Abstract:

The introduction of a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) in conjunction with a Multi-User Virtual Environment in 3D (Second Life), at an institution of higher education can provide benefits and potentially related to the improvement of the quality of teaching and learning. The interaction with the other subjects, represented by avatars, and the access to academic content using the Moodle Platform, aims to create the illusion of a three-dimensional space. The investigation of this innovation belongs to a study conducted by the research group PSITIC (Social Pedagogy and Information Technology and Communication). From the didactic point of view, the use of VLE provides technological support to teachers and students to optimize some stages of the teaching and learning processes: planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluating the curriculum. The aim of this study is double: firstly, it provides information about the technological characteristics and psycho-pedagogical needs of teachers and students in the use of virtual media, and secondly, it provides understanding of their interactions by using the description, analysis and observation of the facilitators and studying the difficulties encountered by students and teachers in these new virtual models of social interaction. The results allow us to draw a guide for teachers to move to these new types of environment and identify issues such as: attitudes, skills, actions, interactions, difficulties, fears, questions, threats, and motivations, among others. The research is designated as an evaluative case study. The require data is collected through questionnaires, interviews and observation of teachers, students, PSITIC group members and the system administrator. As a result of the research, this work presents a comparative table of main advantages and disadvantages related with the platform Sloodle (Simulation Linked Object Oriented Dynamic Learning). The findings show that offering to teachers and students, technologies like learning environments integrated virtual domains, such as Second Life, is a challenge and it is impossible to incorporate them into the university without a technological, pedagogical-didactic and socio-critical training.

Keywords:

Virtual classrooms, Educational environment, Multi-User Virtual Environment in 3D, Virtual Learning Environment, Guide for teachers.