Executive Director, LEARN NC; Co-creator, AET Zone Virtual World for Learning
Interest: immersive technologies and the pedagogies they enable. Address: Peabody Hall University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Abstract International leaders in Information Technology and Teacher Training are exploring ways ... more Abstract International leaders in Information Technology and Teacher Training are exploring ways to foster environments for collaborative education and training-paying particular attention to the World-Wide Web. Drawing upon their collective experience, the authors consider the salient issues and perspectives confronting developers of Web-based Learning Environments.
Abstract The use of 3D virtual environments is an area of growing interest and importance for hig... more Abstract The use of 3D virtual environments is an area of growing interest and importance for higher education. At Appalachian State University, the principles of social constructivism inform our thinking as we construct teaching and learning environments. Our experience suggests 3D immersive virtual worlds support the formation of learning communities and group construction of knowledge.
Abstract: Traditional teacher education programs are turning to non-traditional approaches of pre... more Abstract: Traditional teacher education programs are turning to non-traditional approaches of preservice teacher preparation as they struggle to keep up with increasing demand for teachers. Many of these approaches include web-based or other distance-based programs. One significant challenge continues, however: providing realistic situations within non-traditional teacher preparation courses that ground students' theoretical learning.
Abstract The Instructional Technology program at Appalachian State University has moved significa... more Abstract The Instructional Technology program at Appalachian State University has moved significant components of the program into a three-dimensional multi-user virtual environment, named AppEdTech. Our use of virtual worlds is an attempt to develop learning communities within our program that reflect the basic assumptions and precepts described within our college's social constructivist conceptual framework.
Abstract The instructional technology faculty at Appalachian State University has developed its g... more Abstract The instructional technology faculty at Appalachian State University has developed its graduate program courses within a 3D world. Based upon an Active World server and a social constructivist philosophy, each course is designed to take place in different 3D scenes, such as a frontier town, a park, or Roman palace. A library for distance education students has been developed as a part of the world. Each participant in the world has an avatar, which is able to be moved by key strokes throughout the scene.
Abstract Technology enriched learning environments have a positive effect on the achievement of s... more Abstract Technology enriched learning environments have a positive effect on the achievement of students. It would seem, therefore, that the environments of in-service educators must also be rich in technology and technology integration.
Abstract The use of the web for promoting learning provides great potential for both students and... more Abstract The use of the web for promoting learning provides great potential for both students and faculty. Using both synchronous and asynchronous interactions permits the professors and the students to maximize their time together and utilize their individual learning and presentation skills in a collaborative effort that yields substantial dividends in the form of learning and productivity.
Following the introduction of the World Wide Web in 1993, its use as an adjunct instructional met... more Following the introduction of the World Wide Web in 1993, its use as an adjunct instructional method has gained rapid prominence. Many claim that the Web promotes learning by making resources and materials more accessible, by increasing student-instructor contact, by supporting individually tailored instruction and independent learning, and by facilitating dynamic interconnections within and between knowledge domains (Owston, 1997).
As the use of 3D immersive virtual worlds in higher education expands, it is important to examine... more As the use of 3D immersive virtual worlds in higher education expands, it is important to examine which pedagogical approaches are most likely to bring about success. AET Zone, a 3D immersive virtual world in use for more than eight years, is one embodiment of pedagogical innovation that capitalizes on what virtual worlds have to offer to social aspects of teaching and learning. This presentation will focus on this approach, known as Presence Pedagogy (P2), a way of teaching and learning grounded in social constructivist theory.
Abstract Significant components of the Instructional Technology Program at Appalachian State Univ... more Abstract Significant components of the Instructional Technology Program at Appalachian State University have been moved into a 3D virtual world web environment. These include whole courses, course experiences and various student and faculty interactions. Virtual worlds provide opportunities to add elements of space, movement and physical presence, along with dimensional artifacts and metaphors not found in more traditional web-based counterparts. Students enter the 3D world from a desktop computer.
Web-based technologies are the medium of choice for most universities as they move their offering... more Web-based technologies are the medium of choice for most universities as they move their offerings off campus and online. As we continue to move our own programs online we are challenged to consider what elements of our traditional experiences to preserve online, and which ones to modify,
and to recognize the impact of the tools we use on our abilities to do so. The social constructivist conceptual framework that guides our college and the 3-dimensional virtual world we have
constructed as our online campus for learning to manifest it are described. The result is a distance learning environment that is unlike traditional classroom- or web-based learning environments in important ways. A description of AET Zone is provided and the implications of using a social constructivist framework for designing and delivering an online learning environment are discussed.
In many ways, our experiences interacting with one another in traditional, face-to-face environme... more In many ways, our experiences interacting with one another in traditional, face-to-face environments in-form our beliefs about effective communication. In traditional spaces, we rely on seemingly innate abilities to process multisensory cues, sounds, gestures, and inferences both to make and to offer meaning. As such, we often design our communication technologies to amplify the same senses and process of our past environments and project them into future ones. Speakers amplify sound. Cameras expand sight. Haptic devices ...
Abstract International leaders in Information Technology and Teacher Training are exploring ways ... more Abstract International leaders in Information Technology and Teacher Training are exploring ways to foster environments for collaborative education and training-paying particular attention to the World-Wide Web. Drawing upon their collective experience, the authors consider the salient issues and perspectives confronting developers of Web-based Learning Environments.
Abstract The use of 3D virtual environments is an area of growing interest and importance for hig... more Abstract The use of 3D virtual environments is an area of growing interest and importance for higher education. At Appalachian State University, the principles of social constructivism inform our thinking as we construct teaching and learning environments. Our experience suggests 3D immersive virtual worlds support the formation of learning communities and group construction of knowledge.
Abstract: Traditional teacher education programs are turning to non-traditional approaches of pre... more Abstract: Traditional teacher education programs are turning to non-traditional approaches of preservice teacher preparation as they struggle to keep up with increasing demand for teachers. Many of these approaches include web-based or other distance-based programs. One significant challenge continues, however: providing realistic situations within non-traditional teacher preparation courses that ground students' theoretical learning.
Abstract The Instructional Technology program at Appalachian State University has moved significa... more Abstract The Instructional Technology program at Appalachian State University has moved significant components of the program into a three-dimensional multi-user virtual environment, named AppEdTech. Our use of virtual worlds is an attempt to develop learning communities within our program that reflect the basic assumptions and precepts described within our college's social constructivist conceptual framework.
Abstract The instructional technology faculty at Appalachian State University has developed its g... more Abstract The instructional technology faculty at Appalachian State University has developed its graduate program courses within a 3D world. Based upon an Active World server and a social constructivist philosophy, each course is designed to take place in different 3D scenes, such as a frontier town, a park, or Roman palace. A library for distance education students has been developed as a part of the world. Each participant in the world has an avatar, which is able to be moved by key strokes throughout the scene.
Abstract Technology enriched learning environments have a positive effect on the achievement of s... more Abstract Technology enriched learning environments have a positive effect on the achievement of students. It would seem, therefore, that the environments of in-service educators must also be rich in technology and technology integration.
Abstract The use of the web for promoting learning provides great potential for both students and... more Abstract The use of the web for promoting learning provides great potential for both students and faculty. Using both synchronous and asynchronous interactions permits the professors and the students to maximize their time together and utilize their individual learning and presentation skills in a collaborative effort that yields substantial dividends in the form of learning and productivity.
Following the introduction of the World Wide Web in 1993, its use as an adjunct instructional met... more Following the introduction of the World Wide Web in 1993, its use as an adjunct instructional method has gained rapid prominence. Many claim that the Web promotes learning by making resources and materials more accessible, by increasing student-instructor contact, by supporting individually tailored instruction and independent learning, and by facilitating dynamic interconnections within and between knowledge domains (Owston, 1997).
As the use of 3D immersive virtual worlds in higher education expands, it is important to examine... more As the use of 3D immersive virtual worlds in higher education expands, it is important to examine which pedagogical approaches are most likely to bring about success. AET Zone, a 3D immersive virtual world in use for more than eight years, is one embodiment of pedagogical innovation that capitalizes on what virtual worlds have to offer to social aspects of teaching and learning. This presentation will focus on this approach, known as Presence Pedagogy (P2), a way of teaching and learning grounded in social constructivist theory.
Abstract Significant components of the Instructional Technology Program at Appalachian State Univ... more Abstract Significant components of the Instructional Technology Program at Appalachian State University have been moved into a 3D virtual world web environment. These include whole courses, course experiences and various student and faculty interactions. Virtual worlds provide opportunities to add elements of space, movement and physical presence, along with dimensional artifacts and metaphors not found in more traditional web-based counterparts. Students enter the 3D world from a desktop computer.
Web-based technologies are the medium of choice for most universities as they move their offering... more Web-based technologies are the medium of choice for most universities as they move their offerings off campus and online. As we continue to move our own programs online we are challenged to consider what elements of our traditional experiences to preserve online, and which ones to modify,
and to recognize the impact of the tools we use on our abilities to do so. The social constructivist conceptual framework that guides our college and the 3-dimensional virtual world we have
constructed as our online campus for learning to manifest it are described. The result is a distance learning environment that is unlike traditional classroom- or web-based learning environments in important ways. A description of AET Zone is provided and the implications of using a social constructivist framework for designing and delivering an online learning environment are discussed.
In many ways, our experiences interacting with one another in traditional, face-to-face environme... more In many ways, our experiences interacting with one another in traditional, face-to-face environments in-form our beliefs about effective communication. In traditional spaces, we rely on seemingly innate abilities to process multisensory cues, sounds, gestures, and inferences both to make and to offer meaning. As such, we often design our communication technologies to amplify the same senses and process of our past environments and project them into future ones. Speakers amplify sound. Cameras expand sight. Haptic devices ...
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and to recognize the impact of the tools we use on our abilities to do so. The social constructivist conceptual framework that guides our college and the 3-dimensional virtual world we have
constructed as our online campus for learning to manifest it are described. The result is a distance learning environment that is unlike traditional classroom- or web-based learning environments in important ways. A description of AET Zone is provided and the implications of using a social constructivist framework for designing and delivering an online learning environment are discussed.
and to recognize the impact of the tools we use on our abilities to do so. The social constructivist conceptual framework that guides our college and the 3-dimensional virtual world we have
constructed as our online campus for learning to manifest it are described. The result is a distance learning environment that is unlike traditional classroom- or web-based learning environments in important ways. A description of AET Zone is provided and the implications of using a social constructivist framework for designing and delivering an online learning environment are discussed.