Some Examples of Exploratory Environments
Here we expand our description of several of the educational exploratory environments by providing several examples that seem to be more widely known. In some cases, we explain how you might explore these environments yourself.
The Adventures of Jasper Woodbury
The Adventures of Jasper Woodbury is a series of learning activities based on a combination of video, text, and computer software. Originally developed by the Learning Technology Center of Vanderbilt University as a research program focused on contextualized learning, the adventures are now available commercially to schools. The Jasper adventures present students with believable stories using video, each ending with a challenge. The challenge is a complex problem that includes several subproblems. The typical classroom approach is to have the entire class view one of the adventures and then have small groups of students work to propose solutions to the challenge at the end of the adventure. To solve the challenges, which require a problem-solving approach and focus on mathematical concepts, students have to examine the content of the video carefully for data relevant to the problems. The developers of the series argue that this “embedded data design” improves the transfer value of skills that students develop. In The Big Splash, one of the Jasper adventures, a high-school student decides to help the school fund the purchase of a video camera by setting up a “Dunk a Teacher” booth at the school carnival. Because the dunking booth will cost some money, the student approaches the principal for a loan. The principal agrees to provide the loan if the student can produce a business plan demonstrating the likelihood that the project will make a profit. To produce the business plan, the student must estimate the potential revenue and probable expenses. Surveying students to determine whether they would spend money to dunk a teacher and how much they would be willing to pay for the chance determines the potential revenue. Consideration of how to conduct a survey provides an opportunity for the exploration of research methodology and statistics.
The student eventually locates a dunking machine and a pool. Because the pool must be rented by the day, the time the pool is in the possession of the school is an issue. The dimensions of the pool, but not the capacity, are known. The amount of time required to fill and drain the pool poses another problem to take into account. Several methods for filling the pool are available and vary in cost and risk. The school hose is available but slow. A water truck is available, but it charges by the mile and has an added fee each time it is filled. The water truck also cannot carry enough water in one trip to fill the pool. The fire chief volunteers the local fire truck but warns that the truck will not be available if a fire should occur. This list should give you some idea of what would have to be considered in producing the business plan.
The Jasper adventures have also been developed to be extended to analogous problems and other content areas. The analogous problems modify the original story to create opportunities for students to transfer what they have learned. For example, students can consider whether a Jell-O slide would generate more income than the dunking pool. To extend the Jasper adventures into other content areas, teachers are given suggestions for further study following up on some issue raised in the adventure. For example, The Big Splash raises the issue of taking out a loan. Students might explore how to apply for a loan at a bank, how the bank makes money on the loan, what collateral is, and other concepts related to the lending of money.
River City was developed by Harvard educator Chris Dede and colleagues to investigate the potential of Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) (Dede, 2009). A MUVE is more immersive and interactive than the video-based approach used in the Jasper series and provides the general format for several popular commercial recreational multi-player online video games that appeal to participants of all ages. The River City virtual world is set in an historical context of the late 1800s and students entering the setting are asked to discover the source of the illness that seems to be afflicting some residents. Each student is represented as an avatar and can use the interface to move through the community which includes multiple buildings (school, library, hospital) in order to communicate with preprogrammed avatars representing residents of the city, to examine digital artifacts that they encounter (images and video), and to interact with the avatars of other students. Preprogrammed avatars include patients who have fallen ill, hospital staff, and university scientists. The educational goals of the activity focus on hypothesis formation and testing associated with concepts in biology and ecology. If this sounds like the high end video games students may spend hours playing at home, you are correct.
Researchers have created and made available videos offering descriptions of the River City environment and describing the design principles used to create the environment. You can view these videos to develop a deeper understanding of the student experience when learning in a MUVE designed for educational purposes.
Reference:
Dede, C. (2009). Immersive interfaces for engagement and learning. Science, 323 (5910), 66-69.
Recources:
The Jasper Woodbury Video series and River City are now available as commercial products.