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Collaboration and Teaching in a Virtual World - Carolina Online Teacher Program

This course is an elective in the Carolina Online Teacher Program.

This course is part of LEARN NC's catalog of online courses for teachers. Please see the current offerings at the bottom of this page for information about when it may next be taught.

About this course

  • Audience: teachers

Whether they’re assisting their teammates in a tactical, military battle against an opposing team in Halo or working together to slay a fierce monster in the depths of a dungeon in World of Warcraft, our students are well-acquainted with collaboration in a virtual environment.

Students today use virtual environments for entertainment with no thought to the extent of real collaboration taking place. With groups ranging from just two or three to a group of forty or more, our students engage in intense problem-solving situations. These situations require not only reflexes but analytical thinking, adaptability, and the necessity to work collaboratively with others from around the world to accomplish their goals. Now that’s learning 21st Century skills!

So, how do we as educators challenge students and maintain their focus with our teaching? And can we utilize the same potential of these MUVEs (multi-user virtual environments) for teaching and collaborating with each other?

Prerequisites

  • Blackboard or Moodle Training or approved substitute
  • Teaching Online Courses
  • Facilitating Online Collaboration

Course objectives

In this course, we will venture into the virtual world together exploring things such as:

  • the history of virtual worlds
  • the concepts and vocabulary of virtual worlds
  • online etiquette in these environments
  • which virtual worlds are out there and which hold the most potential for education
  • ways that educators can harness the collaborative and educational power of virtual environments
  • Second Life

Time commitment

Participants can expect to spend approximately 2-3 hours per week working on this course, which includes three 1.5-hour virtual field trips in Second Life.

Current offerings

Begins February 11.

This course is open for enrollment. Enroll in this course