Shared virtual environments are at the "bleeding edge" of educational technology. Although they have high requirements for video hardware and bandwidth, virtual environments such as Second Life also offer educational learning experiences and assessment opportunities that cannot be achieved in the physical world. Speaker Brant Knutzen will give a tour of two virtual "islands" he created to support learning in conversational English, Visual Studies Art, Visual Studies Environments, English for Drama, and Nurse Training.
<p>Brant Knutzen is the Learning Designer for the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong. He has been involved in eLearning for 28 years as software developer, website developer, and corporate trainer. He currently teaches on an MSc Education program relating to eLearning and educational leadership, and provides eLearning support and professional development for teaching staff. His research areas include the design, implementation and evaluation of highly engaging blended learning environments for schools and higher education. Current Moodle plugin development projects include the Participation Map: a new way to visually display online discussion activity, and the Participation Forum: which generates a grade based on student posting activity. See Brant.Knutzen.se for more information.</p>