I found Peachey's ideas about the individual being 'protected' by second life unconvincing; I certainly prefer an atmosphere of the 'real world' for education - can't say too much as using this and Bayne in EMA!

However, I felt that both articles are far more connected to 'identity' rather than 'education', and identity was an important element of my earlier studies, and seems to becoming more important as the world becomes more globalised.

Personally, as a tutor, I do do not wish to 'hide' my identity with an avatar, and would tend to be a little suspicious of those who do, although equally I can understand the student response of not wanting to be 'known' - in my experience it is often the extremely clever students who do not wish to be identified as such, but this risks the debate becoming philosophical rather than educational! (although undoubtedly an area for further research)

Jiang (2011) makes a case regarding the danger of adding a 'game layer' to the real world, and my view is that second life or similar are a step too far in the direction of gamification (Deterding et al, 2011)

References:

Bayne, S. (2005) 'Deceit, desire and control: the identities of learners and teachers in cyberspace', in Land, R. and Bayne, S. (eds) Education in Cyberspace, Abingdon, RoutledgeFalmer.

Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R. and Nacke, L. (2011a) 'From game design elements to gamefulness: defining "gamification"', Envisioning Future Media Environments. New York, New York, MindTrek '11 Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference,

Deterding, S., Sicart, M., Nacke, L., O'Hara, K. and Dixon, D. (2011b) 'Gamification. using game-design elements in non-gaming contexts', Envisioning Future Media Environments. New York, New York, MindTrek '11 Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference,

Jiang, K. (2011) 'The Dangers of Gamification:why we shouldn't build a game layer on top of the world', pdf-release.net, pdf-release.net, 01 December 2013 [Online]. Available at http://pdf-release.net/2841688/The-Dangers-of-Gamification:-Why-We-Shouldn't---Get-a-Free-Blog (Accessed 10 July 2014).

Peachey, A. (2010) 'Living in Immaterial Worlds: Who are we when we learn and teach in virtual worlds?', in Sheehy, K., Ferguson, R. and Clough, G. (eds) Virtual worlds [electronic resource] : controversies at the frontier of education, New York, Nova Science Publishers.

The use of E-Portfolios

Introduction:

E-portfolios are a good way to provide supporting evidence of a practitioner’s ability and progression. They are increasingly used in all fields of work, from education to medical practice, but a few points need to be emphasised about the use of e-portfolios.

1.   Validation:

Is a scanned and uploaded document REALLY proof that an event has occurred or that an individual has acted? Surely, the ‘sign able’ PDF would be a more secure option, since before it could be uploaded it would have to be physically validated by the originator.

Validation of e-portfolios in general is difficult, because all that can be done initially is to accept the documents at face value; so the issue comes down to trust, unless validation can be carried out as suggested above.

2.   Organisation:

An e-portfolio needs to be organised, with sub-folders for different areas or competencies. If all of the PDF’s and documents are simply stored together in a file labelled ‘e-portfolio’ then an assessor will not be able to quickly determine the relevance of a specific item. The file can be organised by subject (competency) or by date (week 1, week 2, etc.) but is virtually unusable by an assessor without one or the other.

3.   Assessment:

How do I assess an e-portfolio? By asking questions that the practitioner should be asking themselves, such as;

• Does this document show MY involvement?
  • Yes, Ok
  • No, add a note explaining.
• Does this document actually demonstrate an ability?
  • Yes, Ok
  • No, why is it here.
• If I was READING this, would it impress me as good work?
  • Yes, Ok
  • No, improve it until it would.

4.   Value:

Some documents will carry more weight than others, provided they have been validated. Which of course brings us neatly back to the first point – un-validated documents are not worth a thing – if it isn’t clearly stamped or signed by a higher authority it is meaningless

John and Emily's approach to this is very clear and this looks to me like a very good way of expressing the multi-dimensional aspects of a great many learning aids and tools. 

I do agree that a blog used to support an e-portfolio is a strong idea, since the entries are all dated, which means it helps the blogger to recall other things that were learned that week as well as showing their participation.

Augmented Reality:

Although this cannot really be described as a ‘new’ technology, since it was originally introduced in the 1960’s (Johnson & Adams, 2011), in its latest forms it has the potential to be a very powerful educational tool, giving the learner the chance to ‘experience’ the historical period or geographic location they are to study, without the need for expensive field trips and other visits.

Like many of these educational tools, it can be accessed from a mobile phone as well as through computers, making it more accessible, more useable. In the fields of scientific education, it allows the learner to interact with items that would ordinarily be too large or too small for classroom manipulation (Johnson & Adams, 2011), allowing them a greater visualisation of the possibilities.

Smart Objects:

Smart objects have a great relevance to education, as they allow the learner to directly access connected and relevant information, including photographs, maps and documents about the particular ‘Smart Object’. QR codes can be used as a link between the physical and digital worlds (Johnson & Adams, 2011), since simply by scanning the code, the learner is directed immediately to historical or factual information about the object, without the need for extensive research or study. Smart cards and RFID tags can be integrated into almost any object to allow that item to become ‘connected’ to other items or applications.

Telepresence:

Although I have not used this previously, I believe that it could be a very useful tool for educational purposes. I have been invited to participate in ‘EDULEARN14’ in Barcelona, organised by IATED (International Academy of Technology, Education and Development) in July 2014. For this conference IATED offer two methods of participation, one of which is telepresence.

Since this option is cheaper, and does not require travel, but still offers full engagement and participation, it is probable that I would consider this option. From the point of view of general education, this would allow the organisation of seminars and workshops, where an accredited expert can take part with other participants from round the world, without the expense of hiring a lecture theatre or travelling many miles.

References:

IATED, 2014. EDULEARN14. Barcelona, IATED.

Johnson, L. & Adams, S., 2011. Technology Outlook for UK Tertiary Education 2011-2016: An NMC Horizon Report Regional Analysis. Austin, Texas: New Media Consortium.