“Participatory Pedagogy: Challenging ‘Real Life’ Practices of Educational Institutions in Virtual Worlds” This presentation discusses virtual spaces as participatory pedagogy in which student learning is formulated through exploration, reflection and collaboration (Hobbs et al 2006) both individually and as a group. Importantly, we argue that virtual environments such as Second Life have shown educators that we need to rethink existing learning strategies and enhance them with innovative tools that encourage creative thinking and promote technical skills that foster communities of knowledge and practice. Questions: 1) How can virtual worlds effectively challenge the ways we sociologically frame education and educational practices? 2) What are some of the obstacles educators face when converging real life and virtual worlds into their pedagogical style, and in the classroom?

1. “ Participatory Pedagogy: Challenging ‘Real Life’ Practices of Educational Institutions in Virtual Worlds” Joanna Robinson Great Northern Way Campus – Vancouver, BC Co-Author: Tracy Kennedy Communities & Technologies Research Group, Microsoft – Redmond, Washington