Shiv on Learning

Since starting Languagelab we’ve been on a constant search for experts in teaching English in a 3D world. To our disappointment we’ve never found any ready made experts. We’ve found many brilliant people who have joined our training courses, then done some amazing R&D and become experts. But there seem to be very few grown outside our walls.

I’ve been using virtual worlds since they were first created and have developed an understanding about how effective they can be as learning tools. The majority of ESL teachers and writers I’ve encountered over the past few years have no experience of virtual worlds. As a result they try and even after spending several months (years sometimes) in SL don’t know how to make the best of the environment.

Here are my 3 tips to discovering if a person is an expert in Virtual World learning.

1. Experience – how much experience do they have of learning in Virtual Worlds. If they are a gamer then they probably have lots. If they have no experience of virtual worlds before exploring them for educational use they probably have none.

2. Research – how much research have they conducted into the subject, what tests have they done, how many test subjects did it involve?

3. Results – What are the results of their work? How much faster do students learn using their methods than anyone else’s? Where is the proof?

There are many experts in Virtual World Learning in the Serious games communities. I’ve not found any with expertise in ESL, but when it comes to learning in this sort of environment games designers really know their stuff.