Southeastern using avatars, virtual classroom as teacher preparation tool
Contact: Rene Abadie
Date: April 8, 2013
TEACHER PREPARATION IN SIMULATED CLASSROOM – Laurie Leake, a Slidell junior in special education at Southeastern Louisiana University talks to her "class" of five avatars or simulated students as preparation for working in a real classroom. The avatars represent sixth grade learners of diverse ethnicities and personalities that are typically encountered in a middle school classroom.
HAMMOND – Teacher candidates at Southeastern Louisiana University are working in a virtual
classroom before having to experience the real thing, gaining the opportunity to practice
what can sometimes be a daunting exercise.
The university is one of a handful of institutions nationwide to tout the innovative
program designed to help in the formation of future educators.
The software gives teachers in training the opportunity to respond to multiple
situations within the classroom environment through the use of avatars, the virtual,
computer-generated "students" who populate the simulated classroom.
"It is a virtual classroom filled with real-time avatars," said Associate Professor
of Education Nicki Anselmo-Skelton. "The students in our lab can talk to the avatars
and the avatars respond."
Researchers at the University of Central Florida control the avatars, which represent
sixth grade learners of diverse ethnicities and personalities that are typically encountered
in a middle school classroom, Skelton explained. Their behaviors reflect everything
from those in a "perfect" classroom to the other extreme where the students may be
completely out of control. The virtual classroom and its avatar middle-schoolers are
projected from a computer via Skype onto a screen or SmartBoard.
Anzelmo-Skelton brought the technology to the Department of Teaching and Learning
through a Louisiana Department of Education grant to be a part of the TLE "TeachLivE"
program. The initiative began as a pilot project at UCF in Orlando.
"Our young teacher candidates are able to work on behavior management skills;
they are able to work on the pedagogy or the 'how' of teaching, and they're able to
implement various instructional strategies," Skelton said. "The research indicates
what you can do in just 10 minutes with the avatars takes an hour to do face to face."
"The avatar experience was absolutely amazing," said Ashley Lee, a senior elementary
education major from Watson, who is also pursuing a dual certification in special
education. "I loved the interaction between myself and the avatars and the fact that
the avatars had different personalities, which presented some real challenges. This
was just a glimpse of what is yet to come when we get into our own classrooms and
good practice on handling behavior problems in students."
Skelton described the most "powerful" part of this technology as the opportunity
for students to refine their instructional skills without impacting real students.
"Young teachers can make the mistakes new teachers are prone to do without affecting
the 'students' at all," Anselmo-Skelton said. "It allows for a nice progression. Our
young teachers can reflect on their practices and then build their knowledge and confidence
with the avatars before moving into the classroom."
In addition to working on a grant extension for Southeastern from the Louisiana
Department of Education, Skelton is also documenting the student teachers' experience
with researchers from UCF and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
"Soon we're going to have research under our belts that I believe will say the
avatars and the virtual classroom make a real difference in teacher behaviors and
in student outcomes," Skelton said.