TY - JOUR
T1 - Engaging students in virtual tours to learn language and digital literacy
AU - Ng, Davy Tsz Kit
AU - Ng, Ross Chi Wui
AU - Chu, Samuel Kai Wah
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, Beijing Normal University.
PY - 2023/9
Y1 - 2023/9
N2 - In today’s digital world, emerging technologies have advanced language learning in K-12 education. Globalization facilitates the process of interaction and collaboration among learners. In recent years, virtual tour creation has been used in school settings to motivate students to enhance their language literacy through writing and using technological skills to make their digital books and tour guides. CoSpaces is a well-known virtual reality platform that allows learners to observe and interact with other students’ creations. This tool consists of a library of ready-to-use 3D models and digital making tools that students could study their work using their mobiles and build their own digital objects, virtual reality (VR) artifacts, scenes, tour guides, and storylines. To examine the potential of using virtual tours to learn language digital literacy, this study examined 19 CoSpaces’ open projects via thematic analysis based on the resources. The projects were categorized and analyzed in terms of the contexts used and the learning goals of the virtual tour creation in terms of language learning and technological skills. Results suggest the potential of using VR virtual tours as a context-aware language pedagogy across disciplines for language educators to encourage students to enhance students’ digital literacy. Further, this study contributes to conceptualizing digital language literacy in three dimensions: (1) knowledge across contexts, (2) learning skills (e.g., research skills, creativity), and (3) technological skills (e.g., 3D creation skills, coding) in a virtual tour-supported language learning.
AB - In today’s digital world, emerging technologies have advanced language learning in K-12 education. Globalization facilitates the process of interaction and collaboration among learners. In recent years, virtual tour creation has been used in school settings to motivate students to enhance their language literacy through writing and using technological skills to make their digital books and tour guides. CoSpaces is a well-known virtual reality platform that allows learners to observe and interact with other students’ creations. This tool consists of a library of ready-to-use 3D models and digital making tools that students could study their work using their mobiles and build their own digital objects, virtual reality (VR) artifacts, scenes, tour guides, and storylines. To examine the potential of using virtual tours to learn language digital literacy, this study examined 19 CoSpaces’ open projects via thematic analysis based on the resources. The projects were categorized and analyzed in terms of the contexts used and the learning goals of the virtual tour creation in terms of language learning and technological skills. Results suggest the potential of using VR virtual tours as a context-aware language pedagogy across disciplines for language educators to encourage students to enhance students’ digital literacy. Further, this study contributes to conceptualizing digital language literacy in three dimensions: (1) knowledge across contexts, (2) learning skills (e.g., research skills, creativity), and (3) technological skills (e.g., 3D creation skills, coding) in a virtual tour-supported language learning.
KW - CoSpaces
KW - Digital language literacy
KW - Language learning
KW - Virtual reality
KW - Virtual tour
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85149386098&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s40692-023-00262-2
DO - 10.1007/s40692-023-00262-2
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85149386098
SN - 2197-9987
VL - 10
SP - 575
EP - 602
JO - Journal of Computers in Education
JF - Journal of Computers in Education
IS - 3
ER -