Abstract
There is a growing trend towards increasing internationalisation of engineering education. The sharing of different global perspectives is perceived to enhance engineering education and more fully equip graduates for professional practice. A global outlook is also viewed as an important part of a practicing engineers skill set, and is emphasised by many institutions as something that needs to be evidenced in order to achieve chartered status.
There are a number of challenges when trying to incorporate international cooperation in teaching activities. These include participants being in different time zones and differing pedagogical approaches. This poses the question, how can more internationalised engineering education be practically, and effectively, achieved?
The Humanitarian Engineering and Computing Group, at Coventry University, developed a range of immersive virtual learning environments (iVLEs) in Second Life. These iVLEs allow people to participate in lessons/workshops from any location where they have access to a PC with an internet connection (and the appropriate software installed). This potentially removes one of the barriers (namely not being in the same physical space) to international collaboration. How effectively the immersive virtual space aids communication and collaboration is investigated in this study.
One of these exercises was piloted on a number of occasions, including with students from a number of universities taking part simultaneously. Initial findings suggested a high level of satisfaction and comfort with communication in the environment. Despite not having previously known each other and having little experience of Second Life students were able to successfully participate in the exercise. The data gathered suggests this could be a useful tool for international collaboration between students.
This project involved a consortium of UK universities including University of Leeds, University of Liverpool, Middlesex University, Northumbria University and University of Nottingham led by Coventry University with funding from the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Keywords: immersive virtual worlds, Humanitarian Engineering and Computing, Online International Learning, internationalisation
There are a number of challenges when trying to incorporate international cooperation in teaching activities. These include participants being in different time zones and differing pedagogical approaches. This poses the question, how can more internationalised engineering education be practically, and effectively, achieved?
The Humanitarian Engineering and Computing Group, at Coventry University, developed a range of immersive virtual learning environments (iVLEs) in Second Life. These iVLEs allow people to participate in lessons/workshops from any location where they have access to a PC with an internet connection (and the appropriate software installed). This potentially removes one of the barriers (namely not being in the same physical space) to international collaboration. How effectively the immersive virtual space aids communication and collaboration is investigated in this study.
One of these exercises was piloted on a number of occasions, including with students from a number of universities taking part simultaneously. Initial findings suggested a high level of satisfaction and comfort with communication in the environment. Despite not having previously known each other and having little experience of Second Life students were able to successfully participate in the exercise. The data gathered suggests this could be a useful tool for international collaboration between students.
This project involved a consortium of UK universities including University of Leeds, University of Liverpool, Middlesex University, Northumbria University and University of Nottingham led by Coventry University with funding from the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Keywords: immersive virtual worlds, Humanitarian Engineering and Computing, Online International Learning, internationalisation
Original language | English |
---|---|
Title of host publication | Global Research Community: Collaboration and Developments |
Editors | Erik de Graaff, Aida Guerra, Anette Kolmos, Nestor Arexolaleiba |
Place of Publication | Aalborg |
Publisher | Aalborg Universitetsforlag |
Pages | 456-467 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Volume | 5 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 978-87-7112-304-3 |
ISBN (Print) | 978-87-7112-304-3 |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2015 |
Event | International Joint Conference on the Learner in Engineering Education - Mondragon Uniberstitatea, San Sebastian, Spain Duration: 6 Jul 2015 → 9 Jul 2015 |
Conference
Conference | International Joint Conference on the Learner in Engineering Education |
---|---|
Abbreviated title | IJCLEE 2015 |
Country/Territory | Spain |
City | San Sebastian |
Period | 6/07/15 → 9/07/15 |
Bibliographical note
This paper was given at the 5th International Research Symposium on PBL (IRSPBL), part of the International Joint Conference on the Learner in Engineering Education (IJCLEE 2015). 6-9 July 2015 at Mondragon Uniberstitatea, San Sebastian, Spain. The full conference proceedings are available online at: http://vbn.aau.dk/en/publications/global-research-community%28ebd16326-9877-4265-8ae5-c512a9f8db8d%29.htmlKeywords
- immersive virtual worlds, Humanitarian Engineering and Computing, Online International Learning, internationalisation
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Exploring immersive virtual environments to facilitate internationalised student learning - a case study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Profiles
-
Daniel Watson
- CEES School of Science - Curriculum Lead Disaster and Emergency Management
Person: Teaching and Research