quinnallen-secondlife-2007.pdf (836.61 kB)
Second life first hand: a teacher perspective
journal contribution
posted on 2007-01-01, 00:00 authored by Deirdre Quinn-AllanDeirdre Quinn-Allan, Bronwyn KirbyThe professional landscape in public relations is changing as new communication and social networking technologies are integrated into day-to-day professional practice. Whilst adoption of such technologies by public relations practitioners is certainly on the increase, their use can still be regarded as limited and application experimental to some degree. However, few could argue that these technologies will be increasingly important to public relations practice in coming years.
In this context, public relations educators must strive to deliver a contemporary curriculum reflective of industry expectations and best practice principles but which also provides students with exposure to new communication contexts and technologies.
The advent of persistent virtual worlds generated by Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) and Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs) offer new realms for public relations practitioners and educators alike. Virtual worlds potentially provide public relations educators with novel but relevant training grounds for their students. These 3D worlds offer dynamic and authentic learning environments which have the capability to foster deep learning and engender a sense of community within a student cohort in a way that many computer-mediated classrooms sadly lack.
This paper will present the experiences of two tertiary educators’ journey towards a conceptual understanding of the persistent virtual world, Second Life, from a teacher perspective. The paper argues that the successful adoption of new online technologies like Second Life need not be inhibited by preferences for technology or prior ICT skills as long as teaching staff are given the necessary support and training by their institutions coupled with opportunity for familiarisation and experimentation.
In this context, public relations educators must strive to deliver a contemporary curriculum reflective of industry expectations and best practice principles but which also provides students with exposure to new communication contexts and technologies.
The advent of persistent virtual worlds generated by Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) and Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs) offer new realms for public relations practitioners and educators alike. Virtual worlds potentially provide public relations educators with novel but relevant training grounds for their students. These 3D worlds offer dynamic and authentic learning environments which have the capability to foster deep learning and engender a sense of community within a student cohort in a way that many computer-mediated classrooms sadly lack.
This paper will present the experiences of two tertiary educators’ journey towards a conceptual understanding of the persistent virtual world, Second Life, from a teacher perspective. The paper argues that the successful adoption of new online technologies like Second Life need not be inhibited by preferences for technology or prior ICT skills as long as teaching staff are given the necessary support and training by their institutions coupled with opportunity for familiarisation and experimentation.
History
Journal
Asia Pacific public relations journalVolume
8Pagination
149 - 161Publisher
Deakin University, School of Communication and Creative ArtsLocation
Geelong, VicISSN
1440-4389eISSN
1839-8227Language
engPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2007, Deakin University, School of Communication and Creative ArtsUsage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedKeywords
Licence
Exports
RefWorks
BibTeX
Ref. manager
Endnote
DataCite
NLM
DC