As an instructional designer, I would suggest that the teacher use a distance learning technology that deals with Virtual Worlds. Virtual reality is not a new concept. It has been used in many different scenarios. For example, the military uses virtual reality to train their soldiers as if they were in a real war situation. “Virtual worlds appear to have (as they have for several pre-World decades) exciting potential for placing students in real life applications of course content; for example in problem-solving situations, especially experiences in other places and times that would otherwise be inaccessible…” (Simonson, 2012).
The distance learning technology that I will suggest is Active Worlds (AW). Active Worlds is a 3D virtual reality platform. Those who use Active Worlds can assign themselves a name, create an Avatar, a virtual person and build environments from a selection of objects. In addition, users of Active Worlds are able to chat with one another, own worlds and universes and develop 3D content.
I feel as an instructional design this will be a great platform because the students in the class are unable to go to the Museum to check out the artwork but the can go to the Museum virtually. They will be able to create a 3D image of the Museum and walk around and view the painting, as well as, have a class critique of the artwork. The Museum is being brought to them in a virtual sense.
There are external sources that showcase how Active Worlds have been used as an asynchronous formal learning environment at the University of Colorado-Boulder: Business Computing Skills 1000. The second way in which Active Worlds has been used is in a synchronous informal learning environment, “Magine’s 3D Object Modeling Class” (Dickey, 2005). The sources are cited in the British Journal of Technology.
References:
Dickey, Michele D. Three-Dimensional Virtual Worlds and Distance Learning: Two Cases Studies of Active Worlds as a Medium For Distance Education. British Journal of Educational Technology Vol. 36 No 3 2005 pg. 439–451.
Simonson, Michael. Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Education. Boston: Pearson Education, 2012.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Worlds
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