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Title: The food processors of education – the normalisation of virtual worlds
Abstract
A look at history is a look at the journeys made by individuals, groups, and societies.
Back in 1972, the food processor was seen as the answer to the problems faced by
all home chefs. However, the decision to purchase this new and expensive kitchen
appliance was fraught with challenges. It was often difficult to use. There was a lot
to learn in order to get the results you wanted. But once accustomed to this new
appliance, slicing, dicing, kneading, shredding, could be so much more efficiently
executed.
From 2005, many educators were faced with a challenging decision, whether to take
a strange new road into virtual worlds or to watch critically while others made this
journey. By 2007, virtual world learning and teaching was seen by many as an
educational panacea. Seven years later, the hype has died down, but there is now a
large body of experience and research that indicates that virtual worlds are
versatile, efficient, and productive educational resources.
This presentation will deal with a personal journey as an educator: a hesitation at
initial crossroads, a tentative journey leading into Second Life, and then a far more
confident venture along alternative routes. This journey includes a movement from
institutional shock to acceptance, from personal inadequacy to professional
competence. Students now expect to engage in virtual worlds. This participation is
seen as a natural part of regular classroom practice. What has been achieved and
continues to be achieved is efficiency in learning and enthusiasm for the process.
Introduction
Story is an ancient and altogether human method. The human being alone
among the creatures on the earth is a storytelling animal: sees the present rising
out of a past. Heading into a future; perceives reality in narrative form
(Novack, 1975, p. 175).
This paper describes a personal journey as an educator. It is an historical
investigation and it is a narrative. It is my own story. I believe this story is of
relevance to all educators. My fear of adopting new tools is far from unique. I see
many colleagues struggle with the same fear.
The term “normalisation” has been used in this paper. This refers to the dictionary
meaning of the term, i.e. to reduce to a norm or to become normal. The term does not
refer to the work of Foucault or Rudolf Steiner, but is taken at its most denotative
and simplistic form.
As a member of the human family, I fill many roles: mother, chief cook, cleaner,
babysitter, teacher, and lecturer. I have reflected repeatedly on how to perform each
of my roles efficiently. There is a parallel between my learning experiences as I seek
to become proficient in these diverse roles. Two roles most of us have in common
are cook and teacher. Although there are those of us who do not have to prepare
food, we all have to feed ourselves and others. I am also confident that even those of
us who are not professional teachers or lecturers, have to teach at one time or
another. Just as the food processor is not essential to the cook, virtual worlds are not
absolutely essential in the classroom. However, in their respective spheres, they are
both great tools, useful and versatile.
My journey has been to provide the best possible experiences for my very hungry
family and for my incredibly diverse foundation/bridging/enabling students. By
using a food processor, my teenagers get to eat a more varied diet. By using virtual
worlds, my second chance learners, a diverse mix of ages, races, and ethnicities, all
with their own unique abilities and needs, are able to participate in rich and
stimulating learning experiences.
There will be four content areas in this paper.
1. Key Concepts – this includes the answers to two essential questions. Firstly,
what is a food processor? And, secondly, what is a virtual world? It is
impossible to comprehend the parallel historical development of these tools,
without understanding the terms.
2. Historical Overview – including the history of the food processor and the
history of virtual worlds.
The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how the history of food processors in
cooking, and virtual worlds in education, are very similar. This is important
because in both spheres, ignorance and fear often lead to hesitation and
missing out on the use of resources that have tremendous potential
What can history reveal? Food processors were regarded as expensive,
cumbersome, and unnecessary, when they first appeared on the market for
consumers. Now they are more compact, efficient, and less expensive. They
have been incorporated into many home kitchens. Although they are not
everyone’s appliance of choice, they have distinct advantages to the cook. In
a similar manner, virtual worlds were considered to be time-consuming,
difficult tools to master, and unnecessary within an educational context. With
improvements in technology, they have become far more versatile, easier to
use, and less expensive with the sharing of resources. They are still not the
choice of all educators, but the use of virtual worlds has many tested and
documented advantages for educators and their students.
3. My Story – a personal account of the use of both the food processor as a
home cook, and of virtual worlds as an educator.
I use my own journey using food processors and virtual worlds to show that
ignorance and fear can be overcome and can lead to huge benefits. Perhaps
my experience may provide a small measure of enlightenment and the
motivation to discard fear and journey into the unknown path of virtual
worlds with greater confidence.
4. The Future – a brief look at the future of both processors and virtual worlds.
Change is inevitable. Educators need to embrace change to meet student
need. robinbaker (2014) suggested “Embrace change – innovate, experiment
and develop new ideas” (para. 10).
Perhaps good questions to ask ourselves are:
Am I prepared to help my students learn to access information, or, in other
words, learn to learn, and not just memorise content that will soon become
archaic and out-dated?
Am I prepared to venture into the unknown for the benefit of the students of
the future?
Key Concepts
What is a food processor?
A food processor is an appliance that has been designed to facilitate repetitive jobs
that are performed by a chef or cook: shredding, slicing, chopping, grating, grinding,
pureeing, mixing, and kneading. Most processors have a base that houses a motor
that turns a vertical blade. There are a few manual food processors. Various
swappable blades and other attachments perform the processor’s varied functions.
Unlike a blender, a processor does not need added liquid to process food. A
processor can mix cakes, although a mixer usually does this more effectively.
Processors can have various levels of versatility, depending on the power and the
attachments. Additional attachments may include blender, mill, juicer, and dough
hook.
What is a virtual world?
A virtual world is a persistent three-dimensional environment. A persistent
environment does not cease to exist when a user logs out (leaves the program).
Virtual worlds are richly immersive and highly scalable 3D environments” (New
Media Consortium and EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, 2007, p. 18). Bartle (2004)
characterized virtual worlds as places where the imaginary meets the real, indicating
the balance that designers try to achieve between reality and fantasy in the virtual
environment.
Participants represent themselves as avatars in the virtual space. “Avatar” comes
from the Sanskrit word for "a form of self" and is a computer user's self-
representation or alter ego (Papp, 2010, p.2). A virtual world is populated with
multiple simultaneous participants who are social beings and can communicate with
each other through text or voice chat.
Another term used for virtual worlds is Multi User Virtual Environments (MUVEs)
or Massively Multiplayer Virtual Worlds (MMVWs) such as SL, distinguished from
Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games (MMORPGs) such as World of
Warcraft (WoW). Wagner (2008) described MMORPGs as purposeful worlds, where
game objectives could be achieved, and MMVWs as general purpose virtual worlds
where game objectives are removed.
Virtual worlds have been used by educators for a decade. By 2007, it was suggested
that virtual worlds would be the 3D web of the future. “Virtual worlds looked like a
utopian technology with lots of zealous folks ready to evangelize the masses” (Essid,
2013). Although virtual worlds did not live up to the original hype, there is now a
body of research that substantiates a continued interest in the potential of virtual
worlds for teaching and learning.
Historical Overview
The history of the food processor
The “parents” of the modern food-processor could be seen as “father: stand mixer”
and “mother: blender”. Both of these appliances predate the food processor, and the
modern “multi-processor” has qualities of all three appliances. Back in 1908, Herbert
Johnston, an engineer, observed a baker mixing bread with a large, iron spoon. The
tediousness of the baker’s task, left Johnston contemplating a better, more efficient,
less time-consuming method of accomplishing the same job (The KitchenAid stand
mixer, 2012). He designed the first commercial stand mixer in the same year. The
first stand mixer for the home, the KitchenAid Model H-5 food preparation tool or
“food preparer”, described as “the best kitchen aid”, became available to American
housewives in 1919 (The KitchenAid stand mixer, 2012, p. 6). The Sunbeam
Mixmaster was patented in 1928 (Kitchens: A timeline, 2012). The first blender was
invented by Stephen Poplawski in 1922, to make drinks more efficiently at his soda
fountain (Kitchens: A timeline, 2012). Ten years later, the first Waring blender
appeared on the market (Kitchens: A timeline, 2012). 32 years later, Pierre Verdan, a
French catering company salesman, came up with the idea of a machine to process
food. Chefs were spending large amounts of time mixing, chopping, and shredding
ingredients. “He produced a simple but effective solution, a bowl with a revolving
blade in the base” (Food processors, 2015, para. 4). The first processor, a
commercial Robot Coupe was produced in 1960. Housewives and home cooks had
to wait until 1972, when the R1, 1800, Magimix processor was made available in the
UK, and by 1973, the Cuisinart, an adaptation of the Robot Coupe developed by Carl
Sontheimer, was introduced to the USA market (Food processors, 2015).
Figure 1. Precursors to the modern food processor: (left to right) KitchenAid Model
H-5, Poplawski’s 7 Blender, & the Robot Coupe CL 50.
At first, home cooks saw the Cuisinart as a very high priced blender. Sales were
disappointing. Sontheimer sent Cuisinart food processors to some top chefs
including James Beard, Julia Child, and Craig Claiborne. James Beard wrote an
entire food processor cookbook; Julia Child wrote recipes for the food processor; and
Craig Claiborne stated it was “"perhaps the best food invention since toothpicks" (as
cited by Butler, 2010, para. 4). The food processor suddenly developed celebrity
status and was seen as a new miracle machine.
The history of virtual worlds
A similar pattern of development occurred with virtual worlds. Sivan (2008)
suggested that the “parents” of virtual worlds are “Father: Virtual Reality” (virtual
reality being a simulation where computer graphics represent the real world and
some interaction occurs between the user and the world) and “Mother: Gaming
Worlds” (including a huge array of games and game-like environments from the first
Multi-User Dungeon or MUD, a text-based environment, to games such as World of
Warcraft). Literature frequently includes the MMORPGs as virtual worlds (pp. 2-3).
Downey (2014) suggested that the history of virtual worlds stretched back 35 years.
His research concluded that progress was slow in the first few decades, but the first
decade of this century saw remarkable change and development. Downey used a
historical research methodology to synthesize the data available on the development
of virtual worlds. Through his analysis, he suggested a three-generation development
process, depicted in Figure 2 on the following page.
Figure 2. Generational traits of virtual worlds. This figure presents Downey’s (2014)
summary comparison of the prominent traits associated with each generation of
virtual worlds.
The first generation (1978-1984) environments were basically multi-player versions
of single player games. “This genre emerged through grass–root activities comprised
of a series of one–step improvements, borrowed ideas, and ad hoc creations”
(Downey, 2014, p. 5). Some of the earliest precursors to modern virtual worlds
include Maze Wars, MUD, and Avatar (Figures 3-5).
Figure 3. Maze Wars screenshots (Moss, 2015)
Figure 4. MUD maps (Bartle, 1984)
Figure 5. Avatar screenshots (CRPG Addict, 2013)
During the second generation (1985-1996) the technologies that led to the rapid
growth of virtual worlds started to be refined. Some of the noteworthy environments
in this generation include Habitat, TinyMUD, TinyMuck, and Meridian59. There
were three vital characteristics of Habitat:
It was the first environment to use an avatar to represent a user in the world
(Morningstar & Farmer, 1991)
It supported up to 20,000 players (Morningstar & Farmer, 1991)
It was the first social-oriented virtual world (Damer, 2008)
TinyMUD (1989) was innovative in that it allowed users to create objects from
within the world (Doppke, Heimberger, & Wolf, 1998). A variation was TinyMUCK
(2000) which led to MOOs (MUD Object Oriented) environments, e.g. LamdaMOO.
There was a more sophisticated scripting language that extended the ability of worlds
to allow for in-world creation of objects. MOOs were far more socially orientated.
Figure 6. Screen capture from the Habitat
promotional video (CRPG Addict, 2013)
Meridian59 (1996) was the environment that marked the transition from the second
to the third generation of virtual worlds. It used 3D graphics and playing styles that
issued in today’s virtual worlds.
Figure 7 & Figure 8. Screen captures from Meridian59 (meridian59.com, n.d.)
“Two distinct genres of virtual worlds emerged: game–oriented worlds and social–
oriented worlds” (Downey, 2014, p. 7). Downey characterised the third generation
(1997 to the present) as a time when virtual worlds entered mainstream society,
where users increased to millions, and enormous budgets were required for
development and production.
Over 100 graphical worlds appeared from 2000-2001 alone. Amongst the most
notable gaming worlds were: Ultima Online (1997 – Bartle (2004) reported 230,000
subscribers), followed by EverQuest (1999 – Woodcock (2008) recorded 300,000
subscribers), and World of Warcraft (2004 – Blizzard (2008) claimed 11 million
subscribers).
Figure 9. Screen captures from third generation gaming worlds (left to right) Ultima
Online, EverQuest, and World of Warcraft.
Franceschi, et al. (2009) differentiated between game oriented virtual worlds which
have a story-line that guides the activities and goals of the participants and is
therefore “closed culture” and the “open culture” virtual worlds like Second Life
(SL), where all artefacts and decisions are the deliberate acts of participants (p. 76).
Second Life was launched in 2003 by Linden Labs. It became the most well-known
of the social-oriented virtual worlds, MUVE or MMVW, because it was the recipient
of a lot of media interest and the focus of early interest from educators. Second Life
was the brain-child of founder and former Linden Lab CEO Philip Rosedale (also
known as Philip Linden), who had dreamed of building a virtual world since he was
a child (History of Second Life, 2015). The original LindenWorld (2001) was a
shooter game that was never open to the public. Avatars were called primitars as
they were made from prims (a single unit of building material is referred to as a
prim). In 2002, when Linden Labs were ready to launch the beta version of their
virtual world, the name LindenWorld was changed to Second Life. “…we thought a
descriptive name would help people understand this new concept of a shared, 3D
collaborative space…(we) landed on Second Life as more interesting, more
evocative and more what we hoped the world could become as it evolved and grew
to be as big as life” (Robin Linden, cited in History of Second Life, 2015, para. 3-4).
Second Life users created an enormous variety of content, and developed an
extensive economy based on buying and selling through an in-world currency called
the Linden dollar. The value of the Linden fluctuated with world currencies. In 2006,
Second Life resident Anshe Chung, featured on the cover of the BusinessWorld
magazine, as the first real-life millionaire due to Second Life business. Media
coverage further increased. The SL economy reported “more than $160 million in
user–to–user transactions in the first quarter of 2010” (Caoili, 2010).
Figure 12. The earliest Second Life avatars (2002)
Second Life was the main virtual world used by educators. Enthusiasm for the use of
virtual worlds reached its peak from 2007 to 2009. By 2009, there were hundreds of
leading universities and institutions around the world using SL as a part of their
Figure 10. The original LindenWorld
(2001)
Figure 11. The official trailer
launching Second Life in 2003
educational programs (Virtual Environments Enable New Models of Learning, 2009,
para. 1). Following the decision of Linden Labs to abandon discounts for educators,
a policy that was reversed on 1 July, 2013, there was a movement out of SL and into
OpenSim and other alternative platforms such as Kitely and Sim-on-a-Stick.
In 2005, Second Life banned residents younger than 18 years old, but opened a beta
Teen Second life or Teen Grid for residents 17 years old and younger. Teen Grid was
open from February 14, 2005 until January 21, 2011.
The third generation of virtual worlds witnessed a huge increase in the number of
virtual worlds aimed at a pre-teen demographic. One of the first, also one of the
largest, is Habbo Hotel (2001) with 15 million users in 150 countries (Caoili, 2010).
Disney entered the virtual world arena with Club Penguin, ToonTown (now
ToonTown Rewritten), and Infinity.
Figure 13. Screen shot of the Habbo Hotel webpage
Figure 14. Screenshots of Disney’s Club Penguin & Infinity webpages
The number of virtual worlds is growing steadily, as the range in types of virtual
worlds also increases. Recent advances in technology indicate that accessibility to
virtual worlds will accelerate with advances in technology such as Sim-on-a-Stick
(Hax, 2012; 2013) web-based html5 with a canvas element that enables 3D rendering
(Hax, 2010; Paul, 2010), and virtual world mobile apps (Taylor, 2011; Trier, 2013).
Hundreds of publicly accessible virtual worlds exist (ArianeB, 2011) and companies
such as Forterra Systems build many private worlds for businesses and the military
(OECD, 2011). In a recent survey (Gregory et al., 2013), 32 Virtual Worlds Working
Group (VWWG) educators from 18 Australian and New Zealand universities and
technical institutes, reported that SL remains the most common virtual world in use
(88%). However, only a few institutions (27%) rely on SL alone.
Callaghan (2010), quoted in a press release on IMMERS[ED] 2010: The Second
National Workshop on Teaching in Immersive Worlds, claimed that, “Virtual world
technology will be as commonplace in schools and universities in 10 years as a
complement to learning, not a substitute for teaching, as computers are now” (para.
3).
Kay and Fitzgerald (2008) in the Second Life in Education Wiki, stated:
The unique qualities of a 3D virtual world can provide opportunities for rich
sensory immersive experiences, authentic contexts and activities for
experiential learning, simulation and role-play, modelling of complex
scenarios, a platform for data visualisation and opportunities for collaboration
and co-creation that cannot be easily experienced using other platforms (para.
1).
A further unique characteristic of a virtual world, the ability to be represented by an
avatar, provides a sense of security so that more reserved students can be encouraged
to participate in a less threatening environment. de Freitas et al. (2010) provided
evidence to support the benefits of virtual worlds for under-served learners. They
further stated that virtual worlds support distributed learners. Adult and non-
traditional learners benefit from flexibility in meeting times and delivery (Visger,
2007, p. 11).
A learning community in SL or any virtual world is able to create simulated
experiences that are “unavailable or impractical to encounter in real life” because of
the flexibility that allows the digital world to be manipulated (Grenfell & Warren,
2010, p.26). Dass (2011) stated that the provision of learning spaces that could be
manipulated allowed students to practise skills in situations where negative
consequences could be avoided. Students are able to engage in activities that would
be difficult, dangerous, or expensive in real life, (Benvenuti et al., 2008; Gregory,
2012) and Twining (2009) mentioned students can “…do things which it would be
difficult or impossible to do in the physical world—both literally and pragmatically”
(p. 498).
It is certainly better to “learn” and make what could be catastrophic, life-threatening
mistakes on a computer simulator where the worst-case outcome is “reset” (Allen et
al., 2012, p. 12).
Other educational advantages of virtual worlds for teaching include: social
interactions and collaboration, learner empowerment through engagement, role plays
and mentoring that fosters creativity, new learner spaces, and problem-based learner-
led activity (de Freitas & Veletsianos, 2010). According to Erenli and Ortner (2011)
the three most important reasons for using virtual worlds are: that young people
grow up with these worlds and there is a commitment to their use; motivation is high
when there is visual appeal; and, virtual worlds are fun.
Second Life remains a highly popular venue for educators wishing to establish a
virtual world presence for their institutions or who want to take their students on a
virtual field trip to the ancient days of Rome or to role play the part of the characters
in a literary epic.
Lombard and Ditton (1997) stated that virtual worlds use a metaphor of a physical
area (“space and place”) to create the illusion of “being in the virtual world” (p. 25).
Users of virtual worlds report a unique sense of presence that is very distinct from
other forms of Internet communication (Riva, Mantovani, & Gaggioli, 2004).
Researchers in neuropsychology have found evidence that the human brain performs
“body mapping”, forming an internal map of the physical body and the environment
(Riva, Mantovani, & Gaggioli, 2004). This mapping can be extended to objects
outside the body. Body mapping of the self can be transferred to the avatar in a
virtual world, allowing for a sense of being really “in” this world (Riva, Mantovani,
& Gaggioli, 2004).
“We exist in physical reality. We live in physical reality and sometimes we “live” in
virtual reality. Although our biological needs cannot be satisfied through virtual
reality, our emotional needs can be” (McKinney, Shao & Shao, 2011, p. 161).
Within the virtual world, participants are free to interact. They develop social
networks and eventually rules, norms and traditions arise as they do in any society
(McKinney, Shao & Shao, 2011). Emotional closeness through shared experience
and a sense of immediacy arises out of interaction in virtual worlds (Salt, Atkins &
Blackall, 2008).
My Story
I am a housewife, a home cook, and the mother of six children, three of whom are
young adults who still live at home. I am also an educator. I taught in the New
Zealand high school sector for several years, and I have now taught in the tertiary
sector for 15 years.
I always look for something that will be efficient, save me time, and yet still produce
the required results, whether I am in the kitchen or in the classroom. I want to
achieve the best results possible in any environment.
My family and my friends appreciate my qualities as a cook. For many years, I relied
heavily on both my blender and my mixer in the kitchen. I still cannot imagine
cooking without either appliance. I resisted buying a food processor until 2013. I did
not see the food processor as a necessary appliance. To be quite honest, I was a little
scared of it. In the first few attempts to use my processor, I became quite irritated
and frustrated. I had to rely on my youngest daughter’s expertise to work out exactly
what to do with the many attachments I now owned. As time went on, it started to
make more sense to me. I successfully made stuffing in my processor, and a sauce,
that would have required a lot more energy without the efficiency of the processor. I
realised it was up to me to train myself to utilise this appliance in order to gain the
possible benefits. I always enjoy a challenge!
I first experienced an early virtual world while completing an online educator’s
course. We had a “get-together” in a MOO. I was amused by the little gifts that we
were given and the objects that were placed in the environment for our use. I recall
little drinks and sandwiches. To this day, I cannot recall how they tasted, but I do
recall the fun time we had mixing in this quaint environment as educators.
I first entered Second Life out of curiosity. I created my avatar, Solaris Petrov, in
early July, 2007. My first experience in Second Life was very disappointing. I spent
about 30 minutes walking in an empty environment, having no idea at all what I was
supposed to do. I gave it a second chance. A second disappointing, uneventful
sojourn into Second Life, and I decided it was not for me.
Over a year later, my Head of School approached me with a proposal. He wanted to
submit an application to the Second Life Education New Zealand Project (SLENZ),
and he wanted to know if I would be prepared to take on the role of a lead educator
for this project application. I was shocked. I had no desire to return to SL. It had
been so long, I could not remember my avatar’s name. Yet, he trusted in my digital
skills and I did not want to let him down. After the application was submitted, I
purchased a book, Second Life for Dummies (Robbins & Dell, 2008). I created a new
avatar, Briarmelle Quintessa. Over a two-week period, I worked through Second
Life for Dummies from cover to cover. I learned so much and met some interesting
colleagues within SL. In fact, I met the entire SLENZ team in SL before meeting
them in real life, at our first face-to-face workshop in Wellington in December 2008.
Figure 15. (left) Briar a week old in SL; (right) Briar now seven years in SL
Figure 16. (left) Briar attending a tour of the Auckland University ICU simulation in
SL, October 2008; (right) a SLENZ meeting on Koru, November 2008
colleagues was not as easy. The work I was doing was not regarded as mainstream.
There was little understanding of virtual worlds, and sometimes even suspicion and
distrust from colleagues within my own department. One example was when I was
accused by a colleague of trying to “start a cult” because I was taking students into
SL.
Figure 17. The first face-to-face
SLENZ workshop in Wellington,
December 2008 (The SLENZ
Project, 2010)
The SLENZ Project ran until the end of 2009. The
final evaluation report of the project (Winter, 2010)
outlined the success of the work in SL. My
foundation students, preparing for an interview
assessment using SL resources, produced by SLENZ,
achieved far better results than students who prepared
for the same assessment in the classroom. I realised
that I had to continue with the work in SL because I
believed in it. I had seen at-risk students motivated
and engaged in learning in SL (Lemon & Kelly,
2009; Lemon, 2009).
Introducing my students to a virtual world was never
difficult. Introducing my work in virtual worlds to
I persevered with virtual world experiences because I recognised the positive effect
on the learning of my students. In the same way, I persevered with my processor
after my first positive efforts. If it works, I will use it!
Once SLENZ came to an end, I continued to make use of the interviewing resources.
I had even greater success with my students, once I had a computer lab that was
designated for virtual world work. In fact, the results were so good, I made sure all
assessment material was copied and filed by my subject leader. Hearns (2012)
outlined the post-SLENZ data.
I extended my use of SL. I used a literacy intervention in SL to assist pre-degree
Māori nursing students to improve their literacy (Hearns, 2011). This intervention
succeeded in filling literacy gaps and improving written literacy skills.
From 2010 to 2011, the work I persisted in doing started to raise a level of interest
amongst colleagues. On several occasions, I was asked to train staff from different
departments. I would take them into SL to see resources relevant to their teaching
disciplines. However, most of these staff members perceived a sharp learning curve
in order to successfully use these resources, and never made use of them with
students. For all intents and purposes, I was still on my own in virtual world learning
at my institution.
I started a Virtual World Club in Semester 2, 2012. Our foundation programme
delivery had been redeveloped to incorporate projects at Levels 2 and 3. The aims of
the club were to develop digital literacy and to assist students in their project work.
Attendance was voluntary and after normal class time. The first time the club ran,
activities were provided for Level 2 students, who did not have pathway cohorts, as
well as for Level 3 students who had different projects depending on their pathway
cohort. Level 3 projects differed for Health, Social Sciences, Business, and
Engineering. In subsequent iterations of the club most activities were tailored to
meet the needs of the Level 3, mainly Health cohort students, who constituted the
larger number of attendees. Hearns (2013) reported on the Virtual World Club and
positive student feedback on club activities.
I continued to incorporate virtual worlds into my classroom, report on my research,
and see students succeed through using virtual world activities. The attitude of my
colleagues began to change. I was no longer pursuing something radical, or different,
but using resources that worked. I was asked more frequently to present information
and to share what I was doing with my students. At the same time, student
expectations also changed. Students no longer seemed surprised that I was taking
them into a virtual world. Many had already participated in virtual world activities at
school, using Minecraft or Quest Atlantis.
Together with a virtual world builder/scripter, Aaron Griffiths, I developed a literacy
game on the virtual world of Kitely called The Mythical World of Hīnātore. This
game was the result of a deep concern regarding literacy gaps in tertiary students at
our institution. For five years, I collected data on literacy gaps in all classes. During
the first SLENZ workshop in December 2008, discussions on games in virtual
worlds, created the initial idea of a literacy game. I was awarded joint funding to
develop the game by the Northern HUB of Ako Aotearoa and by my institution,
Manukau Institute of Technology. Brainstorming meetings of the MIT School of
Foundation’s literacy teaching team, with guests invited from the MIT School of
English, stimulated ideas for the game, tapped into a wealth of expertise, and enabled
the allocation of suitable tasks for levels of play that would scaffold and nurture
literacy learning.
(Hearns, 2014), demonstrated an improvement in the written literacy of students who
played the game.
Figure 19. Students in Kitely, playing the literacy game, The Mythical World of
Hīnātore
I do not use my food processor every day of the week. I choose to use it when I
know it is the most appropriate and effective appliance to achieve the result I require.
In my classroom, my students do not enter a virtual world every day. I use virtual
worlds, when there is a resource that is effective in achieving desired learning
outcomes.
Aaron and I met regularly on Kitely as the
game was developed. I confirmed the learning
outcomes, wrote the narrative legends and
tasks, while Aaron gave life to the game. A
record of building/scripting decisions and
processes was recorded on Aaron’s blog
(Griffiths, 2013).
The first students entered The Mythical World
of Hīnātore in Kitely, March 11, 2014. The
game has been played over three semesters
and research data collected. The initial data
Figure 18. Students in the lab, playing
the literacy game, The Mythical World
of Hīnātore
The Future
Kitchen appliances are continually improving with technology and innovation. Now
the mixer, the blender, and the food processor, are not distinct entities: there are
multi-processors with mixer and blender attachments; blixers that combine a cutter,
blender, and mixer (Blixer, 2015); and super-blenders such as the NutriNinja,
NutriBlast, Ninja Master, and Vitamax. The choice is enormous. Perhaps a totally
new, computerised processor with intelligence and robotic characteristics, will make
all these devices seem outdated and obsolete.
Figure 20. Hina, the MOTOMAN, robotic chef, may be a glimpse towards the future
food processor (Toby, 2015)
Virtual reality, the “father” of virtual worlds, will change the future nature of these
worlds. “Widespread consumer acceptance and adoption (of virtual reality) could be
just around the virtual corner” (Ulanoff, 2014) Virtual shopping is already an
accepted part of everyday in countries like Japan and Korea, and virtual stores have
already appeared in the UK and the USA.
Virtual worlds are becoming more commonplace daily. In March, 2014, Facebook
purchased Oculus Rift (Rift, 2015), increasing “VR's potential mainstream viability”
(Ulanoff, 2014). The OR headset completely immerses the wearer in a virtual
environment. There are already OR supported environments in SL. The potential of
VR can be seen today in many commercial and educational ventures, e.g. automobile
design facilitated by Ford motor company’s Immersive Vehicle Environment; and
Mount Sinai School of Medicine using a simulator for students to practise brain
surgery (Ulanoff, 2014).
The dramatic improvements in computer processing power and emerging
technologies have made VR more readily available to the consumer. Bailenson (as
cited by Ulanoff, 2014), founding director of Stanford University’s Virtual Human
Interaction Lab, stated that within five years VR will change “the nature of what it
means to travel, education, really redefining what it means to be in a place” (para.
30).
Figure 21. VR (left to right) Stanford Professor Bailenson (left) guides CNN's
Morgan Spurlock through "The Pit" virtual reality experience; two people
demonstrate the EyePhone system; and, a group demonstrates the virtual reality Vfx1
Headgear (Ulanoff, 2014)
Conclusion
Chefs and home cooks will incorporate new processors and food preparation tools
into their kitchen routines, as long as these appliances make their lives easier and as
long as they are affordable. My own reluctance to purchase a food processor was due
to my perception that it was complicated to use and expensive. As the processor
became streamlined and more efficient, and the cost dropped, I finally purchased my
appliance. There was a lot to learn, and I am still not an expert. I was an excellent
cook without a processor, but I believe I am better with this appliance.
Many educators react to virtual worlds as I did to the food processor. The learning
curve seems too steep and the cost of establishing virtual islands expensive, in terms
of time and money. Many educators understand that they are very good instructors
without virtual worlds, so why take on something new and unknown. I had that
mindset when I set out on my virtual world experience. Virtual worlds continually
improved and became more user-friendly. The financial cost of setting up resources
decreased and the collegial support and sharing of educational resources in virtual
worlds increased their appeal. I learned rapidly the advantages of virtual worlds to
my students and to their learning journeys. I learned, I applied what I learned, and I
saw my students succeed. There was no going back.
Virtual worlds may not be for every educator, just as a food processor may not be for
every cook. But, in their respective spheres, these tools are efficient, versatile, and
have the potential to facilitate preparation, and to facilitate learning.
Sysum (n.d.) stated that the processor was an invaluable appliance “bound to save
you lots of time and elbow grease” (para. 1) The processor cannot be used without
learning techniques and making an initial effort, but the rewards are worthwhile.
Shuster (2012) stated that the best kind of education would utilise a blend of the best
real world practices, the best internet and online applications, and the best virtual
world technology. There is a learning curve and time that must be invested, but the
end result is productive and positive.
Once again, we need to ask ourselves these questions:
Am I prepared to help my students learn to access information, or, in other
words, learn to learn, and not just memorise content that will soon become
archaic and out-dated?
Am I prepared to venture into the unknown for the benefit of the students of
the future?
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