Simulating accident investigation for environmental health students using Second Life Liz Falconer
To develop effective methods by which the use of technology can be embedded into the curriculum To support and empower academic colleagues to take advantage of technology to stimulate and enhance the effectiveness of their teaching and to recognise the contribution technology can make to successful learning outcomes To ensure that the technical and organisational infrastructures support staff and students in their use of e-learning technologies To ensure that e-learning is integrated into strategic planning processes at all levels of decision-making in the university UWE’s Technology enhanced learning strategy
Simulation
Simulating accident investigation in Second Life Students of risk and accident causation/prevention/investigation Need to practice analytical skills and investigation techniques Difficult to do this in real life
What is Second Life? A virtual world What’s a virtual world?
An alternative universe?
The Second Life simulator
How does this work with students? Example of MSC EH, EHPP module at UWE Week 1 - Students introduced to the idea of working in virtual worlds
How does this work with students? Week 2 - Students set up avatar accounts and have basic SL induction in class with tutor
How does this work with students? Weeks 3 – 6: Students practice in SL and attend a mid-semester “surgery”
How does this work with students? Week 6: Witnesses see the accident
How does this work with students? Week 6: Students have access to RIDDOR report
How does this work with students? Week 7: The students interview the witnesses in SL (in pairs in class with tutor support), inspect the premises and have access to company documentation via SL (safety policy, accident book, safety committee minutes, training record)
How does this work with students? Weeks 8 – 9: Students synthesise the information and plan interview questions for the depot manager
How does this work with students? Weeks 10 – 11: Students interview depot manager individually or in pairs (student choice)
How does this work with students? Weeks 15 – 20: Students create fault trees of accident and recommendations for further action
How does this work with students? Week 20: Accident is run in SL for the students, who compare and reflect upon what actually happened and how they reconstructed it from the information they gathered
How does this work with students? Week 22: Group discusses pros and cons of different actions with tutor in class
How does this work with students? Ongoing: All materials generated by the students placed in reflective portfolio for the module, and student writes a reflective commentary on the process and their findings.
Evaluation Preliminary questionnaire pilot √ Full questionnaire Focus groups Internal and external (Coventry University) researchers Tutor reflections Witness reflections √ Observations √
Early evaluation findings “ It was better than I thought it was going to be. It was good to see the importance of preparation and the type of questions you need to ask to get the answers you are looking for. Think this is better than just doing a classroom session, it allows you to learn in a situation that is closer to real life. ” “It is good to vary teaching methods as not everyone learns in the same fashion. It was the closest we would get to real life without actually taking part in an accident investigation.”
More information SHE - Simulations in Higher Education Archived Wimba Distinguished Lecture Second Life blog Second Life Elearning at UWE island slurl