MUVE (Multi-User Virtual Environments)
I found this video which was a nice short explanation of multi-user virtual environments (MUVE): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hirc4E73fg0
I think this video does well to introduce the concept, as well as explain some of the positive and potentially negative aspects for students and instructors. To start, a MUVE, like Second Life, allows for students who are in different locations to interact within a virtual environment. This environment, complete with avatar representation of users allows for another dimension in online synchronous communication. Certainly this concept and software can contribute to learning as a motivator. Most anyone who sees a program, like Second Life in action, is drawn to it and wants to play around themselves. This program, like many other online synchronous tools, can allow people in different locations, time zones, etc. to come together for discussion. Perhaps, with the avatars, people feel like this can be a more intimate environment than just posting on a discussion board.
When considering whether I would ever want to use a MUVE in one of my classrooms, I would start by asking what role it would play in my course and what tools it would replace. The time to train everyone to use this software, while not extreme, can be longer than many other tools. To invest so much of my time, and my students time, to learn a tool I would need to feel that the net learning gains would need to justify the inclusion of the MUVE. When considering whether this is a good learning tool to incorporate, I think it depends on the instructor’s perceived needs for a class or set of students. If an asynchronous or synchronous course was demonstrating a desire to me more intimate and interact more, than perhaps this could be a good next step. If a course of asynchronous students were enjoying their freedom to participate whenever they wanted, or if a synchronous course was happy with the tools already in use, I would not see a reason to force a program like Second Life because “it looks cool”. To just discuss a topic in a government course I am teaching, through a MUVE does not seem at this like a worthy investment of my time and resources. Concentrating on getting the most out of the tools I currently use, as well as the curriculum, would probably yield similar or better results. Perhaps MUVE’s have a better purpose in helping corporate training and company teams. Considering the time needed to train students on a MUVE, for the purpose of participating in one class, the time away from the content might not be made up with the tool. An environment, however, of adult learners working for the same company who will be working together for potentially years in different locations might be a better application of the tool.
When considering the inclusion of a MUVE within your curriculum, it is also important to consider how it will affect your students. In my opinion, tools should be adopted when it will have a positive impact on students, not where it will force students to act differently or be uncomfortable to keep up with the tool. Personally, I feel that MUVE’s can cause students to act differently than other environments, so it is up to the instructor to know their students. Some students will act similar to a face-to-face environment, while other students might be liberated and act differently with the one step barrier. Compared to other online tools, some students who enjoy the time to think before posting in an asynchronous environment might feel pressured by the MUVE, as they might be in a face-to-face course. In the end, like most technology tools, there needs to be a reason for the tool and the right matching by instructors with their student environment.
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