Virtualität

Dr. Mike Sandbothe ist Medienphilosoph und vertritt zur Zeit eine Professur für Medienpädagogik an der Universität Bielefeld. Im Gespräch mit Svenja Möller und Richard Stang vom DIE spricht er über den scheinbaren Gegensatz zwischen virtuellen und realen Welten, über ethische Fragen und Aufgaben von Bildung und Weiterbildung.

What do we mean by virtualization, virtuality and virtual reality? The author sets out to establish the meaning of virtuality as the realm of the possible, containing many possible instances of the real world, of which reality is just one manifestation. Virtuality, considered as the construction of a parallel, if only imaginary, reality, has manifested itself in the form of works of the imagination, such as plays, poetr y or painting, long before electronic data processing took it beyond the borders of art and into everyday life. The author explores how the concept of a virtual world of possibilites affects the individual’s concept of self as well as of society, and what skills will be necessary in order to prosper in a virtualized society.

Virtuality is not the essence of computer-based learning environments: any learning environment contains elements of virtuality in so far as it concerns itself with representations of reality. Even though the difference between computer-based and traditional settings in this respect is one of degree rather than of substance, conditions at the extreme end of the virtuality scale call for a change in learning arrangements. The authors explore the consequences for learners – self-direction, critical assessment of sources, filtering of relevant information – as well as for developers of learning/teaching environments whose tasks will include thinking about course structure and defining standards of participation for their students.

The author looks at two forms of learning in virtual environments: learning with hypermedia and learning by confrontation with virtual objects and „persons“ (simulations). For hypermedia, research has found a rather wide discrepancy between media-specific learning potential and actual outcome, which, especially for beginners, tends to be rather small. - Many empirical studies on learning in simulated reality have shown that simulations can indeed be conducive to learning, but that this is not automatically and necessarily so. Research in the future should look more closely on what measures should be implemented in such environments to enhance learning.

Online communities have been praised as utopian realms of free, equal and unrestricted communication by some; others have condemned them as anti-social pseudo-communities. Both attitudes, however, focus on the technical framework and do not take the actual quality of the interaction into account. The author describes types of interaction in virtual communities in general, then looks at four types of communities dedicated specifically to learning, and explores their potential.

Rief die technologische Weiterentwicklung in den USA nach anfänglicher Euphorie für elektronisches distance learning bald Skepsis – vor allem auf Grund nur marginaler Lernerfolge – hervor, so ist seit etwa fünf Jahren auf College- und Universitätsebene eine breite Akzeptanz von e-learning in Kombination mit face-to-face-Lernarrangements zu verzeichnen. Landesweit wird der Anteil aller Belegungen für Online-Kurse bis 2009 auf 31 Prozent prognostiziert. Allerdings zeigen sich heute vor allem private Elite-Schulen und Universitäten gegenüber e- und distance learning reserviert. – Die wachsende Verbreitung elektronisch gestützten Lernens hat jedoch nichts mit der pädagogischen Qualität zu tun: Diese ist – unabhängig von der Unterrichtsmethode – abhängig von Leistung, Begabung und Anstrengung der Lernenden und Lehrenden

The author describes the emergence of the „virtual organisation“ concept as a tendency towards customization of products on the one hand and the development of a suitable technological basis on the other hand. Networking is discussed as a necessary but not sufficient prerequisite. First and foremost, the process of virtualisation requires changes in the organisational structure of companies that may go as far as a redefinition of the relationship between employees who, if forced into a role of competing „intrapreneurs“, will desist from cooperation. In this context, knowledge management is identified as the problem crucial to the success of a virtual organisation.

Taking the Bavarian Vir tual University (Virtuelle Hochschule Bayern) as an example, the author shows that the innovative potential
of vir tual universities lies in the idea of a cooperation of utterly different universities, with teaching staff from different faculties,
schools and backgrounds. Bringing these divergent elements together, notably in the question of a mutual acknowledgement
of credits issued by each university, is one of the most ambitious aims of the Virtuelle Hochschule Bayern. Quality assurance
is another fruitful field of cooperation. – Whether it will be possible to use virtual university facilities in non-academic further
education will depend on the learners’ ability to develop appropriate online learning strategies as well as on the institutions’
willingness to meet demands from the non-academic sector.

Ein historischer Längsschnitt zum Thema Virtualität und Virtualisierung.

Begriffklärungen rund um das Thema Virtualität und Virtualisierung.

Virtuelle Lernformen brauchen neue Vermittlungsstrategien. Schneider berichtet von zwei Online-Trainer-Kursen, die zusammen mit dem englischen Partner „Abacus Learning Systems“ über den Landesverband der Volkshochschulen Schleswig-Holstein angeboten werden.