M3 – MUVEs, Moodle and Microblogging: Communities on the move

Outline Project Description

M3 will explore the potential of Moodle, Microblogging (Twitter) and Second Life with 3 student groups to enable a comparative analysis of the integrated use of these tools and environments in 3 individual learning contexts. The first 2 groups will be aimed at language learning communities; one involving primarily face-to-face interaction, and the other learning at a distance online and potentially, on the move. The final group will be recruited from interested parties from Second Life and/or JISC communities. A particular focus will on the opportunity to develop intercultural skills. A Twitter plug-in (microblogging tool) will be one key deliverable of the project.

Aims and Objectives

The aims of the M3 project are to:

• Explore the use of social networking tools to create a ubiquitous and personalised learning environment.
• Build on current work within the Second Life (MUVE) community as a next generation emergent technology to create an immersive learning experience.
• Adapt an existing Moodle course to create a hybrid Moodle/Second Life solution, that could potentially enable the transition to a course taught exclusively in Second Life.
• Adapt existing class activities and learning objects (LOs) for use with microblogging and the SL environment.
• Use microblogging, (Twitter), to enable a convergent technology to promote discourse within the learner community, and to enable participation through a variety of tools.
• Explore the potentials of the Twitter tool with a final community of learners based outside of language learning.

Benefits:

• Enhance the online experience of a group of international students on a pre-arrival course by adding a 3D dimension to their language learning and acculturation to British academic life.
• Introduce a group of learners taking a professional development MA to the educational potential of new technologies. (MA in English Language Teaching or Applied Linguistics with an option in Learner Autonomy)
• Develop an appropriate convergent technology to offer learners a choice of communication tools that link their community of practice. (e.g. Twitter - a microblogging service, blogs, Moodle and the Second Life platforms.
• Support a community using web 2.0 and social software and to offer the opportunity to maintain contact outside of the Second Life or Moodle environments, for example whilst travelling.
• Examine the potential application of next generation emergent technologies (in social media, ubiquitous computing and personalised environments) for education.
• Identify more precisely what the benefits might be for learners engaged in a shared learning purpose.


Diagram 1: The M3 project can offer a means to keep a virtual learning community connected through personalised delivery and contribution of content as shown in the diagram below.

New Media Consortium (2007) The Horizon Report http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2007_Horizon_Report.pdf