远程教育、网络教育与虚拟游戏世界的教育

Tutoring at a Distance,Online Tutoring and Tutoring in Second Life

远程教育的研究已经有了相当长的历史,并且对于远程教育机构教师的职能也非常熟悉。博客、维基以及播客的应用弥补了电子邮件、虚拟学习环境、计算机会议等的不足。到目前为止,在三维多用户虚拟环境下的远程教育的研究已经问世。远程教育专家可能会问远程教育和网络教育的经验能否应用到与这种虚拟学习环境不一样的环境中去。为论证哪些在三维多用户虚拟环境下可行或不可行,通过由莱斯特大学跨距离联盟创设的虚拟游戏世界岛屿来解释虚拟游戏世界的教育。此外,还分析虚拟游戏世界的教育怎样才能满足学生的需求,并且探讨老师和学生适应该环境存在的机遇和挑战。

Research into tutoring at a distance has a fairly long history and the functions of tutors in distance education institutions are well understood. Blogs, wikis and podcasts have arrived to supplement established systems like email, virtual learning environments （VLEs, such as Blackboard） and computer conferencing. Little research has been published so far, however, on tutoring distant students in three-dimensional multi-user virtual environments （3-D MUVEs）. Distance educators may well ask whether the best practices from tutoring at a distance and online tutoring can be transferred to these environments, which do not resemble VLEs. To clarify what may or may not be feasible in a prime example of a 3-D MUVE, this paper elucidates tutoring by and through avatars on a Second Life Island created by the Beyond Distance Research Alliance at the University of Leicester （which has 7,000 students learning at a distance）. It analyses what can be done in Second Life by way of meeting students＇ needs for tutoring, and discusses some of the opportunities and challenges inherent in asking students and tutors to meet in such an environment.