Virtual Worlds, Web. 2.0 and
Online Learning
Thomas N. Robb
PacCALL (http://paccall.org)
Kyoto Sangyo University, Japan
trobb@cc .kyoto-su.ac.jp
Purpose
• To define and clarify the relationship
between Online Learning, Web 2.0 and
“Virtual Worlds”
• What do they have in common?
• How are they different
• How can they complement each other?
How Many Do You Know?
Brief Explanations
Blackboard - a for-fee course management system
Blogger - a site for posting your own blog (or your students’)
Facebook - A social networking service (also http://myspace.com)
Flickr - a place to upload your photos and have others comment on them
Frappr - participants can place themselves on an interactive map of the world.
Google - the premier web search engine
Moodle - a for-free course management system
Podomatic - for creating and publishing podcasts
Secondlife - a virtual reality environment/community
Skype - free telephone service, cheap computer-to-land service, too.
Wordchamp - provided rollover translations of words from one language to
another
Yahoo - for categorised information and many other services
Youtube - upload your own videos and comment on those of others
Web 2.0
Virtual Worlds
Schmooze University
Schmooze navigation
Second Life
“Real” Politics on SL
Language Study Groups on SL
Similarities between SU & SL
• Users can go to specific spaces within the world and
interact with the other users who are there.
• They can interact either in text or with various types of
"emoting" -- nodding the head "yes", yawning, etc.
although in SU these are only text-based, while in SL, they
are portrayed realistically.
• There are objects that can be given, taken and shared
among people.
• Since both involve real-time interaction, there are many
opportunities for "speaking", using and being exposed to
new vocabulary and grammar, asking for clarification, etc.
Differences between SU & SL
• More visual – more opportunities for
interaction
• Game-like atmosphere familiar to young
users; is motivating
What Web 2.0 and Virtual
Environments do not do
• Paul Nation
•
•
•
•
Meaning focus input -- 25%
Meaning focus output -- 25%
Deliberate study -- 25%
Fluency development -- 25%
Students don’t Study!
As pointed out in Robb (2006) most of
the students in many contexts are not
“autonomous learners.” The will not
study unless they are held accountable
by their teacher for doing the work. We
need to be sure that the Web 2.0
services leave the proof we need.
Real-life Problems
• 1. Slow Internet connections at 4Mbps or less.
• 2. Many sites blocked, including Google in one school that I visited in
the West Midlands of the UK. In fact Google was blocked by the
whole of the local education authority.
• 3. Downloading of MP3, AVI and MPG files blocked.
• 4. Use of plug-ins such as Flash Player blocked.
• 5. Social networking sites such as MySpace blocked.
• 6. YouTube blocked.
• 7. Filters that respond negatively to sites containing words such as
"cocktail".
(Graham Davies, on [email protected] May 26, 2007)
Conclusion
• The Web is wonderful for self-study but...
• web-based material is not graded and...
• many, if not most, of our students still
require a teacher as a guide and task-master.
There is still a place for us, the teachers!
References - 1
Autonomous Technology-Assisted Language Learning, Available:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/ATALL.
Au, W. J. (2006). The Second Life of Governor Mark Wagner. New World
Notes (August 31). Available.
http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2006/08/the_second_life.html.
Campbell, A. (2007). Motivating Language Learners with Flickr,
Available: TESL-EJ, 11.2, Available: http://tesl-ej.org/ej42/m2.html.
Chappelle, C. (1998). Multimedia Call: Lessons To Be Learned From
Research On Instructed SLA. Language Learning & Technology, 2,(1),
July 1998, pp. 22-34. Available:
http://llt.msu.edu/vol2num1/article1/index.html.
Davies, Graham (2007). Re: What is Web 2.0 ? Posting on
[email protected], May 26, 2007).
e-Tandem. Available: http://www.slf.ruhr-unibochum.de/Tandem/etandem/
References - 2
O'Reilly, T. (2005). What is Web 2.0, Availalble:
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-isweb-20.html.
Peterson, M. (2000). SchMOOze University: A virtual learning
environment. TESL-EJ, 4.4, Available: http://tesl-ej.org/ej16/m2.html.
Robb, T. (2006). CALL and the Non-autonomous Learner: Build It, But
Will They Come? in E Hanson-Smith & S Rilling, Learning
Languages through Technology, Alexandria: TESOL, pp. 69-76.
Schmooze University (Current version), http://schmooze.hunter.cuny.edu/.
Schmooze University (Original version),
http://schmooze.hunter.cuny.edu/test.html.
Stevens, Vance (2006), Second Life in Education and Language Learning,
TESL-EJ, 10.3, Available: http://tesl-ej.org/ej39/int.html.