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After reading (and listening to the serialized podcast of) Martin Weller’s book 25 Years of EdTech, specifically the chapters spanning 2002 through 2011, I find myself conflicted on which technologies have relevance to the world of corporate digital learning where I work today. But, it’s not what you might be thinking – the ideas in Weller’s book presented during the decade above all have some relevance to the learning world I work in today, although often the concepts have evolved and are leveraged differently.
One concept Weller presents which I feel is even more present in 2023 than it was in 2008 where the author placed it is that of E-Portfolios. Weller describes E-Portfolios as they existed at this time as a digital archive of a student’s learning artifacts which would demonstrate their accomplishments in a class or school program (Lorenzo & Ittelson, as cited in Weller, 2020, p. 101). Weller continues to describe that in 2008 these E-Portfolios were sometimes seen as an addition to more formal certification programs, where these digital profiles would instead demonstrate to employers the specific skills an employee is able to demonstrate (p. 102). This potential of E-Portfolios 15 years ago is not far from how I see them being used today by Instructional Designers, Experience Designers, and eLearning Developers looking for new employment or career advancement. In these technical digital learning roles it is very common that candidates are expected to have an E-Portfolio they can show to potential employers to demonstrate their skills with practical examples. In addition to this, recruiters will often ask these eLearning experts to complete a specific development task to reinforce that they are able to apply the skills they demonstrated in their E-Portfolio, often in a short time span of a couple of days. In this way I believe E-Portfolios have evolved past their initial role in 2008 into a crucial place in the recruitment process for eLearning jobs in 2023.
While I would argue E-Portfolios are experiencing a second life (at least in recruiting for Ed Tech roles) the concept of the Second Life virtual world platform was absurd to me. I remember the emergency of second life vaguely, and I think it’s only a distant memory as Weller positions it in 2007 when I was a new Mum and quite sleep-deprived. What I do remember at the time was thinking the whole concept of Second Life to be absurd, and Weller seems to pick up on that, describing institutions developing their own “islands” with virtual lectures delivered by instructors represented by seven-foot tall purple cats (p. 98). While I recognize I’m picking from the most absurd examples possible, I think it is fair to say that Second Life did not deliver the lasting influence we may have thought it would in 2008 when some schools made significant investments in developing these virtual landscapes, and has been replaced in popularity by The Sims without the same adoption by higher learning instituions. However, I’m sure we could make an argument that virtual worlds have continued to evolve in the world of gaming and Virtual Reality (VR). A work colleague of mine has developed an international online community where he delivers Sunday church sermons, which is quite impressive to someone like me who is largely removed from gaming culture which I know inspired him to develop his VR church. While Second Life itself did not end up being a platform with lasting influence, I believe we can still see its influences in these types of VR ventures which allow users to experience communication and interaction in a simulated environment.
References
Weller, M. (2020, February). 25 Years of Ed Tech. AU Press—Digital Publications. https://read.aupress.ca/projects/25-years-of-ed-tech
Andrea, your post about E-Porfolios and Second Life was interesting to me. During my bachelor’s degree, I took a computer course geared towards creating an e-portfolio showcasing different lesson plans I have created. this was one of my first classes in 2015. Fast forward to 2022, and I am almost a graduate; I hadn’t looked at this portfolio in years because no other professor had mentioned using it, but now with me being in the last few internships, our professors had asked us to contribute to our e-portfolios in various ways. I generally agree with portfolios and am proud of what I have added to mine. Knowing now that recruiters and potential employers could look at the e-portfolio, I wish I had spent more time on it, even if the professors and classes had not used it. Perhaps I will go back to my portfolio had enhance it to show my new knowledge, or even link it to my MALAT blog.
In terms of Second Life (which I had never heard of until reading Weller’s book), and the Sims, you made some great points about it with connections to VR. Where do you find that these types of things have had the most influence in terms of educational technology?
That’s really neat Catherine that you’ve had experience with e-Portfolios! I think your MALAT blog would be a great addition to it if you’re looking to update it. I just might do the same, but I’m probably likely to use content I post on my MALAT blog or share on Google Drive with prospective employers instead of a specific portfolio tool.
As for your question on VR, I think the future of the tool in Education will largely depend on how accessible the solution is. For example, if the VR environment is compatible with something like Google Cardboard (which can be as inexpensive as $12 CAD + shipping and uses your smart phone) I think there could be some interesting applications where simulating human interaction is helpful to the learning experience, such as in psychology students practicing their counselling skills as part of clinical practice. However, online video conferencing tools (Zoom, Teams, WebEx, Google Meet) are so much more common-place now I wonder if the opportunities for VR in Education have passed.
Personally though, I would love to explore more virtual global visits through VR. My daughter, for example, was upset she did not have a chance to visit Notre Dame in Paris, France before the catastrophic fire in 2019. However, visitors can now experience a simulation of what the great cathedral looked like prior to the fire. I look forward to see where this technology might go in the future, and how educators can find ways to apply it in ways where other technologies are not as effective. I’m just not sure how many times those applications would be truly unique to VR opportunities, especially if more cost-prohibitive hardware is used.
Andrea, I enjoyed your blog! As someone who has been with the same company for the past decade, I wonder how I will stay relevant in today’s employment market. It seems its no longer a case of dusting off and brushing up the ‘ol’ resume’, in our field one also has to have an e-portfolio to showcase abilities. While the research in Weller’s chapter on e-portfolios seemed mixed regarding effectiveness with recruiters, I think of it as insurance. Meaning something you may never use, but boy is it handy when you do!
Pre-covid my corporation dove into VR headsets, using them to train folks on the potential risks and safety requirements of loading trailers and experiencing the warehouse. I was a part of the roll out team and I will share we had mixed results, with folks landing on opposite ends of the spectrum and rarely in the middle. For those who were familiar with gaming it worked well; as the facilitator of the tech I was able to provide basic instructions, load them into their headset and away they went with a positive and successful outcome based on the training metrics and their positive feedback. That said, when someone was not tech savvy the process became a nightmare! A 10 min exercise could stretch to three times that length before the participant had even begun the training module due to set up issues, misunderstanding or not understanding instructions and even motion sickness issues. Ultimately my company chose to abandon the technology and return to more traditional hands-on training, much of that due to covid restrictions but thinking back I am unsure if we would have continued forward even without the pandemic based on the ROI in time and cost.
That’s really great insight Jessica, thank you for sharing! As much as I want to be open to new technology I suspect I would fall into the “nope, I hate this” camp if I was using VR in the way you describe above. I have a medical condition which makes me very susceptible to motion sickness with digital screens, so along with the pressure of performing well at a new job I see how this could be very stressful for some individuals. Perhaps, though, special equipment like VR headsets are not really necessary to get the same outcome with a corporate training course. If you had a scenario-based simulation on a regular computer screen, would it really matter if it was performed wearing a VR headset or not? It’s a really interesting concept though, and one of the most compelling I’ve heard of so far in the Corporate Learning world!
Andrea, as someone who truly benefits from the online faith community I have in VR, I highly encourage more people (who are willing to put a VR headset on) to join in a few of our social events. Being in the headset does change the experience radically as having that sense of spatial/ physical closeness is genuinely felt. Also, having a community that has a purpose in driving authentic caring relationships, more and more users tired of toxic online interactions are attracted to this. Recently, Rec Room, the well-performing multiplatform online social program that we exist in, hosted their own online convention allowing users to submit booths where others can experience their clubs, communities or personal talents, such as their artwork. Much like a physical-world convention, our club had to apply and our booth was accepted – the experience of having others come along seeing what our community is all about and asking questions shows was truly breathtaking. It would be great to see events like this go beyond just clubs that exist in Rec Room.
Andrea, you haven’t missed any opportunity! VR spaces like Rec Room allows is providing easy-to-use creation tools so putting together a space of your own design is really just limited to one’s imagination. These can still be enjoyed by flat-screen users, and may even create a desire to join the VR space when they see other users dwelling INSIDE the environments. From an educators point-of-view, it has been a journey of learning when to use a visual representation of an important lesson or point, or knowing when to keep it more simple. Our other challenge is trying to have spaces that engage a wide range of ages, from age 10-40, mostly.
It’s a great space and if you ever want to see how it all works, I’d love to give a tour.