Anticipating engagement: pre-service teachers' perceptions of virtual worlds

Anticipating engagement: pre-service teachers' perceptions of virtual worlds

Engagement has become a significant driver in the choice of resources that teachers utilise at both university and K-12 level. Educators and governments recognise that increasingly, students are being pushed away from school due to a lack of engagement at a time when the need to have a skilled and educated society is ever more pressing. Information communication technologies (ICTs) are often used as a means to provide engagement. With the now ubiquitous presence of ICTs in classrooms, homes and workplaces, the need to develop high quality learning experiences with ICTs is increasingly apparent.

Virtual worlds are an ICT that, when first encountered, offer what appears to be a highly engaging environment especially for young adults and children. Many virtual
worlds have some level of game features such as multiple paths, user-level control, interaction, visuals, risk-taking, rules and goals (Baranauskas et al. 2001;
Crookall et al. 1987; Gredler 1996). Malone (1980) suggests that there are four factors of games that contribute to the level of engagement; challenge, fantasy, complexity and control. However, for students at university, these features can possibly act as a motivator or as a deterrent. Most adult students have expectations about what they believe a learning experience should be. Due to the connection they make with games and having fun, games are not traditionally linked to serious learning.

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