EDUCATION BLOG

Mae's Coffee Bar

I am currently enrolled in a Distance Education (DE) class and we use an educational management system called ‘Moodle’*. We participate by typing into discussion threads, and even though attempts are made to reproduce a f2f (face to face) class, I miss Real Life (RL) coffee breaks!

Coffee breaks are a low key, casual time with no supervisor leaning over your shoulder. People are often more honest and open than in class, and though they might use the opportunity to grumble or moan about the class etc, they share lots of information with each other. The assignments get clarification, and tips and resources are shared. And yes, the various quirks of the instructor are analyzed as students look for clues to help them produce pleasing papers! All these dynamics contribute to the learning process of the class, and though less important than the class itself, they are an important component.

Pacific Coffee on Hong Kong Island

My question is how to recreate a ‘coffee break’ experience in DE with students scattered across the landscape? I found an article on Eurogates: Netherlands Educational Portal that suggests to me virtual coffee breaks in Second Life are possible and could provide this missing experience in DE.

Quote taken from Eurogates:

Rebecca Nesson, an instructor at Harvard who brought her Legal Studies class to Second Life in the second half of 2006.
"Normally, no matter how good a distance-learning class is, an inherent distance does still exist between you and your students," she says. "Second Life has really bridged that gap. There is just more unofficial time that we spend together outside of the typical class session."

Joe Sanchez, a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin evaluated the use of Second Life in education in an interactive qualitative analysis, finding that once students overcome the technical and interface difficulties with Second Life. They "indicate a preference to social learning activities and find it enjoyable to interact with other avatars while learning in this space".

Pacific Coffee on Hong Kong Island

Pearly Gates Coffee Shop

*There is a Second Life version of this for educators who are already delivering classes from within Second Life. This version is called SLoodle