Using virtual worlds for online role-play

The paper explores the use of virtual worlds to support online role-play as a collaborative activity. This paper describes some of the challenges involved in building online role-play environments in a virtual world and presents some of the ideas being explored by the project in the role-play applications being developed. Finally we explore how this can be used within the context of immersive education and 3D collaborative environments

The Power of Giving Feedback and Receiving Feedback in Peer Assessment

Despite well-documented promises of peer assessment, it is still unclear how peer as-sessment works and what contributes to students\u2019 learning gains. In order to identify cognitive processes that lead to learning enhancement, this study examined 41 stu-dents\u2019 responses to online surveys and also their online written interactions when they participated in a peer assessment activity. Data analysis revealed that students were en-gaged in various learning processes in the phases of giving and receiving feedback. While students acknowledged that both phases contributed to their learning, a greater number of students indicated that they perceived more learning benefits from giving feedback rather than receiving feedback. Interpretations and implications were dis-cussed

Game-Based Teaching Methodology and Empathy in Ethics Education

This article describes the experience of a group of educators participating in a graduate course in ethics. Playing role playing games and the work accompanying that play were the predominate methodology employed in the course. An accompanying research study investigated the lived experiences of the course participants. Themes that emerged from interview data included student engagement, participants’ applications, empathy development, and reactions to professor modeling

Living City, A Collaborative Browser-Based Massively Multiplayer Online Game

This work presents the design and implementation of our Browser-based Massively Multiplayer Online Game, Living City, a simulation game fully developed at the University of Messina. Living City is a persistent and real-time digital world, running in the Web browser environment and accessible from users without any client-side installation. Today Massively Multiplayer Online Games attract the attention of Computer Scientists both for their architectural peculiarity and the close interconnection with the social network phenomenon. We will cover these two aspects paying particular attention to some aspects of the project: game balancing (e.g. algorithms behind time and money balancing); business logic (e.g., handling concurrency, cheating avoidance and availability) and, finally, social and psychological aspects involved in the collaboration of players, analyzing their activities and interconnections

DEVELOPING COLORING BOOKS TO ENHANCE READING COMPREHENSION COMPETENCE AND CREATIVITY

Developing a reading learning media can be an effort to increase students’ reading comprehension, but there are many teachers who do not put much attention into it. This research aimed at developing a parenting colouring book as a learning media to enhance elementary students' reading comprehension ability and creativity. The method employed was research and development as modelled by Akker. The method consists of three stages, namely analysis, design, evaluation, and revision. The parenting colouring book was firstly validated by experts on the product, which was tested in one-to-one, small groups, and field trial with third graders in one of the elementary schools in Palembang participated in this study. Data collection techniques employed were interviews, questionnaires, and tests. Finally, the study results demonstrate that the parenting-themed coloring book media are categorized as valid, practical, and having potential effect

Learning by volunteer computing, thinking and gaming: What and how are volunteers learning by participating in Virtual Citizen Science?

Citizen Science (CS) refers to a form of research collaboration that engages volunteers without formal scientific training in contributing to empirical scientific projects. Virtual Citizen Science (VCS) projects engage participants in online tasks. VCS has demonstrated its usefulness for research, however little is known about its learning potential for volunteers. This paper reports on research exploring the learning outcomes and processes in VCS. In order to identify different kinds of learning, 32 exploratory interviews of volunteers were conducted in three different VCS projects. We found six main learning outcomes related to different participants' activities in the project. Volunteers learn on four dimensions that are directly related to the scope of the VCS project: they learn at the task/game level, acquire pattern recognition skills, on-topic content knowledge, and improve their scientific literacy. Thanks to indirect opportunities of VCS projects, volunteers learn on two additional dimensions: off topic knowledge and skills, and personal development. Activities through which volunteers learn can be categorized in two levels: at a micro (task/game) level that is direct participation to the task, and at a macro level, i.e. use of project documentation, personal research on the Internet, and practicing specific roles in project communities. Both types are influenced by interactions with others in chat or forums. Most learning happens to be informal, unstructured and social. Volunteers do not only learn from others by interacting with scientists and their peers, but also by working for others: they gain knowledge, new status and skills by acting as active participants, moderators, editors, translators, community managers, etc. in a project community. This research highlights these informal and social aspects in adult learning and science education and also stresses the importance for learning through the indirect opportunities provided by the project: the main one being the opportunity to participate and progress in a project community, according to one's tastes and skills