Media Release
June 25 2009
Accessible learning in a virtual world
Virtual
worlds are opening up once unimagined educational opportunities,
according to University of South Australia new media expert
Denise Wood.
Dr Wood, who is Teaching and Learning Portfolio Leader with
UniSA’s
School of Communication, International Studies and Languages, says
virtual worlds like Second Life can
enrich educational experiences for all students, but especially those
who have been isolated from student life by distance or disability.
Dr Wood will present a virtual session at an event called Helen Keller
Day in Second Life this Saturday.
“People with disabilities make up approximately 20 per cent of the
Second Life population,” said Dr Wood, who herself has an ‘avatar’ in
Second Life.
“People who cannot walk in real life can fly or teleport when they are
in Second Life. However, Second Life still has some barriers,
particularly for hearing impaired and visually impaired people who face
big challenges in using the highly visual 3D environment.”
UniSA is working collaboratively with disability groups on the
development of an open source 3D virtual learning platform. The platform
builds on the sorts of accessibility tools that have been developed by
people with disabilities in Second Life. These tools will be on display
at the Helen Keller event.
Dr Wood is a co-project leader of an
Australian Learning and Teaching Council grant awarded in 2008 to
develop an accessible open source 3D virtual learning platform. Dr Wood
and UniSA researcher Associate Professor Gerry Bloustien are leading a
team of key researchers from six universities in Australia and the UK on
the development of the platform and associated guidelines aimed at
improving learning outcomes for students with disabilities.
“Virtual learning platforms provide unprecedented opportunities for
learners with disabilities given the collaborative nature of these
environments,” Dr Wood said.
“I’m delighted to be part of Helen Keller Day in Second Life. I will be
presenting a session discussing teaching in virtual worlds and in
particular will be talking about our research grant to develop an
accessible 3D virtual learning environment.”
Anyone can access Helen Keller Day in Second Life by signing up as a
member at www.secondlife.com and
installing a free software application that can be downloaded from the
site. Once installed, users can login to Second Life using the Second
Life software. Dr Wood’s presentation is at 3:00 am PST at the education
faire amphitheatre in Second Life:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Faire/81/214/35.
Contact for interview
- Dr Denise Wood mobile 0413 648 260
Media contact
- Kelly Stone office (08) 8302 0963 mobile 0417 861 832 email kelly.stone@unisa.edu.au