Branching out through VirtualPREX: Enhancing teaching in second life

Virtual worlds have been incorporated into the repertoire of higher education teaching and learning strategies for more than a decade and there are numerous reports of the efficacy of this form of learning for both student engagement and enhanced student outcomes. The affordances of these worlds are also being used to enhance another aspect of many higher education courses; work integrated learning. In teacher education courses, practice teaching (also referred to as practicum, placement, workplace learning and professional experience) is a core component of such courses. However, research has highlighted quality preparation for practice teaching (or lack thereof) as problematic. This is a particular challenge for distance education students and it has necessitated approaching teacher preparation in new ways. The emergence of virtual world technologies, with their active experiential learning affordances, has provided the authors with a capacity to develop 3-D virtual classroom and playground environments. These are currently being tested as effective spaces for developing a range of critical teaching skills prior to preservice teachers entering a physical classroom. The students have opportunities, through interaction in and with the virtual environment, to practise skills and apply concepts in a realistic setting that is risk free. There have been few attempts to try this form of approach in Australia prior to 2011. In this paper, the authors discuss the problems of preparation for practice teaching and the ways in which the virtual world of Second Life is currently being tested, as part of a larger funded project, as a site for enhanced teacher preparation. The results of the first trials are described and the future of the project explored.