Experiential Learning in Virtual Worlds – A Case Study for Entrepreneurial Training

Virtual worlds offer new possibilities for computer-mediated communication and cooperation because of their threedimensional (3D)-environment, which supports immersive feelings, and because of enhanced interactive techniques. Furthermore, interfaces exist to directly connect virtual worlds with other technologies such as social software, for example wikis, blogs, social networks, and traditional e-learning tools, such as Moodle. From a didactical perspective, these characteristics greatly support innovative distance learning arrangements and are particularly suitable for transferring and gaining experiential knowledge. This paper presents a theory-based framework for the construction of learning arrangements with and in virtual worlds to impart particularly experiential learning. In order to validate the suggestions of the framework and hence, the effectiveness of virtual worlds for e-learning purposes, an e-learning concept is derived from the framework and a prototype of an experiential learning environment is set up on the basis of Second Life (SL). The learning arrangement was validated by two independent groups of students which completed the program. The evaluated satisfaction and perceived usefulness of the learning arrangement are shown and discussed in this paper

Re-Focusing - Building a Future for Entrepreneurial Education & Learning

The field of entrepreneurship has struggled with fundamental questions concerning the subject’s nature and purpose. To whom and to what means are educational and training agendas ultimately directed? Such questions have become of central importance to policy makers, practitioners and academics alike. There are suggestions that university business schools should engage more critically with the lived experiences of practising entrepreneurs through alternative pedagogical approaches and methods, seeking to account for and highlighting the social, political and moral aspects of entrepreneurial practice. In the UK, where funding in higher education has become increasingly dependent on student fees, there are renewed pressures to educate students for entrepreneurial practice as opposed to educating them about the nature and effects of entrepreneurship. Government and EU policies are calling on business schools to develop and enhance entrepreneurial growth and skill sets, to make their education and training programmes more proactive in providing innovative educational practices which help and facilitate life experiences and experiential learning. This paper makes the case for critical frameworks to be applied so that complex social processes become a source of learning for educators and entrepreneurs and so that innovative pedagogical approaches can be developed in terms both of context (curriculum design) and process (delivery methods)

Learning REAL Business Skills in a Virtual World: An Action Learning Perspective

Virtual worlds, computer-based simulated environment in which users interact via avatars, have become popular as gaming and social sites. And yet, virtual worlds are not games, but can be targeted to various objectives. One such world, Second Life (SL), is frequently used as platform for revenue generation (e.g., Anshe Chung becoming the first SL millionaire through land sales), information and knowledge sharing (e.g., Samsung show room providing product information), and learning (e.g., Ohio University’s Campus). This article describes a pilot project that leveraged these three uses, engaging business school students to develop their entrepreneurial knowledge by running a real business in SL’s virtual environment. An action learning process framework (i.e. experience, understanding, planning, and action) is used as the basic theoretical framework to analyze the resulting data, drawn from student reports and project outcomes. Considering three different domains (business, technology and virtual world environment) and the associated developed skills-set (in terms of knowledge, social, and application), we formulate a three dimensional analytical view. The findings demonstrate that virtual worlds can be used to induce students’ self learning abilities, as reflected for instance in the expression of a range of explicit knowledge concepts, drawn from experiential learning within projects

Shades of communitas: a study of soft skills programs

In societies where neoliberal individualism prevails, communal experiences nevertheless remain crucial to human life. Drawing on data from a series of soft skills programs (SSPs) for Higher Education (HE) staff, we investigated SSP social worlds, their role in navigating staff in uncertain times and points of resistance within them. We found SSPs to be distinctly performative platforms, engaging actors in various self-care and entrepreneurial activities. A complex network of relationships was established via SSPs, and group effects akin to communitas, in “lighter” and “darker” forms. Incongruities of SSPs included gender imbalances and emotional management issues, while a mismatch between managerial attempts to create positive communitas and the reality of mounting workloads and job-cuts facing HE staff were noted in this study. SSPs may help counter organizational siloism, but reflect the ambiguities within neoliberal culture and can deter staff from pursuing political modes of collective expression in the workplace

How do entrepreneurs learn and engage in an online community-of-practice? A case study approach

This paper investigates the ways in which entrepreneurs use communities of practice (CoPs) to express themselves, using narrative theory and rhetorical analysis, to gain insight into an electronic social network medium, namely, YoungEntrepreneur.com. In particular, the study focuses on CoPs themes, including why entrepreneurs engage in CoPs, what role the moderators and resident entrepreneurs can play in managing online CoPs, on communication rituals of the knowledge sharing through interactivity, and on ‘how to develop an intervention’ to maintain and stimulate entrepreneurs for engaging in an online community. Findings reveal that the topic title plays a major role in attracting people. Successful topics with successful conclusions (in terms of the original query that was answered) will not necessarily get high responses and vice versa. It is observed that the domain expert does not play a big role in keeping the discussion going. Finally, the study also discovered that entrepreneurs like to communicate in a story telling genre. A comprehensive set of engagement measurement tools are introduced to effectively measure the engagement in a virtual CoP, along with a classification to define and categorise discourse of messages in terms of content and context, which allow practitioners to understand the effectiveness of a social networking site

A COVID-19 work-integrated learning strategy for entrepreneurial mindset reflections: case study in Mexico

In the current context of COVID-19 and the limited availability of physical workplace settings for work-integrated learning (WIL), this study explores the intervention of a WIL pedagogical strategy in order to support career development learning during the pandemic. The innovative Entrepreneurial Mindset (EM) reflective model introduced at a Mexican University employs experienced entrepreneurs as professors and mentors to teach entrepreneurial mindset reflection via online modality. The effectiveness of the model as a teaching and learning tool is assessed in a class survey of 203 students. The study concludes that although the application of the EM model to the curriculum is well suited to a non-physical workplace environment, the survey to assess mindset reflections could have been conducted both at the beginning (pre survey) and at the completion (post survey) of the course, to assess any changes in mindset reflections between pre and post. However, the introduction of 'growth' mindset reflections to a curriculum is a significant contribution to WIL literature and a valid COVID-19 strategy

Virtual Reality in Higher Education: Preliminary Results from a Design-Science-Research Project

While researchers’ interest in the educational use of virtual reality (VR) has generally increased, only a few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of VR in higher education. This research-in-progress paper presents an overview of an ongoing design-science-research (DSR) project that will (1) develop a conceptual framework for the design and use of VR in higher education, and (2) evaluate the framework by means of a series of field experiments. In addition, the paper presents preliminary results from a literature re-view, so it provides a foundation for framework development. Specifically, we identify several VR design elements (e.g., interaction, feedback, and instruction) and discuss what they can contribute to the acquisition of procedural and declarative knowledge and to the development of skills such as problem-solving, communication, and collaboration. We conclude the paper with an outlook on our research agenda

Lessons Learned from an Inside-Out Flip in Entrepreneurship Education

This paper summarizes the benefits and challenges of flipping an entrepreneurship course in two ways. The conventional flip changes how lecturers and students relate to the course content by primarily affecting when and where they learn, but not necessarily how. Flipping the classroom inside-out grounds the lessons learned in the ‘real world’ by bringing in guests to help run workshops in the classroom, and by getting students to validate their business ideas outside the classroom. This inside-out flip involves additional logistical challenges. However, it appears to be a better fit with the overarching set of attributes that graduates are expected to attain, and the assessment thereof