Exploring Virtual Worlds as a Tool for Management Education & Development
PDW No. 272: Saturday August 8th 2009 1.10 – 3.50pm
Hyatt Regency <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Chicago</st1:city></st1:place>, Columbian
In advance of the Academy of Management annual meeting 2009, I would like to draw your attention to a PDW we will be running entitled 'Exploring Virtual Worlds as a Tool for Management Education and Development' which you may find of interest.
This PDW is designed to introduce the potential opportunities offered by virtual world environments to management educators and practitioners. In it we will explore the use of the Second Life virtual world environment as a learning tool for skills development. Participants will hear about the ways in which this technology is already being used by the PDW's facilitators at the Open University, and will have the opportunity to participate in 'hands on' activities using a virtual world environment for skills practice. From this, the group will be encouraged to discuss the potential uses and ideas they envisage for virtual world technology within management education and practice.
Emerging virtual world technology presents an innovative new medium that educators and practitioners can use to enrich their teaching toolkit. Whilst the application of this technology in management education and development is still in its infancy, it presents exciting opportunities for teaching and research. Initial findings of those who have pioneered research in this area indicate that there is potential value to be gained for management scholars and practitioners in both distance education and traditional education settings.
The benefits of using virtual worlds as environments for learning have been extolled by a number of researchers, particularly in providing a "real world quality" to developmental activities (e.g. Jones, 2007; Fortney, 2007). These benefits, combined with the current global economic climate, an increasing focus on the environmental impact of travel, and the growth in public profile of virtual worlds, suggest that learning environments of this form are worth investigating by educators and development practitioners alike. This said, as with all new innovations, virtual worlds have their sceptics. Criticism around game playing and concerns of using the technology are highlighted as potential areas of risk. As interest in, and the use of, virtual worlds as a tool for learning and teaching increases, this is an important debate to be had by educators and practitioners.
In addition to using virtual worlds as a distance learning tool, The Open University has completed a number of pilot studies blending virtual worlds into traditional learning and development workshops led by the session organiser and facilitators. These pilots initially explored whether a virtual role-play experience in Second Life, as an alternative approach to engaging those less comfortable with role-play practice, could provide a similar level of learning outcomes as more traditional methods of skills practice. Through conducting and evaluating these pilot interventions we became aware of a greater potential for the virtual role-play within a real life setting than we originally conceived. It appeared that learners not only practiced the techniques for giving feedback within the confines of the virtual role-play in-world, but that this stretched further to the group interaction with each other in the real-world. This was observed in the form of peer debate and feedback on ideas for taking the in-world conversation forward. This discovery of two emergent strands of parallel learning within the activity has enthused us to extend our study to continue the exploration of this technology for development.
With best wishes,
Steph
Stephanie Broadribb
Assistant Director - HR Development
Direct line: 01908 653 385
Email: s.c.broadribb@open.ac.uk
The Open University
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