Online Homeschooling

Archive for the ‘3D Virtual Education’ Category

Traditional education is about sitting passively in a classroom and listening to the teacher. It is not always this way – after all, many traditional schools do offer labs, art, music etc. – but we’re pretty sure anyone would agree that in a traditional education setting, the vast majority of the student’s time is spent in a passive mode.

Which is why we dislike traditional education and were looking to do something better – we wanted to find a way to allow students to be creative, to explore, to create – while learning. In other words, we wanted to see students immerse themselves in the material in many different ways and learn through experiencing rather than through passive listening.

Immersive education is about immersing students in a rich, complex curriculum that allows them to learn by participating in a wide range of engaging activities. Of course, immersive education doesn’t have to be about technology!

There are many ways to immerse students, as many homeschooling parents know quite well. We immerse our children when we take them outside to the playground and allow them to throw a ball down the slide and see what happens (gravity!). We immerse our students when we let them build with blocks and find out which structures are stable and which are not. We immerse children in art when we take them to the museum, to the library and to the children’s theater.

There are countless ways to teach by immersion. Certainly one of them is using the wonderful tools that technology offers to immerse, experience, and create.

When kids use technology, and especially 3D technology to learn, they immerse themselves in their virtual surroundings. They get to play, create, discuss, collaborate and build, all while assuming a unique 3D personality via their avatar. The beauty of 3D immersive education is that it uses technology to free students from physical limitations such as location or special needs and allows them to truly immerse themselves in the material.

Have you ever participated in a 3D virtual world? If you have, you know exactly what we mean when we say it’s magic.

The physical world places limitations on what we can do or on how we can represent ourselves. Our age, gender, medical conditions, physical location and many more factors often dictate our activities and how others perceive us.

A virtual world lifts those limitations. It frees us from physical boundaries and enables us to truly tap into our imagination and our creative side and to express ourselves, freely and fearlessly. In fact, many disabled people report that joining a virtual world community, where they can represent themselves with a “healthy” avatar, makes them feel normal again. Elderly people who have discovered virtual reality also report that by using young-looking avatars, they get to feel young again.

This is not about deceiving or pretending to be someone you’re not. Virtual worlds are very much about being the best possible you – without the labels that physical reality often places on you.

When it comes to 3D virtual learning, there are of course boundaries that stem from the need to keep a safe, respectful learning environment. Those boundaries are carefully enforced. But as long as students are respectful, they get the same level of freedom that always comes when engaging in virtual reality – the freedom to set themselves free from labels. Students can create avatars that express who they really are, on the inside – not how the physical world perceives them. This is obviously an amazing experience for special need students, but in our experience, it is a dream come true for any child, and especially for teenagers.

Photo by Jim Sneddon

We love homeschooling because it offers students and parents wonderful flexibility and the ability to tailor the curriculum to the specific child’s needs. We love online homeschooling even more, because we believe that technology is the future, and using computers and the Internet as an integral part of a child’s education gives them valuable tools for life.

But we took online homeschooling a step farther and created a homeschooling program that immerses students in 3D educational virtual worlds.

A virtual world is a computer-based simulated environment intended for its users to inhabit and interact via avatars. Virtual worlds are not just for video games – they represent a powerful new media for instruction and education that presents many exciting opportunities for students, parents and educators.

A revolutionary new way to homeschool, 3D online homeschooling incorporates stimulating online 3D virtual reality world development in educational online homeschooling projects. Incorporating 3D virtual worlds into the learning process gives students a chance to think outside the box, to be creative, and to be challenged in their thinking. Instead of regurgitating facts or doing busy seat work, students create, explore, collaborate with other students, and enjoy every aspect of their online education. Unlike traditional learning, the word “boring” is simply never associated with virtual education.

3D online homeschooling is the polar opposite of traditional, passive schooling. It is active and fun and greatly enhances the online homeschooling learning process. 3D online homeschooling enhances problem-solving abilities, keeps students engaged, motivates them to excel and – most importantly – makes homeschooling fun, for the students and for their parents.

Photo by wmshc_kiwitayro