A Digital Teaching Assistant (DTA)
in MUVE (virtual world):
What would it do?
Updated 11/1/2020
A draft prospectus for the development of a Digital Teaching Assistant as part of a virtual world intended for teaching. The draft gives a preliminary job description, notes some parts that are currently available, and suggests some parts that could merit development efforts now. This article is explicitly licensed Public Domain (CC0).
The Empty Classroom
What would a DTA do in a virtual world?
- The Digital Teaching Assistant (DTA) for MUVES (virtual worlds): Summary
- job description, teaching assistant (search)
- Direct service to teacher: Suggest links and events of interest.
- Manage record-keeping: attendance, execution and performance levels of activities.
- Provide instruction and coaching in use of the virtual world.
- Coach students on learning skills that fit individual styles.
- Coach students and teams of students on projects.
- Help students find reliable content resources for the subject.
- Some of this is already available; other parts would need development.
- A digital teaching assistant (DTA) in a virtual world. Can it be done?
- Digital coaching is needed for the DTA: Do we have the technology for that?
- Just-In-Time (JIT) learning in virtual schools, maybe with DTA coaching. Language as an example
- Digicoach can support homework in virtual worlds with JIT learning, immediate feedback
- The digital teacher assistant and FERPA: there are security issues
Related
**************************What DTA support is already available?
Record keeping in general
- Any online instruction can record all online activity
- New educational term: Batch Registration: for schools and organizations in virtual worlds
- CybaLOUNGE: credentials: Batch-Registration for Students
- We can bring schools into OpenSim. Not just people. Whole campuses full of people.
- Why I specifically recommend Kitely for hosting a virtual campus (MUVE)
- Kitely announces virtual campuses for schools (and other organizations): Virtual worlders would say private grids.
- What would I want in a MUVE if I were using it to teach a class?
Record of attendance and attention in class
- "List the three main points you put in your class notes."
- The DTA records answers from each student. The instructor can evaluate.
Record of attendance and participation in team meetings
- "What action items of yours did you report on at this meeting?"
- "What action items did you undertake from this meeting?"
- "Who were the three main contributors to this meeting, not including yourself?"
- The DTA records answers from each student. The instructor can evaluate.
Record of individual practice
- By practice I mean actions expected to develop a skill, such as naming things in language learning.
- A MUVE can offer practice as a game or as a quiz and can record the responses.
- A DTA can evaluate the responses and advise both the student and the instructor.
- The DTA can aggregate data and use it for item analysis.
Caveats
- The capabilities mentioned above are not yet organized into an efficient package.
- In the future, the existing systems might be connected to Moodle.
What is needed for further DTA development?
Specification of major types of DTA action
- Direct Teacher aid: Helps teacher find relevant links and events,
- Resource coach: Coaches students in finding resources.
- Homework coach: Manages activities for homework.
- Just-In-Time (JIT) learning in virtual schools, maybe with DTA coaching
- Digicoach can support collaborative homework and study sessions
- Learning skills coach: Coaches on learning skills that fit student's learning style.
- Group skills coach: Coaches students in effective functioning of project groups.
- Project management coach: Coaches students through planning and executing a project.
- David Lee - Design Thinking in the Classroom: How-to for project-based learning
- MUVE welcome coach: Teaches basic skills for virtual worlds
- DTA content pages: The plan: Initial DTA content on the web here. Can be used from here or copied for use elsewhere.
- Newcomer welcome coach (1): Basic skills needed promptly
- Subject matter aid: Supports access to subject content for the course
- Learning levels aid: Uses language, content, and guidance suited to learning level.
- DTA and digicoach take on a form to suit the task: Shoulder pet, HUD, NPC, signs in places
Learning levels: different versions the DTA
- My initial guesses:
- Post graduate
- Junior-Senior (college )
- Freshman-Sophomore (college )
- Junior-Senior (high school)
- Freshman-Sophomore (high school)
Content areas for first DTA developments in MUVEs
- STEM areas: Because of educational focus.
- STEM areas: DTA can evaluate facts, measurements and expressions.
- Math: DTA can evaluate almost all of the work.
- Biology: Visuals are important here.
- Chemistry: Chemical reactions can be simulated (enlarged). DTA can evaluate most chemical expressions.
- Astronomy: Visuals are essential. DTA can simulate atomic physics.
- Physics: DTA can simulate atomic physics.
- Digital Literacy: Matt Harris Vlog. Connections to the DTA and the virtual campus
Introduction to virtual worlds
No TA works without supervision
- Not a human TA, certainly not a DTA .
- The DTA should detect when it is unable to give the help needed, and report to the teacher.
- The teacher can review DTA problem reports and intervene.
- The DTA should allow live intervention by the teacher in active sessions.
- Will the Digital Teaching Assistant (DTA) need artificial intelligence?
DTA articles
DTA content pages
- DTA content pages: The plan: Initial DTA content on the web here
- Firestorm settings for beginners. A DTA content page
- Newcomer welcome coach (1): Basic skills needed promptly
- Basic skills needed for attending a meeting or class in a virtual world. DTA content page
- Develop your contacts list. DTA content page
- Search tips from a digital coach: DTA content page
- Travel tips for the Hypergrid. A DTA content page
- Ingrid (within a grid) Travel tips for OpenSimulator . A DTA content page
General
- A Digital Teaching Assistant (DTA) in a MUVE (virtual world): What would it do?
- A digital teaching assistant (DTA) in a virtual world. Can it be done?
- Digital coaching is needed for the DTA: Do we have the technology for that?
- Online education, sure. But why a virtual campus? Why in a virtual world (MUVE)?
Development considerations
Possible services, education
- ACRL Virtual World Interest Group presents a tour in Kitely
- Magnolia gardens of knowledge . A demonstration of introductory training on the parts (of anything)
- Digital Teaching Assistant (DTA) can run the search game: solo, teacher's game, or team game
- Edpuzzle offers DTA features and could serve as a module in Digital Teaching Assistant (DTA)
- We can reduce barriers to educational uptake of virtual worlds. Assessment of the situation
- The DTA as search coach: How does that work? Especially for project-based learning
- The Digital Teaching Assistant fits with the practice of blended learning
- F/Xual Education Services: Occupational Medicine Simulation. A HUD is a Digicoach without personality
- Error based learning in writing. Combine project-based learning with test-based learning. And maybe get a useful product out of it.
- Digicoach can support collaborative homework and study sessions
- Digicoach can support homework in virtual worlds with JIT learning, immediate feedback
- Digicoach for project-management in self-managed teams: (Note: skills to be learned in doing these tasks)
- David Lee - Design Thinking in the Classroom: How-to for project-based learning
New century education
- The sense of instructor presence in the online classroom. Loneliness not a problem on a virtual campus
- An online school needs a digital campus. Not just for classrooms, but for many of the services currently offered on a physical campus
- MOOC2019 Digital classrooms in the sky. And how a Digital Teaching Assistant (DTA) could fit in.
- Learn to be a self-starter. Self-managed learning, libraries, learning communities
- Coding and virtual worlds: a marriage made in computers. The DTA could officiate
- Learning Made in Second Life - CNDG
- Schools need 3 levels of edtech--Matt Harris, Ed.D. And how does the Digital Teaching Assistant (DTA) fit in?
- Once you hear lecture about swimming, you never forget what you learned about lectures. Talking is not teaching
- Student-thinking versus breadwinner-thinking versus entrepreneurial thinking: coming of age in school
- Just-In-Time (JIT) learning in virtual schools, maybe with DTA coaching. Language as an example
- Why a reading assignment is like a treasure hunt. And why it is not
- Suppose the real objective in school is to pass multiple-choice tests. Can a digital TA handle test-based learning?
- Immersive Technologies (Heritage Christian Online School)
*********************************************************
Visit me on the web
- Drop by my web offices Weekdays: 12:-12:30 pm Central time (US)
- I am available for free consulting on any topic in this blog.
- Cybalounge and 3DWebWorldz (Orientation room)
- I will be in both places, so you may need to speak to get my attention.
- Web-worlds, 3D virtual worlds running in a browser. Summary
- And we can visit the Writer's Workshop on the Web
- Don't register -- enter as guest.
************************
- Drop by my web offices Weekdays: 12:-12:30 pm Central time (US)
- I am available for free consulting on any topic in this blog.
- Cybalounge and 3DWebWorldz (Orientation room)
- I will be in both places, so you may need to speak to get my attention.
- Web-worlds, 3D virtual worlds running in a browser. Summary
- And we can visit the Writer's Workshop on the Web
- Don't register -- enter as guest.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.