Meeting Abstract
82.5 Tuesday, Jan. 6 Teaching evolution and biology using 3D virtual worlds; the I Dig Tanzania! project. ARONOWSKY, A.*; ANGIELCZYK, K.D.; Biodiversity Synthesis Center, Field Museum; Field Museum aaronowsky@fieldmuseum.org
In the summer of 2008, 17 teens from New York and Chicago participated in a pilot project using the 3D virtual world, Teen Second Life, to follow and learn from an international team of scientists as they excavated fossils in the Ruhuhu Basin of Tanzania. This digital learning project, called I Dig Tanzania!, was a collaboration between The Field Museum, Global Kids, and the Encyclopedia of Life. Virtual worlds are an ideal platform for teaching biology and evolution because they allow for a highly participatory learning experience where students can manipulate their environment, create and modify creatures, and increase or slow the passage of time. During the intensive online experience of I Dig Tanzania! students worked in virtual groups split between the two cities to study the paleontology, history, and culture of Tanzania. Students used their avatars to communicate and cooperate on projects, and group discussions took place using instant messaging in Second Life. Each day, the scientists in the field uploaded video clips of their activities and spoke with the students via satellite phone. Field Museum and Global Kids staff served as instructors, and designed the curricula each evening as the video came in from Tanzania. Using a custom-designed virtual learning space on Global Kids Island, students excavated virtual fossils alongside the paleontologists, conducted exercises on evolution and adaptation, and constructed virtual museum exhibits to summarize their findings. All of the students also attended a two-day workshop at The Field Museum where they met with members of the fieldwork team, saw newly-discovered fossils being prepared for research, and learned about African culture. Student assessments were based on the final virtual museum exhibits, as well as the daily blog entries students authored during the course of the project.
