Reviews past virtual development in Second Life by Dr. Eileen O'Connor and ways that this work will become available within the Master of Arts in Emerging Technology and Learning at Empire State College.
18. O'Connor, E. (2011). Migrating Towards K12 in Virtual Spaces: Second Life Lessons Learned as Higher Education Meets Middle School Students. In Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference 2011 (pp. 2192-2198). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. O’Connor, E. (2011, in press). Practical considerations when using virtual spaces for learning and collaboration, with minimal setup and support. In H. H. Yang, & S. C. Yuen (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Practices and Outcomes in Virtual Worlds and Environment . Hershey PA: IGI Global. O’Connor, E.A. (June 2010) Using Second Life (a virtual reality) in Language Instruction: Practical Advice on Getting Started; published with the proceedings of the 4 th International Scientific and Methodological Conference on "Information and Communication Technologies in Foreign Language Teaching” O'Connor, E. A. (2009). Instructional and Design Elements that Support Effective Use of Virtual Worlds: What Graduate Student Work Reveals about Second Life. Journal of Educational Technology Systems , 38(2), 213-234. doi:10.2190/ET.38.2.j O’Connor, E. A. and Sakshaug, L. (2009) Preparing for Second Life: Two Teacher Educators Reflect on Their Initial Foray into Virtual Teaching and Learning, Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 37(3) , pp. 259-272. O'Connor, E. (2008). Becoming a Virtual Instructor: How Can Higher Education Faculty Prepare for Second Life?. In G. Richards (Ed.), Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2008 (pp. 1144-1149). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Peer Reviewed Publications Related to Second Life
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 10-23% job growth rates through 2018 in professions that increasingly require skills in using digital technology in learning environments: instructional coordinators, K-12 teachers, post-secondary and vocational teachers, and adult literacy instructors. In higher education, teaching and learning with technology has been identified as the #4 of ten top issues faced by faculty and IT professionals, as they are challenged to support new pedagogical approaches and create communities of practice with an array of new tools. Not least, this proposed degree program models the type of 21 st century “learning powered by technology” experiences lauded in our 2010 National Educational Technology Plan.
The proposed MAETAL aims to develop a community engaged in exploring and researching the learning process, specifically with emerging technologies. The experience will model the types of interactions and creative, problem-based activities that are possible when using a range of technology tools for learning. The focus is not exclusively on the tools, but primarily on learners, and their interactions with content and each other. Of interest is to understand what types of tools can be used to produce the learning outcomes expected in particular contexts. Moreover, in what ways do specific tools help learners demonstrate not only what they know, but their capacity to create, interact and collaborate across multiple settings? Understanding these new dynamics requires complex communicative understandings and collaborative skills, therefore, students enrolled in this MAETAL degree program will:
October 15th, 2010 What: “ Investigating Social Spaces” – What is a Social Network? How might it benefit higher-ed? What are some differences between Continue reading Plenary: Investigating Social Spaces » Begin the Journey into Second Life... Eileen O'Connor and Hope Adams Who: Hope Adams – Assistant Professor & Instructional Designer & Eileen O’Connor – Associate Professor in Science Teacher Education & Instructional Technology What: “ Begin a Journey into Second Life … and Share a Virtual Experience” – Participants will have been already directed on downloading Cooperative Learning with Wikis Denise Snyder Visual Diagramming: Mind & Concept Mapping with MindMeister and Prezi Donna Mahar Enhancing Student Learning with Elluminate Kirstie Szlasa When: 11:10-12:15pm on Tuesday, October 12th, 2010 Where: Room 143 at 113 West Avenue, Saratoga Springs, NY Who: Francois Silatchom – MBA Faculty & Kirstie Szlasa – Director of Technology & Processes What: “ Enhancing Student Learning with Elluminate” – So you’ve been hearing a lot about Elluminate and/or have attended a