Kids grow up this day playing games and there is of course a big addiction to game playing. Could this be one reason why so many schools are not yet willing to throw out the red carpet to virtual world as part of the everyday learning?
As Oblinger (2008) points out, we have to also understand that not "all students are attracted to technology" (p. 20). I think this could be another disadvantage because we, too many times, assume every kids growing up has a computer and/or video game system and they love everything about technology. In reality, that might not be the case.
Many students I've worked with at my DE Department have a hard time using a computer and sometimes have no idea how to log into their account online or access online courses. This is why it's important to understand that "not all students have computers, not all are skilled users, and not all want to use technology" (Oblinger, 2008, p. 20). I think these students might not be ready for the virtual worlds because they are a lot more complicated.
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My son plays games like SOCOM (maybe you know it) and is a computer science major but doesn't get Second Life. He was checking it out with me the other night and tried to make me fly - he ended up dumping me in the ocean. Thankfully avatars don't seem to drown!
ReplyDeleteOne thing I think we need to take into consideration is that many schools now have computers in their schools so at least they'll have some exposure. But that doesn't mean they will embrace it and go running home to use it either because they aren't interested or they don't have the financial means to have the necessary equipment.
Sometimes we forget how fortunate we are, especially those of us who are enrolled in an online course.