – students in my class last year had a hard time wrapping their heads around it, and we’re supposed to be technology savvy – and the quality of learning derived would be low. 

I think that if DoCS is determined to implement virtual worlds, now or in the future, then they will need to set up some initiatives so that learners can gradually become accustomed to computers and the Internet in general before they’re thrown into virtual worlds.