Week 7 Reflections

1. How can 3-D technologies be used to create online social environment and support social interactions among community members? What are the theoretical rationales underlying the pedagogies of using 3-D environment for the benefits of learning and to achieve educational goals? (Ch. 5 - required for all)

• The development and design of the 3-D technologies create a space that allows a multitude of people (participants) to engage and interact in activities that are important to them. The technology can create a virtual space that allows individuals/groups a simulation of the real-world. Due to the design of the 3-D technologies, the learner’s knowledge is scaffold to that individual. The benefit of this is that learners can grow and develop at their own pace. Vygotsky called this the “zone of proximal development.” The experiences that people bring with them will only enhance the level of learning that takes place within this learning community. What I particularly like in collaborative learning is that as a learner, you get to decide which style of learning best fits you and who that comes from. Since there are many people sharing thought, ideas and reflections, you have the ability choose.
• Pedagogies:
o Social Constructivist – supports reflective thinking and problem solving.
o Sociocultural theory - Allows the examination of the external social world in which a learner has developed. Vygotsky thought is that, “deep learning in a predictable cycle: first, on a social level and second on an individual one.”
o Situated Learning - I see situated learning as more of an adult learning principle, which would then be classified as andragogy versus pedagogy. However, the 3-D technology provides the context of putting the learners in a space that provide a real-world context.
o Piagetian Constructivism – the environment establishes grounded knowledge acquisition that allows the learners to build higher-level representations from lower-level ones.
o Cognitive Apprenticeship - this is student-centered learning where a master of a skill teaches that skill to an apprentice.


2. How was the game “Reliving the Revolution” designed and PDA used to support collaborative problem solving activities? (Ch. 13)
• First, the individual that designed this game sought after technology that was already proven to work. With the AR game editor from MIT, Reliving History was a possibility. Essentially, they took the parts that worked and designed new content in a new context. The PDA was then used so that the students could “interact” within the created virtual experience. The PDA provides the students an opportunity to engage in collaborative learning by giving them the freedom to walk around and work with other students as they are interacting in the virtual world trying to seek out (inquire) (problem-solve) the answer to who fired the first shot. Additionally, one of the key elements in this instruction was the understanding of the cyclical process of the design. They used a level of formative evaluations to continue evolving the learning experience. Perhaps that is the key to every instructional design, not just the designs that include technology.
• One of the key words that were used in this chapter was the word “encouragement.” I think designing games such as Reliving the Revolution provides another avenue for learning but does not force the students to learn or do anything they are not comfortable with.