Immersive education spaces using open wonderland: From pedagogy through to practice

This chapter presents a case study of the use of virtual world environment in UK Higher Education. It reports on the activities carried out as part of the SIMiLLE (System for an Immersive and Mixed reality Language Learning) project to create a culturally sensitive virtual world to support language learning (funded by the UK government JISC program). The SIMiLLE project built on an earlier project called MiRTLE, which created a mixed-reality space for teaching and learning. The aim of the SIMiLLE project was to investigate the technical feasibility and pedagogical value of using virtual environments to provide a realistic socio-cultural setting for language learning interaction. The chapter begins by providing some background information on the Wonderland platform and the MiRTLE project, and then outlines the requirements for SIMiLLE, and how these requirements were supported through the use of a virtual world based on the Open Wonderland virtual world platform. The chapter then presents the framework used for the evaluation of the system, with a particular focus on the importance of incorporating pedagogy into the design of these systems, and how to support good practice with the ever-growing use of 3D virtual environments in formalized education. Finally, the results from the formative and summative evaluations are summarized, and the lessons learnt are presented, which can help inform future uses of immersive education spaces within Higher Education. © 2011, IGI Global

MOOCs in the Language Classroom: Using MOOCs as Complementary Materials to Support Self-Regulated Language Learning

In this chapter, the author discusses the role of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in the field of foreign language education. It examines the relationship between MOOCs and self-regulated learning, and goes on to explore the repurposing of content-based MOOCs as complementary materials to foster students' self-regulated behaviour and practice of the target language inside and out the language classroom. A research project that has explored self-regulated language learning in a blended context with content-based MOOCs is also discussed here, with particular reference to the self-regulatory strategies employed by a group of language students at University level. A series of recommendations that supports the use of content-based MOOCs as part of face-to-face language courses are provided at the end of this chapter