| Exploratory research was conducted which involved middle school students' participation in a history lesson presented in a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE). The design of the lesson was based on Keller's ARCS Motivational Model but focused on the 'A', or attention element, of the model. This study involved eight middle school students who attended a school in the Midwest to determine if lesson video in a MUVE would prove motivating to students of the 21 st century, the "digital natives" who attend the traditional classroom. Over the course of the study, students were asked to participate in assigned tasks embedded in the virtual world. Instruction included watching a video, taking a quiz, forming discussion groups and collaborating on an assignment. These groups were each assigned the task of deciding on a new battle strategy that differed from the one used in Pickets Charge, a battle that took place in Gettysburg, Virginia, during the Civil War.Preliminary findings indicated that the use of the virtual learning environment maintained the attention of these students, who also supplied suggestions for improvements. The information presented in the movie was a powerful, visual representation of the battle at Gettysburg. Students were motivated to explore the virtual world and manipulate the objects contained in the virtual world. The virtuality of the MUVE captured the students' attention but proved to be a distraction to the video.Additional findings revealed behavior issues that ranged from traditional to actions only seen in the virtual environment. Circumstances prevented the study from occurring on the first MUVE chosen, so the study was conducted on an open-source grid. The use of the grid allowed middle school students access to the virtual world without the restrictions imposed on students this age by other MUVEs. Research indicated the need for future study over a longer period of time, conducted completely virtually, and using videos on different subjects. Furthermore, the use of these open-source grids as authentic learning environments for middle school children to use for educational purposes is in need of future research. |
