ROVER ? Robotic Open Virtual Educational Resources

Description

There is a growing need for new approaches to effective laboratory-based learning.  Issues of space, time and resources lead to pedagogic limitations on the use of practical classes. We have already developed virtual genetics laboratories in SecondLife (SL) and we have shown these to be effective in developing a range of skills.  They are not a replacement for real laboratories but extend the scope of practical teaching.  These laboratories are already Open Educational Resources (OERs), however to gain the benefit, the virtual labs require interaction with tutors.  This proposal builds on our existing work, enabling the labs to be fully functional in the absence of tutors by development of automated chatbots as virtual demonstrators.  Chatbots are computer programs which simulate conversation as text or speech.  These will appear as virtual robots in SL, and will be able to respond to questions in an informed manner.  For the chatbots to be of value, they must be programmed to respond to all manner of questions which students and other visitors to the virtual laboratories are likely to ask. Their responses are driven by a database which will also be developed under the scope of this project.

This will enable virtual laboratories to be of educational use anytime without the need to be staffed by real people working in SL.  Students will be able to revisit for revision purposes, and other visitors will be able to use the virtual laboratories as OERs with the use of the labs facilitated by the robot demonstrators.