Learning at the Interstices; Locating Practical Philosophies for Understanding Physical/virtual Inter-spaces

Virtual worlds are relatively recent developments, and so it is tempting to believe that they need to be understood through newly developed theories and philosophies. However, humans have long thought about the nature of reality and what it means to be “real.” This paper examines the three persistent philosophical concepts of Metaxis, Liminality and Space that have evolved across more than 2000 years of meditation, contemplation and reflection. Our particular focus here is on the nature of the interface between the virtual and the physical: at the interstices, and how the nature of transactions and transitions across those interfaces may impact upon learning. This may, at first, appear to be an esoteric pursuit, but we ground our arguments in primary and secondary data from research studies in higher education

Evaluating a Second Life PBL Demonstrator Project: What Can We Learn?

This article reports the findings of a demonstrator project to evaluate how effectively Immersive Virtual Worlds (IVWs) could support Problem-based Learning. The project designed, created and evaluated eight scenarios within Second Life (SL) for undergraduate courses in health care management and paramedic training. Evaluation was primarily qualitative, using illuminative evaluation which provided multiple perspectives through interviews, focus groups and questionnaires with designers, facilitators, learning technologists and students. Results showed that SL provided a rich, engaging environment which enhanced authenticity of the scenarios, though there were issues of access and usability. The article concludes by drawing together the lessons learned which will inform educators who seek to design and develop learning scenarios in this medium

Mapping Learning and Game Mechanics for Serious Games Analysis in Engineering Education

In a world where students are increasing digitally tethered to powerful, ‘always on’ mobile devices, new models of engagement and approaches to teaching and learning are required from educators. Serious Games (SG) have proved to have instructional potential but there is still a lack of methodologies and tools not only for their design but also to support game analysis and assessment. This paper explores the use of SG to increase student engagement and retention. The development phase of the Circuit Warz game is presented to demonstrate how electronic engineering education can be radically reimagined to create immersive, highly engaging learning experiences that are problem-centered and pedagogically sound. The Learning Mechanics–Game Mechanics (LM-GM) framework for SG game analysis is introduced and its practical use in an educational game design scenario is shown as a case study

Extending the Activity Theory Based Model for Serious Games Design in Engineering to Integrate Analytics

Serious Games (SG) have been shown to have instructional potential and a number of formal models, frameworks and methodologies have emerged to support their design and analysis. The Activity Theory-based Model of Serious Games (ATMSG) facilitates a systematic and detailed representation of educational SG describing how game elements are connected together to contribute to pedagogical goals. This paper proposes and presents an extension to the ATMSG framework to facilitate the identification, selection and integration of analytics into serious games. A practical example of the approach in use in the analysis and design phase of a SG for engineering is demonstrated

Teaching Threshold Concepts in Virtual Reality: Exploring the Conceptual Requirements for Systems Design.

In a complex world students need to be equipping with a range of capabilities that will enable them to be critical and flexible learners and citizens. The central research objective in this paper is to explore the argument that virtual reality (VR) technologies, collaborative learning approaches and recognition of the values and importance of thresholds to learning are components that can equip students in and for the future. Threshold concepts are specific concepts which are identified as essential in the acquisition of thinking, learning and communication of understanding within a specific subject of learning. Threshold experiences occur when learners identify moments of “learning leaps” which are cognitive transformations or changes in conceptual role for the learner, enabling them to work at higher levels of abstraction and creativity. Virtual reality technology is increasingly applied in education and can be used to test multiple threshold concepts and applied to open problems that allow for low-stress and real-time interactions as well as supporting collaborative groups with rapid interactions. Applications built on VR can engage, immerse, and guide learners in ways not yet undertaken in the education of threshold concepts. Through literature review we explore the definitions of threshold concepts, VR technologies, and the opportunities for teaching threshold concepts using VR technologies. We additionally predict possible limitations of the technologies. Further, we propose a systems design approach as informed by our literature review

Barriers to non-residential respite care for adults with moderate to complex needs: A UK perspective.

Respite aims to alleviate the stress and burden of caring for someone with an intellectual disability and/or autism. Respite can take place in a number of different ways, but most commonly occurs in a residential setting. Based on survey and interview data with carers (CAs), service users and stakeholders (STs) in a northern city in England, this article explores some of the perceived or actual barriers to availing 'non-residential' respite. A number of barriers to non-residential respite are identified. Residential respite appears to be the default conceptualization of 'respite' for carers, service users and stakeholders. Persuading carers, service users and stakeholders to give up the familiarity and safety of residential respite in favour of a non-residential alternative will be challenging unless those involved are more informed. Limitations and directions for future research are suggested

Using Enterprise Education to Prepare Healthcare Professional Graduates for the Real-world

Objectives: Every year, HEIs around the world provide an increasing number of graduates with professional degrees in various areas of healthcare including for example medicine, pharmacy, dentistry and podiatry. In most cases, these graduates will get the opportunity to develop a range of generic transferable skills during their HE. Yet, many of these become self-employed or responsible for managing a business, but are not always exposed to curricula that develop their awareness of the concepts of enterprise and entrepreneurship and their role in developing economies and societies, and, thus, do not have the necessary range of enterprise skills that they will need in the real-world, whether employed or self-employed. This paper investigates the extent to which Enterprise Education (EE) is applied at professional health schools at HEIs to develop graduates’ ‘soft’ and ‘functional’ enterprise skills, and how effective the process of delivering this education is. Prior work: Previous literature mainly deals with the application of EE through business and management schools, rather than professional ones. Yet, there is a call for researching EE and skills with more focus on exploring the methods and objectives of specific disciplines. At the same time, research investigating learning in professional degrees focuses almost entirely on the development of technical skills related to the discipline, without a general perspective on developing a wider range of enterprise skills. Approach: The study draws on a qualitative research study in the pharmacy education context. Personal interviews with pharmacy employers and academics were carried out, and thematic analysis was applied to identify themes and codes. Results: Despite that experiential and interactive learning approaches, which can support the development of graduates’ enterprise skills, are applied quite often at pharmacy schools, the application of these approaches is focused on discipline-related material and, therefore, can only support the development of graduates’ ‘soft’ enterprise skills. However, there appears to be resistance against developing graduates’ ‘functional’ enterprise skills in pharmacy disciplines, especially in light of the lack of awareness of the concept of EE among academics. The study offers some possible opportunities/propositions that could facilitate the development of more enterprising healthcare graduates, while highlighting the importance of raising the awareness of academics in this regard and embedding EE as part of schools’ philosophies. Implication: This study should help professional health schools at HEIs decide more accurately on how to develop their graduates’ ‘soft’ and ‘functional’ enterprise skills, and address the needs of the real-world. Value: This study directs the attention of HEIs to support developing professional graduates who are ready for the real-world, and who can support the growth and success of any organisation whether employed or self-employed

Problem-based learning approaches in meteorology

Problem-Based Learning, despite recent controversies about its effectiveness, is used extensively as a teaching method throughout higher education. In meteorology, there has been little attempt to incorporate Problem-Based Learning techniques into the curriculum. Motivated by a desire to enhance the reflective engagement of students within a current field course module, this project describes the implementation of two test Problem-Based Learning activities and testing and improvement using several different and complementary means of evaluation. By the end of a 2-year program of design, implementation, testing, and reflection and re-evaluation, two robust, engaging activities have been developed that provide an enhanced and diverse learning environment in the field course. The results suggest that Problem-Based Learning techniques would be a useful addition to the meteorology curriculum and suggestions for courses and activities that may benefit from this approach are included in the conclusions

The Practice of Thresholds: Autonomy in Clinical Education Explored Through Variation Theory and the Threshold Concepts Framework

This paper demonstrates a practical dimension to the discussion about threshold concepts. Threshold concepts have thus far mostly been acknowledged to elucidate learning processes mainly connected to theoretical concepts. By exploring situations that prompted experiences of autonomy and authenticity in clinical learning, findings showed how a practical experience could have the same power to transform thinking and identity as theoretical thresholds and serve as a trigger for transformational learning, therefore making the discussion about ‘practical thresholds' or thresholds in practice possible. The present study explores situations that prompted autonomy and authenticity, and offers context for and substance to these situations by adopting variation theory and the threshold concept framework. In order to learn more about situations that prompt experiences of autonomy and authenticity, and create prerequisites for such experiences, this paper examines how students discern and interpret these situations by analysing them through variation theory and the threshold concept framework