Class 6: Assignment 4: Virtual World Affordances for Education and Training

There are many benefits of learning in a 3D - VE. Virtual environments are a good and practical way of getting the learning involved in the subject matter, which is often a problem in the classroom. Using a virtual world to teach, you are able to fully immerse the student into an environment, hence Immersive Education. Putting the student in the experience is pivotal in connecting the student to not only the subject matter, but to his or her fellow classmates as well.
With the student connected to an environment and to their peers, the learning can go more fluidly than in the classroom. Students enjoy using a virtual environment, and it makes learning fun and enjoyable. With video games being so popular nowadays, learning in a "video game" environment makes perfect sense as a way to really connect with the student. Students are able to learn better when they are enjoying not only the subject matter, but the environment as well.
By taking the student out of the classroom and putting them in a virtual world, we're able to make that shift from staring at a blackboard to connecting with your peers in a fully immersive environment that makes learning fun. With the student more engaged in the atmosphere, motivation is easier for the teacher to achieve. Being "present" in a world takes away from listening to a lecture, and puts learning in the students hands, for a stimulating, hands on experience. With this new way of motivating a student, it benefits both the student and the teacher. The student is more eager to learn, and therefor the teachers own job is made easier.
Another benefit of learning in online virtual environments is connection to other cultures and people that is not always possible in the classroom. In an online world, you are able to communicate with people from all over the world, and learn with students from all over. This type of collaborative computing is an important factor in the emergence of using online methods of teaching. We are no longer limited in who we learn with or what we can learn and how we can communicate. Virtual learning environments can break down a language barrier and make collaboration between cultures seemingly easy. In fact, popular opinion is that using a virtual world to teach a language could be the most beneficial way to learn, with non-verbal spatial and physical cues in the virtual world affording relative ease of understanding and comprehension.
In conclusion, learning in an online environment is something that I not only find enjoyable, but is important for the future of education, and quite possibly is the future of education. I only wish that I had been able to learn in immersive environments when I was younger. Connectivity to peers and to be enthralled in the learning in a way that is fully engaging to the mind, and is full of interesting stimuli, is the cutting edge of combining learning and technology.