Collaborative Virtual Environments to Support Communication and Community in Internet-Based Distance Education

Abstract

Executive SummaryIn this paper we discuss the use of modern information and communication technologies for distance education (DE) purposes. We argue that current technologies and implementations do not adequately support the key concepts of communication and community that many practitioners believe to be important, particularly if modern pedagogies such as constructivism are to be supported. We propose that collaborative virtual environments (CVEs), which are computer-enabled, distributed virtual spaces or places in which people can meet and interact with others, with agents and with virtual objects, are appropriate tools for improving DE. We discuss the current developments in the areas of CVEs in particular and in computer supported co-operative work (CSCW) in general. We also note those areas in which the majority of CVEs implemented to date have not reached their full potential for DE support, discuss current thought regarding online community, and outline a proposed CVE-based system for DE. The architecture of a CVE should be based on the pedagogical requirements of the community and include three distinct types of virtual space: collaborative zones, common student campus, and lecture rooms. With proper design, a CVE should greatly assist the development of a productive learning community in which students' social, academic, and collaborative needs are met.

Collaborative E-Learning: Towards Designing an Innovative Architecture for an Educational Virtual Environment

“…Furthermore, compared to traditional methods, there are other significant characteristics of VR that could be leveraged for supporting education including the following (Laister, 2002;Bouras, et al 2008;Redfern et al, 2002;Seely et al 2008):  High levels of interactivity that VR allows: Since most people learn faster by "doing", the VR system provides significantly higher levels of interactivity than other computerbased systems. Similarly, since the interfaces are intuitive and easy to use, the degree of interactivity could be very beneficial.…”

Exploration of Qualitative Evidence: Towards Construction of Maturity Model for E-learning

“…Redfern and Naughton (2002) found that Collaborative virtual environments have the prospective to enable innovative and valuable distance teaching techniques and it should be based on the pedagogical requirements of the students' communities. Higgins (2002) agrees and highlights that E-learning will only be successful if it is based on sound educational approaches.…”

Understanding the Roles of Knowledge Sharing and Trust in Online Learning Communities

“…Existing studies in online collaboration show that virtual communication patterns correspond in some fashion to real-life communication [28,29]. As in F2F communication, members of an OLC should be able to state what they think, comment on what others have said, collaborate on common statements, and share information in many forms.…”