09.+Immersive+World+Design+and+Theory

=Immersive World Design and Theory=

Clinical Counseling Simulations in SL - A Review
//Educational Opportunities for Clinical Counseling Simulations in Second Life by Rockinson-Szapkiw, Amanda J. and Walker, Victoria SL seems to have overcome the limitations of moving interpersonal skills training to online and made SL based training mimic face-to-face training. First of all, counseling role-play exercises can take place in a simulated counseling lab in SL. The SL facility was designed based on the needs of instructors and learners. There are classrooms, meeting areas and counseling labs. To provide privacy, confidentiality and accreditation, the facility required user permission to enter the building. Other learning opportunities included quizzes, PowerPoint presentations and videos. Educators could provide office hours inworld. Instruction can take place in various formats, such as lectures and discussions. The instruction, like real life classes, starts with a short lecture and demonstration, followed by student role-play practice. One very strong argument why SL is a value added compared to traditional instruction was that some situations can be practiced in a ** safe ** environment, for instance interacting with a difficult patient. Also the ** private chat ** feature allowed the instructor to provide feedback to students during the session in progress. SL is truly comparable to real life instruction with its features, such as a life-like immersive virtual environment, voice chat, private chat, avatars to be present. To create such a virtual learning environment one has to face many pedagogical and technical design issues. -huge learning curve to learn SL software (tutorials should be provided) -new methods need to be used by educators and ISDs (advanced skills must be acquired via in-world courses, books) - system requirements, such as connectivity, advanced computer, headsets. SL is valuable to mimic face-to-face instruction. Questions remain, such as weather the skills acquired in SL can be applied to real life situations, or if the benefits outweigh its limitations. I think we can have the same questions about the face-to-face instruction. A role-play in the classroom is still just a role-play. I am more concerned about the technical limitations, which may delay the wide acceptance of SL as an alternative learning/teaching tool.

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