It’s all about immersion..

Adaptation stations inside the home modifications exhibit at the occupational therapy center at Jefferson

Ideas about immersive education have gained considerable momentum recently. The new educational grid from Sun Microsystems, Project Wonderland, has stimulated even more discussion than previously. The gist of immersive education (as well as other aspects of Second Life such as identity) is summarized well in a podcast from Cynthia Calongne. I had the pleasure of meeting Cynthia (Lyr Lobo) at the Sledupotential workshop at NECC, where she led the group in a building project. Hearing the podcast, I can easily understand Lyr’s interest and expertise in building as a tool for learning, as well as a learning activity in itself. In the podcast, she discusses how abstract science concepts come alive for her computer science students.
I found similarities in the themes about immersive education from Lyr’s podcast and a number of publications including Seng and Edirisinghe’s article about teaching computer science in SL and Dickey’s frequently cited Teaching in 3D: Pedagogical Affordances and Constraints of 3D Virtual Worlds for Synchronous Distance Learning that directly apply to the OT Center’s most recent exhibit on Adapting Environments for Daily Life. As one visitor put it:

This is great information! I didn’t realize this would apply to us … a house with seniors in it.

She had read about the hazards of things like throw rugs and heard about adaptations, but it was not until she experienced the exhibit that the message really came through.

Slipping and falling on a throw rug

So, we’ll keep racking our collective brains to come up with more ideas on how to engage visitors and provide educational messages they’ll remember. Stay tuned…