This is the reading by Jannie Roed of UCL entitled Language Learner Behaviour in a Virtual Environment. Roed mentioned that a student felt that they were unattractive and kept quiet in class as a result. Using a computer to communicate enabled the student to participate in classes. Students studying Danish were taken to a virtual garden party and assigned roles to play. So this could be described as a virtual mingle activity.
The students were assigned characters and the other students had to guess who they were by asking questions. Some students gave out too much information, some did not pay that much attention, one arrived late, in short it was just like the real world.
It did reveal that some students online personalities appear to change. The more able students appeared to dominate and others just did not "listen". I can find nothing to indicate whether this was the students first exposure to this sort of activity. Sometimes students take time to adjust to new activities. If this had indeed been the students first exposure to this activity I suspect it would have a detrimental effect on their performance.
I wonder if this sort of activity would be more effective if a weak student was paired with a stronger student. They could take turns at using the keyboard.
IMHO there are far more benefits than downsides to using this type of activity. I believe that in the future there will be more virtual classrooms where the students are scattered to the four winds but there are online together at the same time. It strikes me that "Second Life" could take this a step further, for the better I would hope.
Back in the real world, software improvements have happened. People are more used to synchronous communication methods. It is possible to have online "conversations" with people in different continents. It is possible for students to have keypals around the world. I keep in contact with my ex students in this manner. When they make a mistake I correct them. Some pay attention and some do not !
The reverse of this type of game is called Headbandz, where the students have to guess their own cards which are affixed to their foreheads. I have used this game with great success. It also revealed traits about the students. One student had a particularly logical mind and guessed very quickly indeed.
In 1998 I worked in Taipei and was assigned to teach English to corporate classes at Acer. I used e mail to communicate with my students. It became rapidly apparent that some of my students would not speak out in class as their bosses were present. I was asked by one student to maintain confidentiality as she was hoping to study in the US. I maintained that confidentiality and as a result she continued to e mail me and I continued to correct her where necessary. Unfortunately SKYPE was not available at that time. An advantage of SKYPE is you can type messages and talk at the same time. If a student does not understand the spoken word you can type it for them. Video phone calls are also possible. I have not tried a conference call, but I believe that it is possible with SKYPE.
In Taipei a student did mention that one advantage of using a computer to communicate was that it was possible to communicate, yet remain anonymous. In short, anybody could be anybody. This is however, a double edged sword. This is very well illustrated by The Foomeister's blog.
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