SLurtles: Supporting constructionist learning in Second Life

Abstract

Constructionism places an emphasis on the process of constructing shareable artefacts. Many virtual worlds, such as Second Life, provide learners with tools for the construction of objects and hence may facilitate in-world constructionist learning experiences. However, the construction tools available present learners with a significant barrier (or 'high-floor') for the novice to first master. To address this problem, this paper presents the design concepts, first implementation and analysis of SLurtles (programmable turtles in Second Life), easy-to-use, programmable construction tools for use in Second Life. During a pilot study 24 postgraduate learners in pairs and working at distance from one another, programmed SLurtles to create interactive installations in Second Life over four weeks. Open interviews were conducted, chat logs recorded and learners artefacts and reflections were collected and analysed using qualitative methods. Findings show that SLurtles provide learners with a programmable, low-floor, high-ceiling and wide-wall construction tool, which supported their construction of a wide range of complex artefacts as part of a constructionist learning experience in Second Life.

Exploring Second Life as a Learning Environment for Computer Programming

“…Girvan & Savage (2010) have argued the alignment between affordances of SL and constructivist pedagogies. SL tools which afford the construction of persistent objects use features of this pedagogy (Girvan, Tangney, & Savage, 2013). In line with improved pedagogical approaches in computer programming, preliminary data suggest that SL provides a constructivist environment for building skills and knowledge.…”

“…In constructivist approach, learners build on their existing knowledge by applying prior knowledge to solve real-world problems (Hadjerrouit, 2008). This approach to learning focuses on the process of creating and sharing artefacts which are personally meaningful (Girvan, Tangney, & Savage, 2013). Girvan & Savage (2010) have argued the alignment between affordances of SL and constructivist pedagogies.…”

“…Experiential learning as defined by Kolb (1984) consists of a cycle of the following stages: concrete experience, reflect on experience, abstract conceptualization and an active experience. Girvan et al (2013) have mapped stages of experiential learning to the stages in creating programmable artefacts in SL. LSL is the native programming tool in SL but has a steep learning curve for a novice.…”

“…It is a visual environment which employs the drag-and-drop approach to create blocks of script outside SL; the code from S4SL is pasted into an object in SL to add behavior and interactivity to otherwise static objects. Although Girvan et al (2013) use SLurtle for creating artefacts, the mapping is identical when S4SL is used as the programming tool as shown in Figure 1.…”

“…According to Girvan et al (2013), the experiential learning cycle of Figure 1 provides learners with concrete experience which they can observe and reflect upon. The learners can reassess the code by comparing the visualization at the concrete experience stage with the original plan.…”