Virtual Worlds and Game Based Learning

I am becoming really interested in Virtual Worlds and I am wondering how they may fit in with Web 2.0 technologies. Should Virtual Worlds be differentiated from Web 2.0 technologies? Some of the game-based learning that is being developed these days easily incorporates web 2.0 technologies and I have seen them noticing the effectiveness of meta-tag usage. They may all fit together soon and eliminate our need for these concrete definitions. I personally think that the potential for online/mobile learning is limitless and I’m excited about some of the new tech coming out. I don’t think it will be long before we start seeing some more interesting educational augmented reality/virtual reality games that fit the mobile platform. I am not completely impressed with Second life, SimCity, or any of the other VW educational tools that are currently on the market. World of Warcraft is pretty neat and I think that Miamiopia is a pretty good one for kids, but it just seems like the tech companies are not exactly focusing their energy on education at this time. I actually have some really good ideas that could make a lot of money, but I don’t really know enough about programming to develop anything myself… I feel like it is just a matter of time before VR technology replaces a lot of these web 2.0 tools with a more sophisticated and interactive mode of communication.

“Anyone who makes a distinction between games and learning doesn’t know the first thing about either” – Marshall McLuhan. In my opinion, this is truly the future of online learning. When learners can play a game, and not only enjoy themselves, but have an amazing time and thrive, then there will be no forced learning. Motivational strategies will be a lot easier to incorporate and we will have an entire planet filled with active and engaged learners. For some reason, I see these learning games of the future incorporated with social media and web 2.0 in a way – a future where learners all collaborate, socialize, connect, share, synthesize, and create wonderful things together. I am excited about the possibilities of the future and I am really interested in exploring new areas of development in this topic. What do you all think that future holds for these learning technologies? Do you think we will soon need to create new categories for some of this stuff?


Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 18, 2017 at 3:30 PM

    “Anyone who makes a distinction between games and learning doesn’t know the first thing about either” – Marshall McLuhan-I like this quote and I HATE forced learning. I think there is definitely potential in what you are attempting to create, but I am not so confident it would be implemented in schools nation wide. Perhaps it would start off as an at home kind of thing after a good run in the homes of users and perhaps some tutoring centers it would start getting adopting into wealthier schools. I like that you want to make learning fun and engaging-I think that helps makes the learning process more natural and a more natural learning process leads to better retention amongst learners. Best of luck :)

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