Lu sur Thiagi newsletter de février 2010

Debbie Newman, MA, MFT, is the Chief People Person for Working Relationships, an individual/organizational consulting practice specializing in the people side of business, and the business of relationships.

With more than 30 years of experience managing people, projects and programs as an external consultant and internal corporate contributor, Debbie leverages 15 years of experience as a relationship expert and clinician to design and deliver learning programs that support the aspirations of her individual and institutional clients.

In addition to being a meticulous instructional designer and high-energy trainer and facilitator, Debbie is fast becoming an expert developer of immersive learning simulations using 3D virtual world and social networking technologies as her tools of choice.


Debbie Newman is the “real person” behind Avatar Deb Quintessa. They (Debbie and Deb) are the primary contributors to Confessions of a Professional Avatar (http://www.ChiefPeoplePerson.com/avatarconfess), a blog that chronicles the design and development of Working Relationships Training Town, a virtual world destination for trainers and educators.

The grand opening of this virtual venue is planned for late February 2010 when participants from Debbie's Train-the-Trainer Boot Camp will take a field trip to participate in a new learning simulation in the non-physical virtual world known as Second Life® (SL).

• Extrait de l'interview de Debbie Newman

TGL: How did you become interested in 3D virtual worlds for education and training?

Debbie: I have been looking for a comprehensive distance-learning platform suitable for relationship skills education (examples: customer service, conflict resolution, leadership, teaming, tolerance, and embracing differences). In my experience, most distance communication technologies, e-learning authoring tools, and computer-based learning programs, while arguably effective for the transfer of information and cognitive skill development, are woefully inadequate for soft skills training. In my view, linear cause-and-effect case studies do not get us sufficiently beyond knowledge acquisition into legitimate real-world skill building. While these programs can be engaging, I have not seen any that replicate the realism necessary for lasting change.

When I came across social-centric 3D virtual worlds (not to be confused with game-centric 3D virtual worlds) I knew I found my answer. Places like SL offer the flexibility and bandwidth I need to create multi-sensory immersive experiences in which learners, through their avatars, can virtually, and across great distances, interact with others in ways that replicate the immediacy, spontaneity, and authenticity of real life. These augmented reality platforms enable me to go far beyond the limits of formulaic branched scenario-based exercises to design learning experiences that account for the circular causality, equifinality, multifinality, entropy, regulation, and interdependence inherent in organic interpersonal systems.

I won't get into it here, but the impact of immersive virtual experiences on personal and professional development can be profound. Suffice it to say, we have learned much and have much more to learn about the neuropsychological implications of virtual reality. Personally, I find it fascinating.

TGL: Is this virtual world technology new?

Debbie: Yes and no. Virtual reality is not new. In fact, there is more than 25 years of research pointing to its efficacy for learning and more. What is new is its mainstream accessibility. Advances in computer technology put the power of virtual reality into the hands of anybody with an adequately configured computer. By the way, in case you haven't noticed, we rely on virtual tools that have become real to us every day. After all, aren't chat rooms, IMs, emails. blogs, listserves, and teleconferences virtual experiences?

TGL: Do you need to be a gamer or a programmer to be able to design learning in virtual worlds?

Debbie: Not at all. I'm neither a gamer nor a programmer. However, I am an experienced instructional designer and facilitator. While my journey into virtual worlds could have been accelerated by more technical skills; the fact is, I have still managed to learn enough to get started, and I am learning more every day. As I grow up in this medium, I contribute to and am benefited by differently-skilled others who collaborate with me to achieve some really kool things. (Did I mention it is fun, too?)

(...)

TGL: Do you have any book recommendations?

Debbie: Check out the Journal of Virtual Worlds. Also, by the time this interview is published, I will be poring through the pages of the enthusiastically anticipated Learning in 3D: Adding a New Dimension to Enterprise Learning and Collaboration by Karl Kapp and Tony O'Driscoll.

I've peeked at the table of contents already, and can certainly recommend it now, in part, because I know one of the contributors to that book, Lesley Scopes.

My avatar met her avatar, LightSequent, at a Train for Success meeting in SL where she presented her conclusions from the extensive literature review she performed for her Masters thesis. Lesley did an excellent job summarizing the evolution from pedagogy to cybergogy.

She also painstakingly streamlined Kapp & O'Driscoll's 10 Learning Archetypes (learning activities) and aligned them with the four domains of learning in 3D virtual world environments. I particularly appreciated the three real virtual world examples she offered to demonstrate how all these models and theories come together. Her summary helped me coherently snap together many elements of instructional design for 3D worlds.

(...)

Pour en savoir plus :

Lire l'interview en son entier
http://thiagi.com/pfp/IE4H/february2010.html

Le blog de Debbie Newmann
http://chiefpeopleperson.com/avatarconfess/
This blog is by and for performance consultants (including instructional designers and facilitators) and therapy/coaching professionals who seek to create highly interactive virtual learning experiences to meet the professional and personal development and learning needs of peers and clients.

Journal of Virtual Worlds

Notamment Volume 2, Number 1: Pedagogy, Education and Innovation in Virtual Worlds (qui me reste à lire...)