International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education2008, Volume 20, Number 1, 59-69 http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/ ISSN 1812-9129Presence Pedagogy:Teaching and Learning in a 3D Virtual Immersive World Stephen Bronack, Robert Sanders, Amelia Cheney, Richard Riedl, John Tashner, and Nita MatzenAppalachian State UniversityAs the use of 3D immersive virtual worlds in higher education expands, it is important to examinewhich pedagogical approaches are most likely to bring about success. AET Zone, a 3D immersivevirtual world in use for more than seven years, is one embodiment of pedagogical innovation thatcapitalizes on what virtual worlds have to offer to social aspects of teaching and learning. Theauthors have characterized this approach as Presence Pedagogy (P2), a way of teaching and learningthat is grounded in social constructivist theory. In it, the concepts of presence, building a truecommunity of practice, and constructing an online environment which fosters collaboration forreflective learning are paramount. Unlike learning communities that might emerge from a particularcourse taught under more traditional circumstances, students engaged in a P2 learning environmentbecome members of a broader community of practice in which everyone in the community is apotential instructor, peer, expert, and novice—all of whom learn with and from one another.Students enrolled in ITC 5220, Computers in Educational Settings, are meeting in AET Zone to work on a group project. There, they find not only the communications tools to collaborate effectively but the content resources to assist in their endeavor. After a while, they run into a real stumbling block: a question that can only be answered by their instructor. Without this guidance, they really cannot move forward. They look around, but their instructor, Amy, is not online at the moment. Fortunately, they see DR – not their own teacher, but one they have met and spoken with in the past, one who has taught this same course many times. He joins their conference, and within minutes they are back on track and moving forward.Meanwhile, a pair of students enrolled in LIB 5020, Information Sources and Services, is posted nearby at a virtual reference desk in front of a virtual library. An avatar of a student enrolled in the Higher Education program approaches the library science students and is greeted by one of them. The higher education student is looking for information about university accountability and subsequently is escorted by one of the reference librarian avatars into the virtual stacks to locate resources on this topic.These are typical examples of the teaching and learning that takes place in AET Zone, a 3D immersive virtual world learning environment used by faculty members and students in the Department of Leadership and Educational Studies in the Reich College of Education at Appalachian State University. Students work and interact with others present in the world, often across the traditional boundaries of class, course, or program area. Students respond to feedback and advice offered by faculty and peers present in the world when they are. Students are not limited only to their own course instructors, but instead are free to interact with and learn from instructors and peers from other courses and across multiple program areas. Students utilize tools and resources ever present in the world in the context of authentic, hands-on activities, and projects. The multiple manifestations of presence enabled by this combination of content, context, and activity are the critical attributes for engagement among students in a social constructivist learning environment. Embedded within an immersive virtual world, they combine to create a new approach to teaching and learning that, in many ways, is significantly different from those on which educators traditionally rely and those which students typically expect.Problems and ChallengesPostsecondary enrollments are rising, and, in response, most colleges and universities offer some form of distance education, which utilizes the Internet and uses asynchronous tools as the primary mode of instruction. However, the most widely available tools offer little support for the formation of web-based learning communities or different kinds of teaching and learning. Making sure we offer our distance-based students at Appalachian State an online environment that is analogous to the face-to-face environment of traditional students in ways consistent with our social constructivist philosophy is important to us and continues to guide our efforts to develop our online spaces the right way. Jonassen (2006) argues that technologies should be used to keep students active, constructive, collaborative, intentional, complex, contextual, conversational, and reflective. It is our goal to ensure that technologies are effectively utilized to create such learning experiences for our students.Our typical student is a K-12 educator working full-time and attending graduate school part-time. Most live and teach within a 150 miles of the university.
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