Project by Paulo Frias, Ricardo Cruz and Ricardo Fernandes - Portuguese as a second language through virtual worlds. Presented at CICE - Canada International Conference on Education - http://www.ciceducation.org/Ciceducation/CICE-2010/

1. University of Porto Portugal

2. Communication Sciences University of Porto Portugal Second Language Teaching in Virtual Worlds: The Case of European College Students under the Erasmus Programme Paulo Frias, Ricardo Cruz, Ricardo Fernandes

3. What are virtual worlds (VWs)? What is Second Life (SL)? Why should we use them in our teaching practice?

4. University of Porto sim in Second Life

5. What are virtual worlds (VWs)? Hotel lobby simulation at the U.Porto sim

6. An electronic space in wich real experiences happen (Mc Luhan, 1964) What are virtual worlds (VWs)? Hotel lobby simulation at the U.Porto sim

7. What is Second Life? source: www.secondlife.com

8. What is Second Life? source: www.secondlife.com • Participants may develop simulated environments. • Every object in SL is created by its users.

9. Why should teachers use VWs?

10. Why should teachers use VWs? • Participants may develop simulated environments. • Every object in SL is created by its users.

11. Target • ERASMUS Programme – European Scheme for the Mobility for University Students

12. Target • The University of Porto is one of the most activies in accepting foreign students. source: Erasmus Mobility Report, November, 2009

13. Are VWs here to stay?

14. Are VWs here to stay? source: www.secondlife.com • World of Warcraft and The Sims were pioneers • Rising of new forms of interactive entertainment

15. How was Second Life born?

16. How was Second Life born? • Linden Lab’s goal was to develop hardware to allow world immersion experiences

17. E-learning in Second Life • Second language acquisition may be a challenging task.

18. Three-dimensionality

19. Strategies • Second language acquisition may be a challenging task.

20. Strategies • Learning by exploring the avatar

21. Strategies • Learning by colaboration

22. Strategies • Learning by being

23. Sociology and virtual worlds

24. New education paradigm • Challenging, dynamic and complex learning milieu where avatars are a new type of social agents

25. Virtual Identity • New age of ‘interaction face-to-face’ (Thompson, 1995): interaction through a personalized 3D avatar

26. Immersion • Chance to share a history, a memory, so, ‘chance of building social rules’ (Turkle, 1999)

27. Active learning • Pedagogical environment enhance learning skills • Motivate students to engage on the tasks

28. Theoretical framework • Constructivism; multiple intelligences.

29. Theoretical proposal

30. Objectives • Understand communicational processes in Second Life, in a context of second language learning

31. Hypothesis • • Students can learn a foreign language in a VW • Students can overcome cultural limitations and expectations usual in traditional classrooms

32. Methodology • • Students can overcome cultural limitations and expectations usual in traditional classrooms • Focus group: sustainability of the project • Lessons: computer-mediated communication

33. Applicability Voice streams

34. Applicability Distribution of handouts and web browsing

35. Applicability Holodecks

36. Applicability Holodecks

37. Contents Holodecks

38. Contents Holodecks

39. Contents Holodecks

40. Contents Holodecks

41. Contents Holodecks

42. Contents Holodecks

43. Contents Holodecks

44. Contents Holodecks

45. Discussion

46. Advantages • • Students can overcome cultural limitations and expectations usual in traditional classrooms • E-learning in VWs reduces costs • Stimulates the diversification of courses offered

47. Advantages • • Students can overcome cultural limitations and expectations usual in traditional classrooms • Formation outside the traditional classroom context • No rules: space, class attendance, time and rhythm

48. Disadvantages Bandwidth restrictions

49. Disadvantages First moments in-world can be daunting

50. Disadvantages Absence of nonverbal cues

51. Disadvantages Technically challenging for the teacher

52. Expected Results

53. Expected Results • • Students can overcome cultural limitations and expectations usual in traditional classrooms • Superior levels of interactions and assimilation • Engagement: reciprocity and cooperation • Active learning

54. Expected results One trial lesson already with students