Enhancing Graduate Courses through Educational Virtual Tours

Abstract

An innovative approach for enhancing college courses using virtual worlds was developed to raise the students' level of engagement, promote critical thinking, and meet pedagogical objectives. Reaching to a new level of teaching delivery, this approach involves conducting tours of rich and exciting virtual world venues and assigning students' reflective assignments during and after the tour. In this chapter, the procedures for conducting virtual educational tours are presented, descriptions of explored virtual demonstrations and simulations are provided, findings from the learning experiences are discussed, and students' reactions to the technologies based on comprehensive surveys are shared. Furthermore, key lessons learned and recommended teaching strategies are provided and future plans for application of cutting-edge technologies to education are described.

Citation

Bojanova, I. and Pang, L. (2011), "Enhancing Graduate Courses through Educational Virtual Tours", Hinrichs, R. and Wankel, C. (Ed.) Transforming Virtual World Learning (Cutting-Edge Technologies in Higher Education, Vol. 4), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 215-239. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2044-9968(2011)0000004013