Preparing pre-service teachers for classroom practice in a virtual world: A pilot study using Second Life Muir, Tracey, Allen, Jeanne M., Rayner, Christopher S. and Cleland, Ben 2013, Preparing pre-service teachers for classroom practice in a virtual world: A pilot study using Second Life, Journal of interactive media in education, vol. Spring Issue. Attached Files Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads allen-preparingpreserviceteachers-2013.pdf Published version application/pdf 728.71KB 346 Title Preparing pre-service teachers for classroom practice in a virtual world: A pilot study using Second Life Author(s) Muir, Tracey Allen, Jeanne M. Rayner, Christopher S. Cleland, Ben Journal name Journal of interactive media in education Volume number Spring Issue Total pages 17 Publisher Open University, Knowledge Media Institute Place of publication Milton Keynes, England Publication date 2013 ISSN 1365-893X Keyword(s) inclusive practices practicum pre-service teacher Second Life virtual classroom Summary Many pre-service teachers feel under-prepared to teach students with a diverse range of needs and abilities and continue to be concerned about classroom behaviour management when undertaking practicum experiences. In order to address these concerns, teacher educators have explored alternative pedagogical approaches, including computer based simulations and immersion in virtual worlds. This paper reports on the results of a pilot study conducted with eight pre-service teachers who operated avatars in a virtual classroom created within Second Life (SL)™. The pre-service teachers were able to role-play students with a diverse range of behaviours and engage in reflective discussion about their experiences. The results showed that the pre-service teachers appreciated the opportunity to engage in an authentic classroom experience without impacting on "real" students, but that the platform of SL proved limiting in enacting certain aspects of desired teaching pedagogy. The findings of this pilot study are discussed in relation to improving the preparation of pre-service teachers for practicum. Language eng Field of Research 130103 Higher Education Socio Economic Objective 930202 Teacher and Instructor Development HERDC Research category C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal Copyright notice ©2013, Open University, Knowledge Media Institute Free to Read? Yes Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30062498 Document type: Journal Article Collections: Faculty of Arts and Education School of Education Open Access Collection Related Links Link Description Connect to published version (restricted access) Go to link with your DU access privileges     Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in DRO is owned by the author, with all rights reserved. Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that permission has been obtained for items included in DRO. If you believe that your rights have been infringed by this repository, please contact drosupport@deakin.edu.au. Versions Version Filter Type Wed, 16 Apr 2014, 14:31:29 EST Wed, 16 Apr 2014, 14:32:08 EST Thu, 17 Apr 2014, 08:03:19 EST Tue, 29 Apr 2014, 10:40:45 EST Wed, 30 Apr 2014, 10:26:12 EST Thu, 01 May 2014, 15:43:13 EST Thu, 01 May 2014, 15:45:18 EST Thu, 01 May 2014, 15:47:08 EST Thu, 01 May 2014, 15:48:38 EST Thu, 01 May 2014, 15:53:38 EST Thu, 01 May 2014, 15:55:28 EST Mon, 05 May 2014, 10:19:59 EST Mon, 05 May 2014, 10:21:05 EST Fri, 16 May 2014, 11:50:53 EST Wed, 06 Dec 2017, 06:05:39 EST Fri, 07 Sep 2018, 17:04:03 EST Filtered Full Citation counts:   Cited 0 times in TR Web of Science Cited 0 times in Scopus Search Google Scholar Access Statistics: 506 Abstract Views, 346 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Wed, 16 Apr 2014, 14:31:28 EST by Jeanne Allen