maximising collaboration in a tutorial settingLoureiro, Ana (accloureiro@gmail.com) | CIDTFF University of Aveiro | Polytechnics Institute of Santarm
Bettencourt, Teresa (tbett@ua.pt) | CIDTFF University of Aveiro
Wood, David (davidwood2009@googlemail.com)Santos, Ana (apamsellem@hotmail.com) | Polytechnics Institute of Viseu

ContextualizationDoctoral Program in Multimedia in Education at the University of Aveiro

ResearchKnowledge Building in Virtual Environments Influence of Interpersonal Relationships

Conducted in Second Life (SL) and with the support of other Web 2.0

tltc > maximising collaboration in a tutorial settingloureiro, bettencourt, wood & santos | april2010*

Why virtual environmentsStudents seem tofeel more confident, more open, more participative, more creative, and more responsiveattend training sessions because they want to learn (engage with content)

tltc > maximising collaboration in a tutorial settingloureiro, bettencourt, wood & santos | april2010*

Why the studytltc > maximising collaboration in a tutorial settingloureiro, bettencourt, wood & santos | april2010*research emerged from the need of observe some of the variables already identified (Bettencourt, 2009) and that are related with:persons and their motivations (engaging and compelling factors)relationships that are established between avatars and persons (real life relationships)social integration in SL (sense of community belonging)

Why the studytltc > maximising collaboration in a tutorial settingloureiro, bettencourt, wood & santos | april2010*the three main areas are related and cant be observed independently since they all are interconnected and influence one anotherour research concerns are more focused on learning relationships that are established in real life and then flow into a virtual environment and then flow back into real life again

establish whether this flow is complementary

Research goalstltc > maximising collaboration in a tutorial settingloureiro, bettencourt, wood & santos | april2010*understand in which way the interpersonal knowledge in real life can combine with the personal development/grow in virtual worlds in particular Second Life, and in this way achieve insights to a better understanding of the way knowledge is built in virtual worlds optimizing is use and then transfer it to real life contexts of learning with an impact in the traditional classrooms;analyse the several contexts of users logging in and identify the reasons for them to stay, how they grow, what they experience in Second Life.

Research methodologytltc > maximising collaboration in a tutorial settingloureiro, bettencourt, wood & santos | april2010*observing in world teachers and learners in a formal context of learning and in an informal or natural - context of learningthese teachers and learners represent our research sample picked up among the Portuguese universities and polytechnics populationintentional sample, non probabilistic type

qualitative study with exploratory characteristics

Research methodologytltc > maximising collaboration in a tutorial settingloureiro, bettencourt, wood & santos | april2010*researcher > participant observerdata collecting > questionnaires, observation records, electronic records (log chats), interviews (if needed)data analysis > quantitative analysis over qualitative data, content analysis

We research by living - Bettencourt, 2009

Research expected resultstltc > maximising collaboration in a tutorial settingloureiro, bettencourt, wood & santos | april2010*achieve a better knowledge about immersive learning and in that order develop best practices / best teaching and learning strategies to use in virtual worldstransfer that knowledge to real life learning contexts and in this way provide best approaches for teaching and learning in a higher level

The pilot studytltc > maximising collaboration in a tutorial settingloureiro, bettencourt, wood & santos | april2010*We seek to learn:How students engage with Web 2.0 tools?How students engage with a virtual environment?Whether the tools show improvement in collaboration?How well the tools promote knowledge building

Second Life Featurestltc > maximising collaboration in a tutorial settingloureiro, bettencourt, wood & santos | april2010* real life simulator safe and controlled environmentimmersive (walk through contents and information / learn by living)3D representation of myself avatar (learn subject matter in 1st person, which is experiential, nonsymbolic, interactive and multisensorial)communication, cooperation, interaction, information sharing in real timesocial network / community of practice (Wenger, 2008)

Blended Learning*Classroom(Formal teaching and practical work)Diigo(information sharing)Second Life(discussion & knowledge building)

Preliminary observationstltc > maximising collaboration in a tutorial settingloureiro, bettencourt, wood & santos | april2010*Mature students showing higher level of participationStudents posting 2x more information than the teacherQuality of information posted is high (relevant)The tools support the work patterns of the mature students in particular

Initial ReflectionsMotivation in a voluntary activity needs further evaluationThe contrast of behaviour between day and night students is a function ofMaturityLevel of independence as learnersIntrinsic motivation

*tltc > maximising collaboration in a tutorial settingloureiro, bettencourt, wood & santos | april2010

Virtual Tutorial*