Pedalogical+Principles

=**Pedagogical principles behind the innovative use of virtual worlds **=

Pedagogy includes how the teaching occurs, the approach to teaching and learning, the way the content is delivered and what the students learn as a result of the process. ... (Google Definitions) Virtual Worlds provide educators with the opportunity to engage students in a way that enables them to interact, practice, develop, socialise and engage. Virtual worlds give learners the opportunity to take ownership of their own learning in a virtual world, learn at a pace that they are comfortable with in a non-threatening social environment. Learning goals including cultivating critical thinking, developing generic skills, life-long learning, seeing things in multi-perspectives, collaborating with others as well as enhancing social awareness become more important. (Yu, 2009).

The following video explains a vision for 21st Learning and the pedagogy of using interactive web based tools for learning in the future.

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Depending on the Virtual World and the educator, students can work in a closed system, similar to a simulation game or they can explore the virtual environment and use the world as a resource for virtual excursions which can extend learning spaces infinitely. How the virtual world is used also depends a great deal on the demographics of the students involved.