1. Design for Meaningful
Pedagogical Practice
- in Second Life™
Mariis Mills/Marianne Riis
MUVER Lab, Aalborg University in Copenhagen, Denmark
All background pictures taken at Bryn Oh’s Immersiva

2. Agenda
1.A brief description of learning theories relevant
to pedagogical/instructional design
1.A brief description of theories behind my PhD-
research in SL
1.A brief description of some findings from my
PhD-research

3. Design for teaching and learning
- 4 major approaches

4. Pedagogical practice?
- a plethora of theories

5. Different aspects of the
Learning phenomenon (Lloyd, 2004)

6. Two main approaches to Learning
Transfer Construction
Individual Knowledge acquisition Collaborative Knowledge creation

7. Learning theories applicable to 3D VW
(White, 2010:3)

8. Questions/comments?

9. My PhD/SL research (2007-
• 2007; 6 week course on
“Design for Teaching &
Learning (TaL)”
• 2008; 6 week course on
Design for TaL
• 2009; 6 week course on
Design for TaL+ 6 week
course on PBL
• 2010; 7 week course on
Design for TaL
• 2011; 6 week course on SL +
7 week course on Design for
TaL (currently running)

10. Main research question
How does a pedagogic Community of Practice
at the Danish online postgraduate
Master's Program on ICT and Learning (MIL)
respond to remediation through
the 3D Virtual World, Second Life?
“Practice is a response to design”
(Wenger,1998:233)

11. Short answer to main RQ
3D-remediation influences the participants’:
•Sense of presence and co-presence
•Experience of meaning, identity, community, and practice
•The design strategy in terms of remediation has to oscillate
between respectful/radical
3D-remediation
changes
People,
Places, and
Practices

12. Research setting – DE/FE
MIL students MIL pedagogy
• Average age 45 Since 1974, all educational
•Professionals (PD) programs at Aalborg Uni have
been based on a Problem-
• Majority are educators (all Oriented Project-Pedagogy
levels) (POPP)
• Highly motivated 
• Self-directed •Problem formulation
• Tech confident •Practice orientation
• Used to studying •Student control
asynchronously •Joint projects/tasks
• Little, or no prior •Interdisciplinary approach
experience with VWs •Plan, act, observe, reflect
and/or games integrate theory & practice
Flexibility in relation to time, space, and curriculum

13. Research method
Redesign of a 6-week, Study based on
part-time, online participant-observation
course on “ICT and
Pedagogic Design” Primary data
Synchronous (SL/3D)
1 main teacher (me) • 130 hours
53 students Asynchronous (FC/2D)
4 research cycles in • 1.027 postings
2007-2010
Insider Action Research (AR)
1 main researcher (me)

14. Table 1. Overview of RQ and Objectives in AR cycles
First Second Third Fourth
research research research research
cycle cycle cycle cycle
- MIL07 - MIL08 - MIL09 - MIL10
Research How does a pedagogic Community of Practice at the Danish
question online postgraduate Master's Program on ICT and Learning (MIL)
respond to remediation through the 3D Virtual World, Second Life?
Research Explore SL as Study SL as Further study Further study SL as
objectives medium, and medium, and SL as medium, medium, specific
its general specific specific activities, the new
impacton this activitiesinthis activities, and assessment
community community a new method, and a
assessment change in the
methodin this overall
community communication
modein this
community

15. Table 2. Overview of Courses and Activities
MIL07 MIL08 MIL09 MIL10
Course title ICT and ICT and ICT and SL and
pedagogic pedagogic pedagogic pedagogic
design design design design
Duration 6 weeks 6 weeks 6 weeks 7 weeks
Students 22 12 8 11
On-campus 3 hour kick-off 3 hour kick-off 3 hour kick-off 6 hour kick-off
activity lecture and lecture and lecture and lecture and
hands-on hands-on hands-on hands-on
2D activity 252 postings 349 postings 217 postings 209 postings
Scheduled 10 hours 50 hours 40 hours 30 hours
In-world
activity

16. Presence – Co-presence
-being and doing things together
Schroeder's definition of virtual reality technology/VEs:
"[a] computer-generated display that allows or compels the user
(or users) to have a feeling of being present in an environment
other than the one that they are actually in and to interact
with that environment - in short "being there" ".
(Schroeder, 1996 quoted in 2011, p. 4)
Elaborating on the technological changes that have occurred to VEs since the mid
1990's, Schroeder notes they have become networked allowing for multiple users to
share these environments (cf. MUVEs), or as he puts it allowing for users to get a sense
of being there together, and I would add of doing things together!

17. Presence in 2D vs. 3D discussions

18. Communities of Practice
(Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998 )
Becoming
Experiencing
Identity
Meaning
Learning
Communit Practice
Belonging y Doing
Joint enterprise – Shared repertoire – Mutual engagement

19. Respectful/radical remediation
(Bolter &Grusin, 1999; Tringham, Ashley & Mills, 2007)
Respectfulremediation Radicalremediation
•Objective is to •Objective is to reform prior
reproduceprior practicebasedoncriticalrevie
practicewithnoapparentcri w
tique •Innovation, alienation, and
•Tradition, familiarity, and uncertaintyarekeywords
certaintyarekeywords
•Changesareexperienced as
•Changesareexperienced major, revolutionary
as minor, transformations, and
evolutionarymodifications typicallyinvolvechange in
,and bothmodality and activities
typicallyonlyinvolvechang

20. Conceptual design model

21. Questions/comments?

22. Designfor
legitimate peripheral participation
Keywords: TLC, and patience, patience, patience
…

23. Design for
meaningful participation subject matter
Mastery of medium and
Mastery of medium

Presentation
Analysis of SL as
Newbie teaching and
Nights Peer-
Tours  learning environment 
review
Exploration •Address pedagogic 

design questions in Joint
 relation to a self-chosen reflection
target group based on 
theory/practice Individual
SLectures reflection
Visits  • Demonstrate knowledge
Studies of SL (min. 2 locations/use
of objects/NpIRL)
• Instructional elements
 • 2 hrs, incl. feedback
Mastery of subject matter
Keywords: Relevance to medium, subject matter, target group, and time

24. The People element
- respectful/radical remediation

25. The People element
- findings

26. The Place element
- respectful/radical remediation

27. The Place element
- findings

28. The Practice element
- respectful/radical remediation

29. The Practice element
- findings

30. MIL09 – joint enterprise, shared
repertoire, and mutual engagement
1. Religious field trip 2. Potential CoP for dentists
3. Shared Media for building 4. NpIRL experiences for ALS
constructors patients

31. MIL10 – joint enterprise, shared
repertoire, and mutual engagement
1. Cooperative Learning 2. Remediation strategies
3. Nurse Education 4. ADHD-patients

32. Brief summary of findings
Disadvantages Advantages
• Steep learning curve • Stimulates creativity,
• Tech demanding medium collaboration, and community-
• Time consuming medium building
• Ontological challenge – • All learning theories can be
“paper-dolls”! applied
• Espistemological/pedagogic • Facilitates critical thinking
al challenge – “Your World, • Fun and engaging – for learners
Your Imagination” & teachers
• “Your World, Your Imagination”

33. Thank You!
Final questions/comments?
References and further info 

34. References
• Bolter, J. D. &Grusin, R. (1999):Remediation. Understanding New Media. Cambridge,
MA, MIT Press.
• Lloyd, D. (2004): Integration of Instructional Design and Information Technology.
Electronic course portfolio:
http://users.accesscomm.ca/vendra/EDU%20533/Electronic%20Portfolio%20for%20
EDU%20533.htm
• Schroeder, R. (2011): Being there together. Social interaction in virtual environments.
Oxford University Press.
• Tringham, R.; Ashley, M. & Mils, S. (2007): Sensesof Places: Remediations from text
to digital performance.
http://chimeraspider.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/bet_ret_ma_sm_0907_web.pdf
• Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991):Situated Learning. Legitimate peripheral participation.
Cambridge University Press.
• Wenger, E. (1998):Communities of Practice. Learning, Meaning, and Identity.
Cambridge University Press.
• White, B. (2010): Alternative Worlds as Teaching and Learning Environments.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/w4248103223n2t60/

35. In-world mentions
IngeQunhua’sLearning Kiosks:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danish%20Visi
ons/41/213/25
Thursday Xu’sWenger Build:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danish%20Visi
ons/219/158/24
Also note:
• http://milmariis.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/another-
sl-project-wins-innovation-prize/
• http://milmariis.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/sl-
project-wins-annual-e-learning-award/

36. In-world mentions – 2:
• Okapi Island (archaeology research, education,
public
outreach):http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife
//21/205/22
• Western Front - 1917 - Training Camp 2:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife//219/198
/646
• Ovary&Testis
Tours:http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/OS
U%20Medicine/226/143/26