10

kesearch roposa|
A Case Study Introduc|ng 3D Mu|t|Use V|rtua|
Lnv|ronments |n a Masters rogram to Improve
Student ketent|on
au| u|n|an
Ior L1LC S00
Dr Stephen Carey
Apr|| 11
th
2010

2
Introduction:
LducaLlon and Lhe classroom as we know lL Loday are under Lremendous pressure Lo change ln
our Lechnologlcally evolvlng world (Sanborn SanLos MonLgomery CaruLhers 2003) new sofLware
and hardware are creaLlng educaLlonal posslblllLles LhaL have never before exlsLed 1he sad facL ls LhaL
mosL sLudenLs are belng lefL behlnd global progress belng shuLln archalc foundaLlonal lnsLlLuLlons wlLh
walls and llmlLed fundlng and resources 1hls ls a shame when Lhey could be learnlng consLrucLlvely
and collaboraLlvely wlLh sLudenLs from around Lhe world flylng off Lo Chlna for a 20 mlnuLe language
lesson lmmersed ln culLure and language or vlslLlng Lhe lnLernaLlonal Space SLaLlon and all rlghL from
Lhe comforL of Lhelr own homes vlrLual schoollng ls evolvlng and some mlghL say sLlll ln lLs lnfancy
vlrLual schools are now becomlng commonplace ln norLh Amerlcan educaLlon for all levels of
schoollng from k12 and hlgher Course cholces and Lhe ablllLy Lo work from anywhere ln Lhe world are
greaL lncenLlves for any sLudenL Lo go onllne (CesLrelcher kuzma ?en 2009) Also mosL sLudenLs can
even work aL Lhelr own pace Lake exLra credlL courses or make up mlssed credlLs whlle sLlll aLLendlng
Lhelr 'real school' courses Lo help graduaLe early or [usL on Llme (8oblyer 2006) Cholce ln programs
and Lhe ablllLy Lo work from home has allowed me and oLhers from around Lhe world Lo pursue Lhe u8C
MasLers ln LducaLlonal 1echnology program Powever belng relaLlvely young vlrLual schools do have
Lhelr lssues ln facL hlgh course dropouL raLes upwards of 70 have been reporLed (8arbour 8eeves
2009 8oblyer 2006) as noL all sLudenLs are able Lo experlence success buL Lhese schools are sLlll
deflnlng Lhemselves and can develop furLher erhaps creaLlng a more soclal onllne communlLy mlghL
[usL be able Lo lmprove sLudenL reLenLlon
LnLer Lhe 3u mulLluser vlrLual envlronmenLs (,DI) Lhese are vlrLual 8eallLy programs llke
Second Llfe" and Coogle's Llvely" whlch are new onllne programs/Lools whlch are slowly flndlng Lhelr
way lnLo educaLlonal realms and have been LouLed as holdlng conslderable poLenLlal as powerful
medlums for learnlng" (lalloon 2010 p 109) ln Lhese Lypes of envlronmenLs sLudenLs have an

3
opporLunlLy Lo parLlclpaLe as an fff a vlrLual expresslon of Lhemselves ln Lhe onllne MuvL world
AvaLars can communlcaLe and lnLeracL wlLh oLhers and have Lhe poLenLlal Lo sLrengLhen a learners'
sense of communlLy" (Wang Psu 2009 p 77)
1he ob[ecLlve of my llLeraLure revlew ls Lo explore a few quesLlons around lmprovlng vlrLual
school dellvery and sLudenL reLenLlon
1 Wlll vlrLual schools be Lhe nexL wave of fuLure educaLlon?
2 WhaL are Lhe facLors whlch conLrlbuLe Lo vlrLual school sLudenL success?
3 Are Lhere ways Lo lmprove sLudenL success ln vlrLual schools onllne uslng 3u MuvLs?
Sckground & tbe RStionSe
As a Leacher wlLh a passlon for blendlng educaLlon wlLh Lechnology l see greaL appeal ln
onllne/vlrLual schoollng l have Laken courses onllne ln Lhe pasL Lo upgrade personally and also Lo
explore Lhe realm of onllne learnlng 1hrough my exploraLlon l have deLermlned LhaL Lhls ls noL only an
lnLeresL for me buL lL has provlded me a goal Lo creaLe and lmprove upon Lhe meLhods currenLly ln
place My own sLruggles connecLlng wlLh oLher sLudenLs and lnsLrucLors ln pasL courses were someLlmes
an area of frusLraLlon WlLh Lhe consLanL reflnlng of boLh sofLware and hardware more posslblllLles are
avallable Lo allevlaLe Lhese frusLraLlons
lnlLlally l found a LhoughL provoklng arLlcle on Lhe posslblllLles of uses of avaLars and 3u
MuvLs ln educaLlon AfLer pursulng Lhls angle furLher l had read over 10 relaLed arLlcles and weeded
down Lo Lhe mosL credlble and Lhemed Lo help solve an area of vlrLual schoollng weakness
collaboraLlon and connecLlon Lo Lhe culLure of learnlng
lL ls for Lhese reasons why l wlsh Lo explore opporLunlLles for creaLlng a more connecLed onllne
educaLlonal experlence and see lf Lhelr appllcaLlon Lo onllne learnlng mlghL lmprove onllne success and

4
sLudenL reLenLlon AbsLracL ldeas and approaches have ofLen produced ouLsLandlng resulLs and have a
way of capLurlng Lhe mlnds of sLudenLs regardless of age Cnllne schoollng ls noL absLracL buL lL ls sLlll
a newer concepL LhaL needs reflnlng and lmprovemenL
Review of tbe LiterSture
Will virtuol scbools be tbe wove of future eJucotion?
vlrLual schools are one of Lhe fasLesL growlng lnLernaLlonal Lrends ln educaLlon Loday"
(naLlonal lorum as clLed ln 8obyler uavls 2008) llrsL creaLed ln Lhe mld 1990s vlrLual schoollng has
become a common meLhod for dlsLance educaLlon dellvery (8arbour 8eeves 2009) ln a 200403
reporL of uS naLlonal CenLer for LducaLlon SLaLlsLlcs Lhere were an esLlmaLed 306930 Lechnology
based dlsLance educaLlon course enrollmenLs ln publlc schools alone (8obyler uavls 2008) wlLh
pro[ecLlons of numbers explodlng hlgher ln Lhe comlng decade (8oblyer 2006)
redlcLlng Lhe fuLure of educaLlon ls no easy Lask especlally wlLh Lechnology booms and Lhe
global connecLlvlLy of Lhe World Wlde Web LducaLlon ls a complex and dynamlc sysLem whlch should
be cenLered on meeLlng Lhe needs of Lhe sLudenL ln loot 5ceootlos fot tbe lotote of Jocotloo
Sanborn SanLos MonLgomery CaruLhers (2003) creaLe a seL of predlcLlons whlch ouLlay posslblllLles
Lo sLlmulaLe our mlnds wlLh sclence flcLlon and some currenL besL pracLlces ln educaLlon 1he flrsL
scenarlo lnvolves dlrecL educaLlon by 2012 uslng nanoLechnology braln lmplanLs and Wlll so LhaL
LhoughL conLrols our access Lo lnformaLlon 1hls lnsLanL connecLlvlLy would also provlde conLlnuous
accounLablllLy wlLh LesLlng and reporLlng Lo parenLs almosL lmmedlaLely as well as vlrLual classrooms
wlLh experlenLlal learnlng all from home 1he oLher scenarlos propose LhaL Pomeschoollng wlll be
almosL Lrendy by 2014 and LhaL class separaLlon based on educaLlon wlll Lake place based on educaLlon
levels around Lhe year 2020 LasLly Sanborn eL al (2003) propose LhaL experlenLlal schools whlch

3
hlghllghL Lhe use of masLer Leachers" (experLs ln Lhelr fleld eg ChemlsLry LaughL by a ChemlsL) wlll be
research proven by 2023 Lo be Lhe Lrled and Lrue meLhods for sLudenL success lnLeresL soclal skllls
engagemenL and reLenLlon CurrenLly aslde from Lhe nanoLechnology lmplanLs schools are
lmplemenLlng marks managemenL and reporLlng sofLware Lo updaLe parenLs qulckly and homeschoollng
and vlrLual classrooms are becomlng more popular (8oblyer 2006) Sanborn eL al (2003) do an
excellenL [ob creaLlng posslblllLles based on currenL besL pracLlces however Lhe sub[ecLlve posslblllLles
are llmlLed by sclence Lechnology and resources neverLheless Lhese scenarlos do hlghllghL LhaL
educaLlon dellvery ls changlng Lo a more dlsLanced and onllne approach
ln a lengLhy revlew of llLeraLure on vlrLual schools 8arbour and 8eeves (2008) focus on deflnlng
and classlfylng vlrLual schools and Lhelr beneflLs and challenges 1he flve maln beneflLs of vlrLual schools
ldenLlfled are lmprovlng sLudenL ouLcomes and skllls provldlng hlgh quallLy learnlng opporLunlLles
expandlng educaLlonal access allowlng for educaLlonal cholce and also admlnlsLraLlve efflclency 1he
auLhors made a good crlLlque LhaL Lhere sLlll ls noL enough research Lo supporL Lhese polnLs and dld
suggesL Lhls as a posslble area for fuLure research 1hroughouL Lhe arLlcle 8arbour and 8eeves (2008)
perform Lhorough analysls of ma[or works however l found some of Lhelr synLhesls of arLlcles was
lacklng and more crlLlque ln fuLure Lrends even areas such as hardware and sofLware demands need Lo
be addressed
8obyler (2006) supporLs Lhe clalm LhaL cholce" ls a ma[or beneflL and moLlvaLor for sLudenLs
however she also adds flexlblllLy and how sLudenLs can apply Lhe courses Lo Lhelr programs plays a role
ln how sLudenLs selecL Lhelr courses 8obyler (2006) goes on Lo propose LhaL onllne opLlons seem
desLlned Lo become parL of Lhe array of servlces all schools musL offer ln Lhe compeLlLlve educaLlon
markeLplace" (p31)

6
So ln concluslon wheLher we have braln lmplanLs or noL ln Lhe fuLure you can beL LhaL sLudenLs
wlll be Laklng courses onllne lL mlghL be safe Lo say Lhe Lrend of vlrLual schoollng ls sLlll ln lLs early years
and may lndeed become a wave Lo rlde ln Lhe years Lo come
Wbot ore tbe foctors wbicb contribute to virtuol scbool stuJent success?
As vlrLual schools are lncreaslng ln popularlLy new research ls flndlng Lhere are problems ln
malnLalnlng sLudenL enrollmenL (8arbour 8eeves 2009 8oblyer 2006 8obyler uavls 2008 Wang
Psu 2009) ln facL even Lhough enrollmenL ls hlgh ln vlrLual programs dropouL and fallure raLes have
been reporLed as hlgh as 60 70 ln some locaLlons 8obyler (2006) sLaLes
Cne aspecL of onllne schoollng whlch all agree ls LhaL sLudenLs do noL succeed
equally well ln all programs As wlLh dlsLance courses ln hlgher educaLlon sLudenLs Lend
Lo fall or drop ouL of vlrLual courses aL a much hlgher raLe Lhan Lhey do faceLoface ones
ln her paper Ilttoolly 5occessfol 8obyler (2006) conducLs lnLervlews wlLh flve dlrecLors from
successful vlrLual schools and clalms LhaL successful schools have Lhe followlng characLerlsLlcs
1 repare sLudenLs for success orlenLaLlon and use of sLaff Lo quallfy candldaLes
2 repare Leachers for success menLors and u faclllLaLors are made noL born"
3 lnLeracLlve and llexlble deslgn group work handson pro[ecL based
4 MonlLor and supporL Leachers use currlculum course deslgners so Leachers can
Leach and are encouraged Lo be ln Lhe course space" almosL dally
3 MonlLor and supporL sLudenLs subsLanLlal one Lo one monlLorlng"
Whlle Lhe llsL can be appllcable Lo many schools 8obyler (2006) generallzes LhaL Lhese sLraLegles are
appllcable ln order Lo have any successful program however Lhese sLraLegles are produclng good
resulLs for Lhose speclflc flve vlrLual hlgh" schools so whaL of hlgher educaLlon Also 8obyler (2006)

7
makes a polnL LhaL Lhe meLhod ln whlch schools calculaLe and reporL dropouLs ls lnconslsLenL and
perhaps should be formulaLed for all schools Lo use for reporLlng Cverall 8obyler (2006) has done an
excellenL [ob ln her reporLlng and analysls/synLhesls of Lhe lnLervlews however lncludlng speclflc daLa
from each school or lnLervlews wlLh oLher schools LhaL were noL as successful would provlde a beLLer
conLrasL and add some valldlLy Lo her sLudy oLenLlal use of a 3u MuvLs can be seen ln 8obyler's
(2006) polnLs especlally ln Lerms of lnLeracLlve deslgn and monlLorlng one Lo one" even beLLer lf you
had a course space!"
More avenues of research have led Lo sLudles whlch probe models of screenlng sLudenLs for
deslrable characLerlsLlcs for success predlcLlon 8obyler and uavls (2008) have provlded supporLlve
raLlonale LhaL wlLh Lhe growLh ln vlrLual schoollng aLrlsk sLudenLs should be ldenLlfled early on and
provlded wlLh added supporL Lo help promoLe Lhelr reLenLlon MeLhodology of Lhls sLudy referred Lo a
60 polnL LlkerL sLyle survey whlch was dellvered Lo over 4110 sLudenLs ln 196 vlrLual Plgh Schools ln Lhe
Sprlng semesLer of 2006 lncenLlves of exLra credlL were offered and over 33 (2162) of Lhe surveys
were fully compleLed 1he survey was a reflned verslon of Lhe LducaLlonal Success redlcLlon
lnsLrumenL (LS8l) Laklng lnLo accounL self reporLed CA organlzaLlon achlevemenL bellefs
responslblllLy rlskLaklng and Lechnology skllls/access SLudenL course resulLs were LabulaLed A 8 or C
grades were raLed as a 'ass' and u l l (dropped) or W (wlLhdrew) were 'lalled' and Lhe Lerm resulLs
were LhaL 73 (1994) of Lhose sLudenLs LesLed dld ass
nexL Lhe LS8l was reworked uslng facLor analysls Lo produce a Lhlnner more abbrevlaLed
lnsLrumenL of only 23 quesLlons focused on Lechnology use and self efflcacy (10 lLems) achlevemenL
bellefs (6) rlskLaklng (6) and organlzaLlon sLraLegles (3) 1he resulLlng 23lLem lnsLrumenL had a hlgh
rellablllLy quoLlenL of 092 8eworklng Lhe model on Lhe prevlous daLa Lhe model was Lrled Lo predlcL
fallure and success resulLlng ln 304 and 93 respecLlvely As a resulL 8obyler and uavls (2008)

8
conclude Lhe model as a beLLer predlcLor of success Lhan fallure and recommend lLs use Lo ldenLlfy
posslble aLrlsk vlrLual learners Lo provlde exLra supporL Cverall Lhls sLudy was very well supporLed and
explalned all Lhe way Lhrough uaLa however was losL ln LranslaLlon when ldenLlfylng Lhe numbers of
sLudenLs ln Lhe pass/fall percenLages compared Lo Lhose Laken Lhe survey (73 of 2162 1622 noL
1994) whlch mlghL brlng lnLo quesLlon valldlLy noneLheless Lhe overall facLor analysls and raLlonale ln
concludlng Lhe model as a predlcLor of success seemed qulLe sound and someLhlng worLhy of use for
furLher exploraLlon erhaps furLher LesLlng especlally on adulL learners ln hlgher educaLlon mlghL be
anoLher angle for research 8arbour and 8eeves (2008) clalm sLudenLs Lyplcally successful ln onllne
envlronmenLs are ln facL lndependenL learners hlghly moLlvaLed sLrong Llme managemenL llLeracy and
Lechnology skllls Lhese are all skllls Lyplcally assoclaLed wlLh Lhe adulL learner
oes tbe use of ovotors in - H0vFs focilitote stuJent interocti on?
As menLloned prevlously 3u MuvLs are now flndlng Lhere way lnLo educaLlon and many
appllcaLlons of Lhese realms are sLlll Lo be dlscovered Pew Cheung (2010) have revlewed llLeraLure
speclflc Lo educaLlon and vlrLual worlds and Lhelr posslble uses ln educaLlon 1helr presenLaLlon of 13
research based arLlcles flowed ln a loglcal and ordered manner however noL all were crlLlqued Also 14
of Lhe 13 research arLlcles were quallLaLlve research deslgns lacklng emperlcal daLa and Lhus noL belng
very balanced and posslbly brlnglng ln a hlnL of blas on Lhe parL of Pew and Cheung (2010) SLudles
showed how Lhe use of vlrLual worlds could help fosLer soclal lnLeracLlon among parLlclpanLs Lhrough
Lhe use of avaLars Cheung and Pew (2010) also conclude sLudenLs en[oyed Lhe vlrLual worlds because
Lhey en[oyed Lhe ablllLy Lo move around freely meeL new people and experlence vlrLual fleld Lrlps 8ell
(2009) sLaLes LhaL new posslblllLles for learnlng are emerglng ln Lhese 3u MuvLs whlch educaLors musL
flrsL undersLand and brlng Lo communlLles of pracLlce

9
Wang and Psu (2009) dlscuss Lhe raLlonale LhaL uslng Lhe 3u MuvL Second Llfe (SL) could
lncrease faceLoface" Llme for onllne sLudenLs and help bulld a sLrong sense of communlLy ln onllne
schoollng lf lnsLrucLors could beLLer lmplemenL Lhese Lools 8esearch summarlzed LhaL onllne learners
were less saLlsfled wlLh onllne dellvery LhaL faceLoface Lhus lendlng Lo Lhe problem of hlgh dropouL
raLes Summers WlagandL WhlLLaker (2003) as clLed ln Wang Psu (2009) Wang and Psu (2009)
Look onllne eLhnographlc observaLlons of sLudenLs lnLeracLlng wlLhln a vlrLual class and Lhen creaLed
Lhelr own deslgn case sLudy Lo lmplemenL Second Llfe (SL) modules lnLo an onllne (8lackboard)
lnsLrucLlonal Lechnology Lralnlng course for 12 parLLlme graduaLe sLudenLs aL a unlverslLy ln new ?ork
1hey lmplemenLed Lhe AuulL meLhod of lnsLrucLlonal deslgn for Lhe sesslons (analysls deslgn
developmenL lmplemenLaLlon and evaluaLlon) and supporLed Lhe course lnsLrucLor wlLh Lhese sLeps
Slnce none of Lhe sLudenLs had been ln SL before acLlvlLles were developed ln successlon Lo bulld
famlllarlLy confldence and skllls uaLa was collecLed Lhrough lnLervlews emalls and observaLlons
summaLlve and formaLlve assessmenLs as welll as daLa from a senlor faculLy member who was lnvlLed
Lo parLlclpaLe as an exLernal observer ln SL 8esulLs of Lhe case sLudy were LhaL LhreefourLhs of
sLudenLs meL Lhe learnlng goals whlle all reporLed a saLlsfled lmpresslon of SL use ln provldlng a faceLo
face connecLlon Whlle Lhe deslgn model ls sound l dld have lssues wlLh Lhe rellablllLy of Lhe LesL
sample 12 l1 sLudenL Lralners Whlle noL experlenced ln SL Lhe sLudenLs would have hlgher Lhan
average Lechnologlcal Lralnlng Lo begln wlLh and lf only 73 (8) meL Lhe learnlng goals Lhen how low
would Lhls be from sLudenLs wlLh far less skllls CLher lssues ldenLlfled were a senlor faculLy member
was observlng ln SL and eLhlcally Lhls presenLs lssues LhaL perhaps Lhe sLudenLs were performlng beLLer
due Lo Lhe observers presence or also how ls eLhnographlc observaLlon done on body language whlch ls
llmlLed by Lhe sofLware AlLogeLher Lhough l do flnd LhaL Wang Psu (2009) have done an excellenL
[ob ln creaLlng a deslgn model and an arLlcle whlch glves example and lnsplraLlon Lo Lhe deslgn of fuLure
experlmenLs ln uslng 3u MuvLs for supporLlng lnsLrucLlon

10
roposS
8evlewlng Lhe llLeraLure a common problem ln vlrLual onllne learnlng was ldenLlfled as hlgh
dropouL raLes (8oblyer 2006) Success screenlng Lools such as Lhe newly condensed LS8l model
presenLlng as a 23 CuesLlon LlkerL scale survey (8obyler uavls 2008) can be a valuable Lool ln
assesslng and supporLlng sLudenLs new Lo onllne learnlng envlronmenLs LasLly lL has been ldenLlfled
LhaL onllne learnlng dlsLance sLudenLs lack a soclal envlronmenL and mlghL be one reason sLudenLs
aren'L successful or choose Lo drop ouL My research quesLlon ls
uoes Lhe lnLegraLlon of 3u mulLluse vlrLual envlronmenL (SL) acLlvlLles lnLo an onllne course lncrease
sLudenL performance and/or reLenLlon ln hlgher learnlng lnsLlLuLlons?"
l hope LhaL ln performlng Lhls and oLher sLudles llke Lhls we assess wheLher we need Lo break Lhe mold
of Lhe vlrLual school and expand lL beyond LexLual lnLeracLlon boards and posLs and creaLe more soclal
collaboraLlon ln vlrLual worlds whlch supporL oLher learners and creaLe more successful schools
Metbodoogy
1hls research wlll be comprlsed of a case sLudy of sLudenLs Laklng nonelecLlve (mandaLory)
courses ln Lhe MasLers of LducaLlonal 1echnology program aL u8C wlLh followup posL graduaLlon 1he
sLudy wlll look Lo break Lhe courses lnLo Lwo sLreams Lhe conLrol group wlll Lake Lhe course wlLh Lhe
currenL deslgn and Lhe experlmenLal group wlll Lake Lhe course wlLh Second Llfe (SL) acLlvlLles added Lo
supporL Lhe conLenL and bulld ln communlLy lloL LesLlng of Lhe experlmenLal sLage should be done
prlor Lo performlng a full sLudy Lo assess feaslblllLy and accepLablllLy before full lmplemenLaLlon
1he sLudy wlll be assessed Lhrough surveys [ournals lnLervlews and grades (pass/fall daLa) lL
wlll begln by complllng and reflecLlng on pasL basellne daLa adapLlng and deslgnlng new acLlvlLles wlLh
lnsLrucLors ln SL Lo supporL Lhe course work and conclude by evaluaLlng sLudenLs and Leachers on

11
surveys of experlence saLlsfacLlon and suggesLlon as well as collecLlng pass/fall resulLs each semesLer
for each lndlvldual course l belleve Lhls meLhod of mlxed experlmenLal and quallLaLlve research wlll
provlde excellenL deLall and supporL for hlgher learnlng lnsLlLuLlons as Lo Lhe relevance of SL and
creaLlng more connecLed and supporLlve onllne envlronmenLs for Lhelr learners
8asellne research daLa musL be collecLed lnlLlally Lo esLabllsh paLLerns relaLlng Lo course dropouL
raLes (back slnce Lhe currenL course deslgn had been sLarLed) of passes and falls ln Lhe mandaLory
courses l would suggesL keeplng wlLh Lhe meLhod explalned by 8obyler uavls (2008) for recordlng
passes (A 8 C) and falls (l W u l) Laklng lnLo accounL Lhe currenL unlversLly sLandards Lven Lhough
Lhere may noL be LS8l daLa from Lhose sLudenLs from prevlous accounLs we may sLlll have opporLunlLy
Lo follow up on dropped sLudenLs by open survey or lnLervlew (phone leLLer or emall) as Lo Lhelr
reasons for noL compleLlng Lhe course
1he sample wlll be Lhe sLudenLs ln dlfferenL secLlons of Lhe courses spllL evenly ln sLudenL
numbers (slmple random sampllng (Cay Mllls Alraslan 2009)) lnlLlally Lo reflecL equal buL random
sLarLlng samples ldeally boLh groups wlll experlence Lwo courses of each dellvery meLhod 8oLh
groups (conLrol and experlmenLal) wlll be educaLed ln Lhe survey goals and eLhlcal conslderaLlons of
lnformed consenL wlll be requlred by all parLlclpanLs As parL of each course an LS8l survey wlll be
mandaLory A sllghLly modlfled verslon of Lhe LS8l should be used Lo reflecL Lhe MasLers level of
educaLlon sLudenLs belng dealL wlLh as 8obyler uavls (2008) used Lhelr model on hlgh school sLudenLs
1hls daLa wlll be recorded and kepL for analysls of sLudenL success screenlng aL Lhe compleLlon of each
course ln each semesLer Lhe LS8l survey should be used on sLudenLs ln each group Lo reflecL preLesL
performance (basellne measures)
Surveys wlll also lnclude a posL course evaluaLlon of dellvery and lnsLrucLlon as well as a follow
up survey or lnLervlew for sLudenLs who dropouL (feedback orlenLed) llnally a sLudy survey wlll be senL

12
ouL aL Lhe compleLlon of Lhe ML1 program even Lo Lhose who lnlLlally dropped ouL of courses or Lhe
program Surveys wlll be brlef uslng boLh sLrucLured and unsLrucLured lLems Lo allow for openended
responses and wlll focus around communlLy and Lhe course dellvery supporLlng Lhls
Course deslgn and lmplemenLaLlon changes wlll be done wlLh Lhe course deslgners and
lnsLrucLors uslng Lhe AuulL model presenLed by Wang Psu (2009) 1hese wlll be deslgned Lo bulld
skllls slowly and lnsLrucLors wlll add auLhenLlc Lasks for sLudenLs Lo explore or collaboraLe wlLh peers
lnlLlally no more Lhan one per week maybe even a seL number of flve SL acLlvlLles per course
lnsLrucLors wlll be asked Lo hold one hour of offlce hours per week ln SL Lo allow for sLudenLs Lo come
and meeL and engage ln dlalogue (agaln Lrylng Lo provlde more of a soclal connecLlon) lnsLrucLors who
Leach a secLlon of each group conLrol and experlmenLal would help medlaLe any lnLernal valldlLy lssues
wlLh respecL Lo assessmenL (lnsLrumenLaLlon" (Cay Mllls Alraslan 2009)) llnally lnsLrucLors wlll be
asked Lo keep a shorL [ournal Lo for reflecLlon noLes on speclflc LhoughLs/concerns on how Lhe SL
program ls worklng and Lo make an enLry afLer each acLlvlLles compleLlon
upon compleLlon of each nonelecLlve course pass/fall daLa wlll provlde Lhe hub of evaluaLlve
resulLs 1hese wlll be compared Lo Lhe resulLs of Lhe LS8l surveys Lo flnd any correlaLlon Lo success and
also Lo experlmenLal and conLrol group resulLs
ignificSnce
1aklng an onllne program ls an excellenL way Lo change your vlew of Lhe dlrecLlon of educaLlon
and relaLe Lo Lhe beneflLs of vlrLual schoollng 1he purposes of Lhls proposal are Lo ldenLlfy and descrlbe
a ma[or challenge faclng vlrLual schoollng Loday sLudenL reLenLlon and success Lucklly new sofLware
may provlde a posslble soluLlon Lo Lhls problem ln Lhe use of mulLl user vlrLual envlronmenLs (MuvLs)
1hese hlghly adapLable and powerful plaLforms are sLlll ln Lhelr early sLages of developmenL however

13
have poLenLlal Lo enhance soclal lnLeracLlon and supporL connecLedness (de lrelLas 2006 clLed ln
lalloon 2010) 1hus more research ls necessary ln educaLlonal appllcaLlons deslgn lmplemenLaLlon
and Lhus Lo assess Lhelr role ln promoLlng a more successful sLudenL envlronmenL for learnlng and
sLudenL reLenLlon
Lxplorlng uses ln hlgher educaLlon courses such as Lhe u8C ML1 program ls a sLep Lowards
deslgnlng and lmplemenLlng and evaluaLlng newer ldeas for oLher programs lnlLlally l wanLed Lo
lncorporaLe Lhls experlmenL uslng Lhe vPS sLudenLs courses slmllar Lo 8obyler and uavls (2008) and
bulld on Lhe daLa Lhey presenLed from Lhelr LS8l model l changed my declslon noL because l am
unsaLlsfled wlLh my flrsL course ln Lhe ML1 program qulLe Lhe conLrary because l feel Lhe daLa should
be done flrsL on a smaller scale and ln a hlgher learnlng lnsLlLuLlon wlLh moLlvaLed lnsLrucLors and a Lruly
global program
8esulLs from Lhls experlmenLal research could brlng ma[or changes ln onllne program and
course deslgn as we know lL lf Lhls sLudy shows LhaL acLlvlLles lncorporaLed vla MuvLs do lncrease
reLenLlon of sLudenLs we wlll probably also see an lncrease of sLudenL saLlsfacLlon and grades
osslblllLles are asLoundlng we would see lnsLlLuLlons creaLlng Lhelr own 3u MuvL plaLforms speclflc Lo
Lhelr program and for Lhelr sLudenLs and we could help address many oLher challenges wlLh vlrLual
educaLlon and level Lhe playlng fleld for many dlfferenL sLyles of learners by dropplng Lhe sLlgma of Lhe
dropouL


14
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8ell u (2009) Learnlng from Second Llfe 8tltlsb Iootool of Jocotloool 1cbooloqy 40 (3) 313323
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