Gemma Tombs

Situating pedagogies, positions and practices in immersive virtual worlds

Background: The literature on immersive virtual worlds and e-learning to date largely indicates that technology has led the pedagogy. Although rationales for implementing e-learning have included flexibility of provision and supporting diversity, none of these recommendations has helped to provide strong pedagogical location. Furthermore, there is little, if any, exploration of the kinds of e-learning spaces that are commonly adopted in higher education or the rationale for their use. Purpose: This article explores the current arguments for the use of immersive virtual worlds in higher education and examines the impact the use of such environments is having upon teachers and teaching. Design and methods: A comprehensive literature search and review was undertaken by a team of researchers in order to explore issues of pedagogy, staff role and digital literacies, and explore perspectives that might inform the higher education community about views on the use of immersive virtual worlds. Conclusions: It is suggested that an exploration of digital literacies and the use of pedagogically informed models may offer higher education some purchase on the complex issues and implications of using such immersive virtual worlds for learning.

Implementing the liquid curriculum: the impact of virtual world learning on higher education

This paper presents findings from a large-scale study which explored the socio-political impact of teaching and learning in virtual worlds on UK higher education. Three key themes emerged with regard to constructing curricula for virtual world teaching and learning, namely designing courses, framing practice and locating specific student needs. The authors argue that the findings indicate that ‘liquid learning’ and ‘liquid curricula’ are central concepts and practices that can be used to democratise the way technology-enhanced learning can and should be integrated into higher education.

Beyond robotic wastelands of time: Abandoned pedagogical agents and new pedalled pedagogies

Chatbots, known as pedagogical agents in educational settings, have a long history of use, beginning with Alan Turings work. Since then online chatbots have become embedded into the fabric of technology. Yet understandings of these technologies are inchoate and often untheorised. Integration of chatbots into educational settings over the past five years suggests an increase in interest in the ways in which chatbots might be adopted and adapted for teaching and learning. This article draws on historical literature and theories that to date have largely been ignored in order to (re)contextualise two studies that used responsive evaluation to examine the use of pedagogical agents in education. Findings suggest that emotional interactions with pedagogical agents are intrinsic to a users sense of trust, and that truthfulness, personalisation and emotional engagement are vital when using pedagogical agents to enhance online learning. Such findings need to be considered in the light of ways in which notions of learning are being redefined in the academy and the extent to which new literacies and new technologies are being pedalled as pedagogies in ways that undermine what higher education is, is for, and what learning means.