Special issue 2012, Volume 28: Call for articles

Virtual worlds in tertiary education: An Australasian perspective

Submissions are invited for a forthcoming special issue of AJET to be published in early 2012, entitled Virtual worlds in tertiary education: An Australasian perspective, edited by Mark J.W. Lee (Charles Sturt University and University of New England), Dr Barney Dalgarno (Charles Sturt University) and Dr Helen Farley (University of Southern Queensland) for the DEHub Virtual Worlds Working Group. As announced in AJET Editorial 27(1) and to be publicised through various listservs and society news bulletins, Virtual worlds in tertiary education will be AJET's third special issue.

Virtual worlds have generated much attention and interest among tertiary education practitioners and researchers over the last few years. Universities and colleges across the globe are investing heavily in the technology, with some making use of commercial platforms like Second Life to provide spaces within which to build resources and conduct activities, and others licensing or developing their own platforms for hosting on their internal servers and networks. While a number of other education and educational technology journals have published special issues centred around the topic of virtual worlds (e.g. Bell, Savin-Baden & Ward, 2008; Chandler, Collinson, Crellin & Duke-Williams, 2009; Hunsinger & Krotoski, 2010; Rea, 2009; Salmon & Hawkridge, 2009; Steinkuehler & Squire, 2009; Twining, 2010; Veletsianos & de Freitas, 2010), a noticeable majority of the articles published in these issues have emanated from the UK and USA. This is by no means indicative of a lack of activity occurring in this area in other countries such as Australia and New Zealand - in fact, there is a great deal of innovation, experimentation and dialogue taking place in the virtual worlds arena across the tertiary education sector in these two countries, especially at the grassroots level (Dalgarno, Lee, Carlson, Gregory & Tynan, 2011; see also Bradshaw, 2006; Gregory et al., 2010; Salomon, 2010; Salt, Atkins & Blackall, 2008; Winter, 2010). This is reflected, for example, in the level of representation of the topic in the Programs and Proceedings of recent ascilite conferences (Atkinson & McBeath, 2008, 2009; Steel, Keppell, Gerbic & Housego, 2010).

This special issue invites contributions from across Australasia as well as the wider Asia-Pacific region. It will comprise articles that address theory, research and practical issues related to the use of virtual worlds in all aspects of tertiary education, encompassing both higher education and vocational education and training (VET). For the purposes of the special issue, a 'virtual world' is defined specifically as follows:

A computer-based, simulated environment in which users are able to immerse themselves, and within which they are able to, through their avatars (computer-based representations of themselves or alternative selves), experience, manipulate, interact with and/or create virtual objects and places that are graphically depicted in three dimensions. The objects and places within a virtual world may be modelled according to those in the real world or may be fantasy based. Most current virtual world applications allow for multiple users and include facilities that enable users to communicate and interact with one another within the virtual environment. (Lee, 2010, cited in Dalgarno et al., 2011)

• Virtual worlds for learning and teaching in specific subject areas/disciplines
• Virtual worlds in academic staff development and tertiary teacher training
• Virtual worlds in open, distance and flexible learning contexts
• Virtual worlds for research student supervision, training and support
• Virtual worlds and competency-based training
• Work-based or work-integrated learning using virtual worlds, including the use of virtual worlds to support student work experience/field placements
• Mentoring and coaching in virtual worlds
• Learning design and resource development for virtual worlds
• Assessment and evaluation of learning in virtual worlds
• Methodological issues and strategies for researching learning in virtual worlds
• Ethical issues related to the use of virtual worlds in tertiary education (e.g. access and equity, marginalised/disadvantaged learner groups)
• Protecting student and staff intellectual property, personal identity, safety and security in virtual worlds
• Virtual worlds in non-teaching areas of the institution (e.g. libraries, academic support services, student societies/guilds, careers, alumni, marketing and recruitment)
• Virtual worlds and ICT policy, including institutional access and support issues

Time schedule

Submission and review process

The Guest Editors will review the abstracts and identify 15 to 20 that would be suitable to be developed into full manuscripts (5,000-8,000 words) for the special issue. Full manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with AJET's [Advice for authors], and will be subject to a double blind peer review process. Each manuscript will be blind reviewed by at least three reviewers who will assess its suitability for inclusion in the special issue and make a recommendation to the Guest Editors based on the following criteria:

• Importance and originality (i.e. whether the work makes a useful contribution to the literature/knowledge base in the area)
• Standard of writing (e.g. style and clarity of expression, organisation/structure)
• Clarity of goals/objectives for the research or development effort and for the manuscript itself
• Thoroughness of literature review and consistency with relevant extant literature
• Methodological rigour, including quality of research design (if applicable)
• Adequacy and accuracy of data analysis (if applicable)
• Presentation and interpretation of findings, inferences and conclusions, and the degree to which these have been validated/supported
• Discussion of implications for tertiary education practitioners and/or policymakers
• Relevance to the special issue

Guest Editors

Mark J.W. Lee Adjunct Senior Lecturer, School of Education, Charles Sturt University and Adjunct Senior Lecturer, DEHub, University of New England	Mark has extensive teaching, management and consulting experience in both the higher education and VET sectors. He has published widely in the fields of educational technology, e-learning and innovative pedagogy, with in excess of 50 refereed publications to his name. His book, Web 2.0-based e-learning: Applying social informatics for tertiary teaching, co-edited with Associate Professor Catherine McLoughlin of the Australian Catholic University, was published by Information Science Reference in July 2010. With Barney and other colleagues from CSU and UNE, Mark is currently working on a large-scale scoping study funded by DEHub on the use of virtual worlds for learning and teaching in Australian and New Zealand higher education institutions. Among his other research interests are teacher beliefs about learning, teaching and technology, digital games and simulations for learning, and pedagogical uses of mobile and ubiquitous computing tools. Mark is the Editor-in-Chief of Impact: Journal of Applied Research in Workplace E-learning (an official publication of ElNet, the E-learning Network of Australasia) and an Associate Editor of both the IEEE Transactions on Education and the International Journal of Games and Computer-Mediated Simulations. He also serves on the Editorial Boards of 15 other international journals. [Personal Page]
Dr Barney Dalgarno Associate Professor, School of Education, Charles Sturt University	Barney's PhD research (completed in 2004 at the University of Wollongong) examined the characteristics of 3D environments and their potential contributions to spatial learning. His current interests include the educational affordances of 3D virtual learning environments as well as the application of constructivist theories to technology-facilitated learning design, critical exploration of the impact of generational changes on learners, learning and learning technologies, and the use of functional brain imaging to explore interactivity and cognition. On top of being honoured with a number of research and teaching grants, he has received national recognition through awards for innovative teaching and learning design using leading-edge technologies. Barney is leading the DEHub scoping study on virtual worlds in Australian and New Zealand higher education and is also part of a team working on an ALTC-funded project based within DEHub that involves the application of virtual worlds to pre-service teacher training. The project seeks to enable student teachers to practise their teaching skills within a virtual world in preparation for their school practicum placements. Barney is an Editorial Board member of the journal Distance Education (the official journal of the Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia) and previously served on the ascilite Executive. [Personal Page]
Dr Helen Farley Lecturer, Australian Digital Futures Institute, University of Southern Queensland	Helen is an interdisciplinary research academic with significant experience in diverse fields including Architecture, Veterinary Science, Journalism, Philosophy and Studies in Religion. She has practical experience in curriculum design, teaching large classes in innovative learning and teaching spaces, and enhancing the first-year university experience. Before taking up her current position as Lecturer (Virtual Worlds) within the Australian Digital Futures Institute at USQ, she was a Research Fellow in the Centre for Educational Innovation and Technology (CEIT) at the University of Queensland (UQ) and a Lecturer in Higher Education with UQ's Teaching and Educational Development Institute (TEDI). Helen is a pioneer in the use of virtual worlds in the Australian education context - her Second Life project, UQ Religion Bazaar, has been nominated for many awards and has attracted significant national and international media attention. Other than Second Life, Helen has worked with Twinity, OpenSim and Project Wonderland, and she is also investigating the use of haptic interfaces and the facilitation of authentic 3D movement in virtual environments. In her current role, she is responsible for both research and academic staff development with regard to the use of virtual worlds. [Personal Page]

In February 2010, Helen, Barney and Mark delivered an online presentation entitled What 'Avatar' can teach us about immersion and presence in virtual worlds as part of the ascilite Webinar Series. Members of ascilite can view an archive of the presentation in the ascilite [Community Hub].

References

Atkinson, R. & McBeath, C. (Eds) (2009). Same places, different spaces. Proceedings ascilite Auckland 2009. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/auckland09/procs/

Bell, F., Savin-Baden, M. & Ward, R. (Eds) (2008). Learning and teaching in immersive virtual worlds [Special issue]. ALT-J: Research in Learning Technology, 16(3). http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~db=all~content=g906960349

Bradshaw, D. (2006). Virtual worlds - real learning! Pedagogical reflections. Brisbane: Australian Flexible Learning Framework. http://virtualworlds.flexiblelearning.net.au/reports/VWRL_pedagog_reflect.pdf

Chandler, J., Collinson, T., Crellin, J. & Duke-Williams, E. (2009). Using virtual worlds for teaching and learning [Special issue]. Innovation in Teaching And Learning in Information and Computer Sciences, 8(3). http://www.ics.heacademy.ac.uk/italics/vol8iss3.htm

Dalgarno, B., Lee, M.J.W., Carlson, L., Gregory, S. & Tynan, B. (2011). An Australian and New Zealand scoping study on the use of 3D immersive virtual worlds in higher education. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 27(1), 1-15. http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet27/dalgarno.html

de Freitas, S. & Veletsianos, G. (Eds) (2010). Crossing boundaries: Learning and teaching in virtual worlds [Special issue]. British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(1). http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjet.2010.41.issue-1/issuetoc

Gregory, S., Lee, M.J.W., Ellis, A., Gregory, B., Wood, D., Hillier, M., Campbell, M., Grenfell, J., Pace, S., Farley, H., Thomas, A., Cram, A. Sinnappan, S., Smith, K., Hay, L., Kennedy-Clark, S., Warren, I., Grant, S., Craven, D., Dreher, H., Matthews, C., Murdoch, D. & McKeown, L. (2010). Australian higher education institutions transforming the future of teaching and learning through 3D virtual worlds. In C.H. Steel, M.J. Keppell, P. Gerbic & S. Housego (Eds), Curriculum, technology & transformation for an unknown future. Proceedings ascilite Sydney 2010. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/sydney10/Ascilite%20conference%20proceedings%202010/Gregory-full.pdf

Hunsinger, J. & Krotoski, A. (2010). Learning and researching in virtual worlds. Learning, Media and Technology, 35(2). http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~db=all~content=g926174999

Rea, A. (Ed.) (2009). The impacts of Web 2.0 and virtual world technologies on IS education [Special issue]. Journal of Information Systems Education, 2(2). http://www.jise.org/Contents/Volume%2020/Contents-20-2.htm

Salmon, G., & Hawkridge, D. (Eds) (2009). 3-D MUVEs [Special issue]. British Journal of Educational Technology, 40(3). http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjet.2009.40.issue-3/issuetoc

Salomon, M. (2010). Immersive Internet Australia: Education. A new modality for learning, collaboration and knowledge production. Eveleigh, NSW: Smart Services CRC. http://www.smartservicescrc.com.au/PDF/Immersive%20Internet%20Australia_Education.pdf

Salt, B., Atkins, C. & Blackall, L. (2008). Engaging with Second Life: Real education in a virtual world. http://slenz.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/slliteraturereviewa1.pdf

Steel, C.H., Keppell, M.J., Gerbic, P. & Housego, S. (Eds) (2010). Curriculum, technology & transformation for an unknown future. Proceedings ascilite Sydney 2010. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/sydney10/proceedings.htm

Steinkuehler, C. & Squire, K. (Eds) (2009). Virtual worlds and learning [Special issue]. On the Horizon, 17(1). http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=1074-8121&volume=17&issue=1

Twining, P. (Ed.) (2010). Virtual worlds and education [Special issue]. Educational Research, 52(2). http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~db=all~content=g922240462

Winter, M. (2010). Second Life Education in New Zealand: Evaluation research final report. http://slenz.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/slenz-final-report-_milestone-2_-080310cca.pdf

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