Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy
University of British Columbia
EDCP 585D
Seminar in Curriculum and Pedagogy: Visual learning in 3D animated virtual worlds
Year: 2012 Winter term 2 Course Schedule: Friday 4:30-7:30
Instructor: Sandrine Han
Office location: S2224Office Phone: 604.822.5319
E-mail address:
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Description of course structure
Human beings not only perceive what they see, but also build their own ideas or knowledge about what they are seeing while they are seeing it. People become used to the images in their daily lives and learn from these images (Dake, 1999). However, most of the time people do not notice that these same images may hold different meanings for other viewers, because their own understanding of these images has been formed by cultural conventions (Masalela, 2005). If people are not able to understand the intention of images, they may form stereotypes about certain people, cultures, and whole countries from the images they mis-perceive. Without consciously seeing the world as it is represented in the images, people may not realize what they are learning or from where they are learning it.
Images are too easily taken for granted as something that everyone should and will understand. And, because the Internet creates a world community without physicalboundaries, people may easily forget that this environment is shared with others who have different cultural backgrounds. “For communication to be meaningful, people need to do more than just link computers but need to construct and approach how other people in other cultures experience their world” (Masalela, 2005, p. 146).
People learn from didactic images within environments. Therefore, in traditional educational environments educators care about visual representation. When students are in school, they continually learn from the whole environment. When educators employ technology like virtual world to deliver education, the place in which educators hold class becomes a classroom, and the whole virtual world can be seen as a school.
What students will learn from the images in the virtual world may not be known by either educators or the students themselves. Educators should be aware that visual culture in the virtual world maybe more complicated than in the real world because virtual world users more prominently display visual images that represent cultural and personal backgrounds. Therefore, revealing the didactic character of imagery in the virtual world is to reveal the hidden curriculum of the virtual world. Exploring this quality of virtual world imagery should help educators and students understand what they are learning from and help them consciously perceive and subsequently understand the intention of the images presented in the virtual world.
In this course, each class will be divided into two parts: theory discussion and practice. In the discussion section, students will learn the new media theory of visual culture, visual literacy, and visual communication. In the practice section, students will learn how to set up a virtual learning space and incorporate visual learning. This course requires a computer lab. Toward the end of the term, students will experience teaching in their own virtual classroom and will hold class discussions and presentations in their own virtual classroom.
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Statement of purpose and learning objectives for the course.
Using virtual worlds as learning environments is not innovative in distance learning; however, the importance of learning through the visual in the virtual world has not yet been emphasized. Through this course, students will learn how people learn from their vision, how they can use visual learning skills to help their own students learn, and how to become more aware of what they have seeing and learning in the virtual world. Moreover, they will be able to create their own virtual learning space in accordance with good visual learning principles.
Students will:
- demonstrate knowledge of the major ideas underpinning the fields of visual culture, visual literacy, and visual communication and will apply these theories to the design of their virtual learning space.
- employ critical language in the discussion of visual culture, visual literacy, and visual communication theory.
- work together to set up a fully visualized virtual learning space.
- critically analyze visual elements in virtual learning spaces.
- be able to utilize their virtual learning space for teaching.
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Day by day or week by week course outline, including main topics or questions.
Jan 2 / Lecture: Introduction to the course
Practice: introduction to virtual worlds / Second Life account set up
Jan 9 / Discussion: Possibilities in virtual worlds
Practice: Second Life first attempt / Han, H. (2011).
Burbules, N. (2006).
Dana, A. (1993). / Second Life virtual learning environment field notes
Jan 16 / Discussion: Cognitive psychology and visual learning
Practice: Open Sim first attempt, avatar and basic creation / Efland, A. (2002).
Barry, A. (1997).
Chandler, D. (2008). / Open Sim account set up, basic creation
Reaction paper 1
Jan 23 / Discussion: Visual culture in Second Life
Practice: Open Sim hands on practice for learning space / Burnett, R. (2002).
Berger, J. (1977). / Sketch of virtual learning space
Jan 30 / Discussion: Visual communication in Second Life
Practice: Open Sim advanced building skills / Tyner, K. (1998).
Burnett, R. (2004). Ch 1 & Ch 3 / Reaction paper 2
Feb 5 / Discussion: Visual literacy in Second Life
Practice: Learning space work in progress 1 / Semali, L. M. (2002).
Bazalgette, C., Buckingham, D. (2012).
Säljö, R. (2012).
Feb 12 / Discussion: Semiotics in Second Life
Practice: Learning space work in progress 2 / Bogdan, C. (2002).
Denis, H. (1989).
Smith-Shank, D. (2007).
Feb 19 / Discussion: Media literacyand virtual pedagogy
Practice: Finalize virtual learning space / Frechette, J. D. (2002).
Stoerger, S. (2008).
Myers, J. (2002). / Finalized virtual learning space
Feb 26 / Discussion: Virtual culture vs. visual culture
Practice: Demonstration 1 / Burnett, R. (2004). Ch. 7, 8, 9 / Reaction paper 3
March 5 / Discussion: Gaming and visual learning
Practice: Demonstration 2 / Beavis, C. (2002).
Liapis, A.,Yannakakis, G. N.,Togelius, J.(2012)
Gualdron, D. (2012).
March 12 / Discussion: Visual learning and virtual learning space
Practice: Demonstration 3 / Bolas, M. (1994).
Harasim, L. (2006).
Luke, C. (2006). / Reaction paper 4
March 19 / Discussion: From real to virtual, what are the differences in visual learning?
Practice: Demonstration 4 / Dickey, M. (2005).
Jones, S. G. (1997).
Penny, S. (1994).
March 26 / Discussion: Visual or not visual? Do we need a visualized virtual learning environment?
Practice: Demonstration 5 / Krikorian, D., Lee, J.-S., Chock, T. M., & Harms, C. (2000).
Sturken, M., & Cartwright, L. (2004).
Weiss, J. (2006).
April2 / Final presentation: Application of visual based virtual learning space. / Final paper
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Required and recommended text(s) and readings. Reference bibliography.
Barry, A. (1997). Visual intelligence: Perception, image, and manipulation in visual communication. Albany: NY: State University of New York Press.
Bazalgette, C., Buckingham, D. (2012). Literacy, media and multimodality: a critical response Literacy, media and multimodality. Literacy.
Beavis, C. (2002). Reading, writing and roleplaying computer games. In I. Synder, Silicon literacies: Communication, innovation and education in the electronic age (pp. 47-61). NY: Routledge.
Berger, J. (1977). Ways of seeing. NY: Penguin.
Bogdan, C. (2002). The semiotics of visual languages. NY: Columbia University press.
Bolas, M. (1994). Designing virtual environments. In C. E. Loeffler, & T. Anderson, The virtual reality case book (p. 49-55). New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Bolter, J. D., & Grusin, R. (2000). Remediation: Understanding new media. Massachusetts: The MIT press.
Burbules, N. (2006). Rethinking the Virtual. In J. Weiss, The international handbook of virtual learning environments (pp. 37-58). Netherlands: Springer.
Burnett, R. (2002). Technology, learning and visual culture. In I. Snyder, Silicon Literacies (pp. 141-153). NY: Routledge.
Burnett, R. (2004). How images think. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT press.
Chandler, D. (2008). Visual Perception. Retrieved November 2008, from Reading the Visual:
Costall, A. (1990). Introduction: Picture perception as “indirect” perception. Ecological perception research visual communication and aesthetics. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
Crow, D. (2006). Left to right: The cultural shift from words to pictures. New York: NY: AVA.
Dana, A. (1993). Introduction of technology into the art curriculum. Visual literacy in the digital age, 391-400.
Denis, H. (1989). Applying Semiotic Theory to Educational Technology. Annual meeting of the association for educational communications and technology, 179-190.
Dickey, M. (2005). Three-dimensional virtual worlds and distance learning: two case studies of Active Worlds as a medium for distance education. British Journal of Educational Technology, 439-451.
Duncum, P. (1997). Art Education for New Times. Studies in Art Education , 69-79.
Efland, A. (2002). The cognitive revolution and conceptions of learning. Art and cognition: Integrating the visual arts in the curriculum, pp.52-81. NY: Teachers college press.
Ess, C., & Sudweeks, F. (2006). Culture and Computer-Mediated Communication: Toward New Understandings. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 179-191.
Ettinger, L. F. (1988). Art Education and Computing: Building a Perspective. Studies in art education , 53-62.
Evans, J., & Hall, S. (2005). Visual culture: The reader. London: SAGE.
Frechette, J. D. (2002). Developing media literacy in cyberspace pedagogy and critical learning for the twenty-first-century classroom. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Freedman, K. (2000). Social Perspectives on Art Education in the U. S.: Teaching Visual Culture in a Democracy. Studies in Art Education, 314-329.
Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture. NY: Teachers College Press.
Fuery, P., & Fuery K. (2003). Visual culture and critical theory. NY: Oxford University Press.
Garoian, C., & Gaudelius, Y. (2001). Cyborg Pedagogy: Performing Resistance In The Digital Age. Studies in Art Education, 333-347.
Geoffrey, R. (1994). Media Tehory: A framework for interdisciplinary conversations. Association for education in journalism and mass communication, 1-20.
Gualdron, D. (2012). Developing effective virtual simulations and serious games: The effect of background sound cues on visual quality perception.(Doctoral dissertation). Available from
Han, H. C. (2011). Second Life, a 3D animated virtual world: An alternative platform for art education. Art Education, 64(4). pp. 41-46.
Hansen, M. B. (2006). New philosophy for new media. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT press.
Harasim, L. (2006). A history of e-learning: Shift happened. In J. Weiss, The international handbook of virtual learning environments (pp. 59-94). Netherlands: Springer.
Hart, A. (1998). Teaching the media: International perspectives. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
HATFIELD, G. (2002). Perception as Unconscious Inference. In R. Mausfeld., & D. Heyer, Perception and the Physical World: Psychological and Philosophical Issue in Perception. (pp. 115-143). John Wiley & Sons.
Henry, D. (1993). Instructional Resources: Image as Weapon. Art Education, 25-28+37-41.
Jamieson, H. (2007). Visual communication: More than meets the eye. Chicago: IL: University of Chicago press.
Jenks, C. (1995). Visual Culture. NY: Routledge.
Jones, S. G. (1997). Virtual Culture: Identity and communication in cybersociety. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Liapis, A.,Yannakakis, G. N.,Togelius, J.(2012). Adapting Models of Visual Aesthetics for Personalized Content Creation. Computational Intelligence and AI in Games. 4(3). 213-218
Krikorian, D., Lee, J.-S., Chock, T. M., & Harms, C. (2000). Isn't That Spatial?: Distance and Communication in a 2-D Virtual Environment. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication .
Loeffler, C. E., & Anderson, T. (1994). The virtual reality case book. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Luke, C. (2006). Cyberpedagogy. In J. Weiss, The international handbookof virtual learning environments (pp. 269-277). Netherlands: Springer.
Manovich, L. (2001). The language of new media. Massachusetts: MIT press.
Metros, S. (1999). Making Connections: A Model for On-Line Interaction. Leonardo, Vol. 32, No. 4, , 281-291.
Mirzoeff, N. (2003). An introducation to visual culture. NY: Routledge.
Morgan, J. (1992). See what I mean: An introduction to visual communication. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Myers, J. (2002). Afterword: Semiotic assumptions in the social practice of critical literacy. In L. M. Semali, Transmediation in the classroom: A semiotics-Based Media Literacy Framework (pp. 133-147). NY: Peter Lang.
Nolan, J., & Weiss, J. (n.d.). Learning in Cyberspace An Educational View of Virtual Community. Building Virtual Communities: Learning and Change in Cyberspace.
Orde, B. (1997). Drawing as visual-perceptual and spatial avility training. Association for educational communications and technology , 271-278.
Penny, S. (1994). Virtual reality as the completion of the enlightenment. In C. E.
Loeffler, & T. Anderson, The virtual reality case book. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Pettey, C. (2008). Gartner Says 80 Percent of Active Internet Users Will Have A "Second Life" in the Virtual World by the End of 2011 . Retrieved 11 18, 2008, from Gartner :
Robbins-Sponaas, R. J., & Nolan, J. (2006). Chapter 17: Collaborative Text-Based Virtual Learning Environments. In J. Weiss, J. Nolan, J. Hunsinger, & P. Trifonas, The International handbook of Virtual Learning Environments Volume I . The Netherlands: Springer Dordrecht.
Russell, G. (2006). Chapter 13: Virtual Schools: Reflections on Key Issues. In J. Weiss, J. Nolan, J. Hunsinger, & P. Trifonas, The International handbook of Virtual Learning Environments Volume I. The Netherlands: Springer Dordrecht.
Säljö, R. (2012). Literacy, Digital Literacy and Epistemic Practices: The Co-Evolution of Hybrid Minds and External Memory Systems. Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy. 5-20. Retrieved 09 26 2012 from
Semali, L. M. (2002). Transmediation in the classroom: A semiotics-Based Media Literacy Framework. NY: Peter Lang.
Smith-Shank, D. (2007). Reflections on semiotics, visual culture, and pedagogy. Semiotica, 223-234.
Snyder, I. (2002). Silicon Literacies. NY: Routledge.
Stoerger, S. (2008). Virtual Worlds, Virtual Literacy: An Educational Exploration. Knowledge quest. 36(3). 50-56.
Sturken, M., & Cartwright, L. (2004). Practices of looking: An introduction to visual culture. Oxford: Oxford University press.
Taylor, P., & Carpenter, S. (2005). Computer Hypertextual "Uncovering" in Art Education. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia , 25-45.
Tyner, K. (1998). Literacy in a digital world: Teaching and learning in the age of information. Mahwah, NJ: LEA.
Weiss, J. (2006). Introduction: Virtual Learning and Learning Virtually. In J. Weiss, J. Nolan, J. Hunsinger, & P. Trifonas, The International handbook of Virtual Learning Environments Volume I. The Netherlands: Springer Dordrecht.
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Course assignments, assessment and grading plan.
Second Life account set up & Open Sim account set up
At the first class meeting students will set up a Second Life account. Students will need to provide the instructor with their account name and a snapshot of their avatar.
At the third class meeting students will set up an Open Sim account. Students will need to give the instructor their account name with a snapshot of their avatar.
Second Life virtual learning environment comparative field notes (3)
Write three comparative field note entries (2-page for each, APA formatting, 12-point font, Times Roman, typed, double-spaced).
For each field note entry, students are to locate at least 2 virtual learning spaces in Second Life, and compare the visual settings of those virtual learning spaces. Students are encouraged to develop a checklist for comparison of the virtual learning spaces.
Basic creation
Create one virtual object, which contains more than 1 prim.
The object needs to display evidence of every skill taught in class.
Sketch of virtual learning space
Draw a simple sketch for the virtual learning space you desire, and consider the visual element you are going to display for your teaching.
The visual element can be creative, imaginative, and fun.
This virtual learning space will also be used for the teaching demonstration toward the end of the semester.
Demonstration in finalized virtual learning space
The most important thing in this virtual learning space is the visual element it contains.
This assignment will be graded by peers.
Note: Continuing to use this virtual learning space for real world teaching is encouraged.
Reaction paper (4)
Select an education issue early in the semester (before the third class session).
Write four reaction papers (2-pages each, APA formatting, 12-point font, Times Roman, typed, double-spaced) that relate the readings from class to your topic.
Synthesis paper & Presentation
Submit an extended synthesis paper during the last class session that answers the question: Do images matter in virtual learning space? or What can images do in a virtual learning space? (8-10 pages in length).
Emphasis should be placed on synthesizing what you learned about your topic as it relates to the course readings. It is imperative that you cite sources to substantiate key points.
Use APA formatting.
Disposition
Capacity to cooperate and work with others
Attendance
Active and thoughtful participation in class discussions
Demonstration of a constructive approach to art education
Provide a paragraph abstract of your critical review
GRADING
Disposition 20 points
Second Life account set up & Open Sim account set up (2 pts. each) 4 points
Second Life virtual learning environment field notes (5 pts. each)15 points
Basic creation 5 points
Sketch of virtual learning space 6 points
Peer reviewed demonstration in finalized virtual learning space15 points
Reaction Papers about the Readings (5 pts. each)20 points
Synthesis Paper & Presentation15 points
TOTAL 100 points