A Case study strategy in immersive learning environments to develop business skills in foreign languages

Martha Pilar Méndez Bautista Bogotá, Colombia [email protected]

Abstract— This paper presents an immersive learning based on case study strategy to develop business skills in foreign languages held in the Online School at a Colombian University located in Bogotá and designed for undergraduate students of Modern Languages. The experience includes virtual world environments, technologies, and activities that support collaboration and enable the learners to be immersed and engaged in their learning experience through instructional strategies such as hands-on learning, , group projects for the case study discussions. Keywords- immersive learning, case study, virtual world.

I. INTRODUCTION

One of the main goals of education is to integrate theory and practice through the application of learning and teaching strategies to link the real world and knowledge in an effective way. Case Study as a learning strategy provides learners with meaningful learning since the participants can be involved in the discussion of a case and the group process as well. This strategy supports the development of several cognitive processes such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of information. Besides, critical thinking, collaborative work, and decision making, creativity, and innovation are also developed by language learners.

Providing students with immersive learning strategies give them the opportunity to be engaged in order to develop competencies and skills not only in Management but also in foreign languages. Human beings have the capability to perceive feelings and emotions through immersion and interaction that is why this experience includes several media and information resources based on hypermedia such as images, sounds, texts, graphics, and the space among others. To facilitate the immersive learning process and the case study approach, the experience was set in a Virtual world platform, SECOND LIFE.

Regarding Second life as a virtual world , it becomes a virtual resource since it is likely to provoke in individuals sensations of real spaces as a result of an artifact creating a sensitive and validation of cognitive structures. In such a situation, the individual has the opportunity to construct his own knowledge. The use of has reconfigured university education as new technologies bring new network structures facilitating new connections among people. Virtual reality operates through the Internet and is characterized by non-presentiality. This kind of education takes advantage of the technological development to start working on Virtual Reality (VR) as learning mediation for immersive learning practices and in this project,based on case study.

II. RESEARCH PROBLEM

This project emerges from the demand of creating learning adapted to the students’ needs to acquire business skills using foreign languages through opportunities given by immersive learning and case study. It is also a way to create and foster pedagogic models at both institutional and national level to contribute to the education of multilingual citizens in business contexts. The students belong to the online virtual program of Modern Languages whose context is business and organizations and who must possess business skills needed to perform their role in multicultural organizations where being skillful is a must in the growth of a company. Thus, they are expected to be skillful in business issues through a diversity of situations according to expectations for Modern language professionals in organizational environments. As part of the e-learning process to develop the expected professional competencies, the students are provided mainly with a LMS system virtual room, which contains all resources and tools to develop cognitive processes and competences by means of learning strategies and tasks that include synchronous and asynchronous interactions. The Blackboard Collaborate™ platform is also used to create a space for synchronic meetings as tutorings and Live learning.

The creation of new learning environments and the application of virtual tools open new possibilities to approach and execute teaching practices. (Batista, E. 2000). In this experience,the learners´ business and foreign languages competences are supported by virtual tools through interaction and collaborative work, and at the same time those virtual tools offer flexible time and space giving the learners opportunities to configure their own learning process in an immersive experience through Virtual Worlds(VW) with a case study approach.

This research had several stages in which the first one was an analysis of the related information in order to support the case study strategy in immersive environments to develop business skills. In the second stage, the virtual reality scenarios were designed to be implemented in a third stage which finally led to the evaluation of the results regarding the learning experience.

III. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

A. Case study

The case study is a learning strategy in which the learner faces the description of a specific situation that proposes a problem. This problem must be understood, evaluated, and solved by a group of students through a discussion process. Fry et al (1999) describe case studies as complex examples, which give an insight into the context of a problem as well as illustrating the main point. For this project, case studies are defined as student-centered activities based on topics that demonstrate theoretical concepts in an applied setting. This definition of a case study covers the variety of different learning structures EAN University uses in its e-learning programs ranging from short individual case studies to longer group-based activities.

The learning tasks for this immersive learning experience are based on case studies which the students must work on in different sessions. First of all , they search information about the case study to support their decision making, then they negotiate possibilities to solve the problem. They take part in a situation that poses some questions and participate in role playing or discussions developed based on choices the students make. Finally, they hold conversations in English or Portuguese to show their points of view and the result of the case study activity. After the students fulfill the learning tasks ,as part of the whole process they are evaluated by identifying performance and roles they take and the discussion they have using the foreign language according to some criteria in terms of the “product” they have as evidence of their learning.

B. Immersive Learning Environments

Immersive Learning Environments (ILE) are viewed from the constructivist theories of learning since they develop cognitive processes, cognitive and communicative competences on a meaningful and reflexive learning basis that allows the learner to self-direct and self- manage his own learning process. Immersive learning gives learners a sense of "being there" even when attending a class or training session in person is not possible, practical, or desirable, which in turn provides educators and students with the ability to connect and communicate in a way that greatly enhances the learning experience.

Briefly, immersive learning (IL) is defined in terms of simulations or serious games as “optimized blend of , game element, and pedagogy that leads to the learner being motivated by and immersed into, the purpose and goals of a learning interaction. (Wexler, S., Corti, K., Derryberry, A., Quinn, C., & van Barneveld, A, 2008, p.3).Technology has contributed to mediate learning using virtual reality.

Using Virtual Reality (VR) permits to have students connected and construct their own knowledge in scenarios where individuals do not need face to face interactions to get engaged and immersed in learning activities. VR also supports autonomous learning, self- directed and collaborative learning. Virtual Reality (VR) appears to offer educational potentials in several areas such as data gathering and visualization, project planning and design, design of interactive training systems, virtual field trips, and design of experiential learning environments. VR also offers many possibilities as a tool for nontraditional learners, including the physically disabled and those undergoing rehabilitation who must learn (or relearn) communication and psychomotor skills.

ILE and VW are designed to immerse and engage students in the same way that today’s best video games do with players. Immersive Education and Virtual Worlds support self-directed learning as well as collaborative group-based learning environments that can be delivered over the Internet or using fixed-media such as CD-ROM and DVD.

Considering the need for setting the immersive environments to develop the case study strategy and provide the learners with possibilities to gain business skills in English, an analysis of the appropriate architecture for virtual world scenarios and surrounding environments was done by means of photographic, iconic, and documentary resources. Once the virtual recreation of those scenarios was done, their animation was developed adding texts images sound, hypertext among other devices including the avatars. All of them were related to business contexts to hold this immersive learning experience.

C. Virtual scenarios

The virtual scenarios (VS) are dynamic and 3D-simulations provided by a computer with high percentage of images, graphical, sound and sometimes tactile contents that occur in real time to incorporate the user “inside” the computerized medium. Those simulations are oriented to visualize situations in which the user can participate in artificial worlds that provide him with an immersive, interactive and multisensory experience. For this project VS are defined based on scenarios where different leaning situations are represented by means of roles, activities, resources, and tools for the learner to use in a real-life simulation that can provide a powerful educational tool to develop and rehearse business skills in foreign languages as they incorporate events and interactions via the computer(Weber 2007).

The scenarios designed for this project offer a digital enriched learning environment as they contain 3D recreations for simulating real business spaces, leading students to immerse themselves in organizational contexts and engage in interactive decision-making and problem solving situations needed in their education. In addition, they include Web- based collaboration tools as podcasts, video-podcasts, and writing tools to use in the case study discussion providing connections to support the global competence in business contexts for the highly skilled knowledge workers this current society demands.

Therefore, the 3D computer recreation features avatars that replicate business interactions and situations provided in case studies integrating skills to the development of core business skills such as Presentations, Negotiations, Meetings and Small Talk, among others. Students are required to search more information about those case studies and to interact with their partners and scenarios from the perspective of a foreign language speaker as they will use Portuguese and English to interact among peers. The scenarios and the skills were selected based on the program curriculum and the common business situations given in the second English and Portuguese level contents for the group of students of Modern Languages at EAN University.

D. Virtual worlds

A Virtual World (VW) is a computer-based, simulated 3D environment where users are able to interact and socialize with others and experience the environment through their avatars. These worlds are the incarnation of the and creativity of 3D developers and builders and are applied to educational environments for teaching purposes.

Following Robbins-Bell (2008) statement, VW´s are defined as a synchronous, persistent network of people who interact in artificial environments through agents that take action named avatars. Computers facilitate this interaction and the environments make the multiusers feel the sensation of being in a real world. The users have a concrete presence in the virtual reality which serve interaction and communication among participants in this environment and feel the sensation of being inside an environment or place.

The fact is that some of the many advantages of using virtual worlds are the possibilities to access spaces that cannot be accessed for different reasons and to be able to modify the different events occurring over there. For example, walking freely around architectonic spaces that have disappeared from a geographical region, designing houses, buildings, cars, and other objects having a previous scale model to make changes before constructing it in real. Recreating spaces and environments for training can generate the opportunities for people to interact, react and make decisions without affecting a real situation that in normal conditions cannot be done.

A short list of popular and most used VW are given here as a way of illustration.

1. URL: www.activeworlds.com by Active worlds Inc., Newburyport, MA.It contains several modern cities and attempts to support private development of educational, e- commerce, entertainment, and promotional projects. 2. URL: www.secondlife.com by Linden Lab, San Francisco, CA. It is a free 3D virtual world where users can socialize, connect and create using free voice and text chat. They can build virtual objects and meet other residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, and create and trade virtual property and services among them. 3. URL: www.thesimsonline.com by Electronic Arts, Redwood City, CA. It incorporates standard conversational features of social chat environments. 4. URL: www.imvu.com by IMVU. INC , Mountain View, California. Members use 3D avatars to meet new people, chat, create, and play games to earn IMVU credits. Users buy houses, clothes and other goods.

E.BUSINESS SKILLS

Global and business world require individuals with certain skills that will impact on sales, profitability and efficiency of operations in their organizations. Research shows that the most successful companies in the world have skillful employees who increase engagement, improve their performance, and increase the company’s bottom line.

Regarding business skills and foreign languages, as it was mentioned before; Presentations, Negotiations, Meetings and Small Talk were considered as the set of skills to be considered in this case study strategy through immersive learning environments. Professionals working in organizations must deal with presentations related to products, services, self-introductions to be able to build relationships ; need to make negotiations discussing points of view, agreeing or disagreeing; have to set meetings using oral or written communication and give small talks to establish positions and interest on different issues. All of these considerations are taken keeping in mind the most common actions and roles a manager or business person play as it is shown in the course level of languages for this group of students. Moreover, the learners develop communication skills in foreign languages, in this case, Portuguese and English.

F.SECOND LIFE

Bearing in mind the need for the construction of a VW with a didactic and a meaningful sense which represents real spaces and concrete resources to give a real world value and offer a place for the CASE STUDY STRATEGY , Second life (SL) has been found as one of the virtual worlds that fosters immersive learning processes and interactions. This develops a variety of collaborative work in immersive environments.

Second life was created by Linden Lab in San Francisco, CA. It is a free 3D virtual world where users can socialize, connect, and create using free voice and text chat by means of representations of themselves called avatars. Avatars can build virtual objects and meet other residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, and can make and trade virtual property and services among them. Second life (SL) can recreate spaces and environments for training , can generate opportunities for people to interact, react, and make decisions without affecting a real situation that in normal conditions cannot be done.

Second life as a platform contains several features that recreate the real world. There avatars have communication tools such as voice chat, text chat, instant messaging (IM, and pre-set non- verbal communication features like applauses, gestures and other expressions related to real life. Also users can get around SL using a set of options: walking, running, flying or teleporting. They are used according to needs and interests of groups and users. Among the interesting features in SL it can be found an option that users have in order to control the way they see the virtual world. Avatars can choose the point of view by means of controlling the camera which permits to change angles and positions to have a different approach to objects or other avatars.

In addition to those features, Second life provides users with the opportunity to get their own clothes and to set an identity creating a sense of belonging to the VW they access and they are in. Besides this, SL offers an easy way to share links (URLs ) to exact locations in Second Life in the form of coordinates which can be visited by avatars. User´s manual and tutorials explain each of the features to enable users to control, move, and use their avatars around the VW. SL is based on Web 2.0 as it is founded on the principles of networking , collaboration, and content created by users as part of interactions. In this network learners are able to interact with others in a wide variety of environments which recreate real world and they can have synchronous and asynchronous interactions.

Following Parker (2008), SL offers an active and immersive learning environment in which students integrate information to the resolution of problems and learn to incorporate discovery, analysis, interpretation , and execution of activities related to physical and mental skills. In his work, Iriba( 2008) recognizes the advantages of SL since students and educators from all over the world can work together in this platform in a virtual classroom on global network. In this sense, the author argues that SL provides education with an option to complement traditional classroom environments and opens new opportunities to enrich the curriculum.

SL has a community of educators in SL and its site offers a complete list of teachers and institutions belonging to this community. They can be contacted through its server by e- mails and be permanently informed on education and training issues in SL. Calongne & Hiles (2007) references the newsletter published by Linden Research which provides updates on residents, places and people with common interests, among other types of media. Providing this kind of scenario, the learning strategies to develop immersive learning by means of case study strategy to build business skills in his group of learners. IV. EXPERIENCE ILLUSTRATION

Once the scenarios and the case study were chosen , the learners received the tasks which imply cooperative work and interaction. Also they were instructed in the use and navigation in SECOND LIFE scenarios. The students also had a tour around the virtual scenario and could go around the SL land provided by CEDOI from Brazil . Besides this, feedback was provided after each of the activities and served to determine the impact of the case study to develop business skills.

The case study strategy set technical tasks related to business and academic topics in which participants interacted living sights and sounds of virtual environments recreating real scenarios in an organization. Those activities were designed and coordinated on a joint work basis with Professor Funck from UCPel-CEDOI and this researcher, a Colombian professor. All the instructions to interact and participate in the activities were given previously by the coordinators through some of SL communication tools such as notecards , chats and Instant Messages. They became synchronous and asynchronous interactions within the VCoP to feed the needs regarding communication online or offline. The participants received instructions during the whole group meetings held in SL and training in the use of SL features according to needs was offered too . In other words, before each resident was to interact with the others, she or he received training in movement, gestures, creation of notecards, live speaking, walking around the scenario, among others. The residents had the chance to meet with their partners in the groups to solve in oral and written forms the case studies proposed by the professors. Those activities were performed in the Portuguese and the English languages . A brief description of the immersive learning activities is given below to illustrate the interactions within the group. Relevant pictures of those activities are added too.

TIME ACTIONS BUSINESS SKILLS

Week 1 Introduction to the Practice in the immersive enviroment(VW) immersive activity and environment.

Week 2-3 Practicing important Starting and structuring a presentation elements of good business writing in English and Portuguese especially for letters and emails.

Presenting a Company and a product. Describing the production process of an article.. Telephoning: making contact

Week 3-4. Making arrangements Negotiating for meeting, Negotiating: reaching agreement

Participating in discussions

Negotiating: dealing with conflict

Week 5-6 Managing international Solving problems meetings Making contacts

Week 7-8 Making decisions and Small Talk planning actions.

Challenge was a must in the proposed activities in order to keep motivation and emotional engagement leading to business and language skills development. The students had to compete among small groups by solving case study and argumenting their solution doing each of the activities following an established criteria (i.e. argumentation, use of techniques, and kind of product).They were rewarded with scores that showed their progress. At the end of each activity or competition, they got Golden, Silver or Bronze Cups which reflected the effort of the members of the teams.

Working collaboratively, participants could socialize with partners and argument their positions and points of view related to the case study. Topics such as buying and selling, telephoning, making decisions, presenting products and companies expose students to the practicalities of business. Case studies help students learn general business practices while improving their English and Portuguese languages.

The learners participated in various sessions of lectures entirely in Portuguese and English and had the opportunity to confront ideas and be advised by a professor abroad in Brazil for the case study that aimed at developing business skills. This was evidenced in their participations not only in oral but also in written form which were given appropriate and immediate feedback by the professors engaged in this project.

Figure 1 Presentation in Portuguese

Figure 2.Visiting a building.

Figure 3. Students waiting for a meeting to know a product.

V.CONCLUSIONS

Providing learners with this kind of immersive lerning experiences in virtual scenarios to develop business skills in foreigh lnguages was a way to set students in real interactions with peers,objects, and places expecting to influence the course of events as a result. In today’s massively multi-user environments, people interact in the same space at the same time, in different contexts as in real life. This experience can go beyond in an educational situation since it will support the sense of presentiality in those e-learning students who are not able to ”face” real organiations situations with Portuguese and English speakers . Second Life is the option to provide students and teachers with those virtual spaces to create and share knowledge through immersive environments which offers creativity, interaction, imagination, and immersion to practice and work collaboratively to solve case studies.

Working jointly, for both teachers and students, provides a challenge and an opportunity to plan actions, design strategies, train others, solve problems , and fulfill tasks and activities to meet the program goals.

In concluding, it is a rich opportunity that higher education institutions need to take for their virtual programs to have learners be engaged and to integrate theory and practice through the application of learning and teaching strategies to link the real world and knowledge in an effective way. Learners are willing to practice what they know, they are eager to meet peers to discuss common topics of interests. All of these offer new insights into professional and personal issues as well as a possibility to apply professional skills and knowledge acquired in education

Finally, further research must be done in order to evaluate and assess the impact of these innovative strategies on immersive learning as well as on the efforts teachers do to approach other practices by undertaking research projects in collaboration with other experts from abroad.

REFERENCES

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