Training Virtual Pioneers in Higher Education

ow can Hong Kong students be taught the digital skills required to navigate the virtual world? Even as higher education struggles to adopt effective web-based student learning activities, the inexorable march of technology moves on towards the use of virtual and augmented reality. Are Education and IT faculties training their students how to harness the affordances of these new technologies for future employment, social networking, or as teaching resources? This presentation will review the results of a Teaching Development Grant (2015-2017) which explored student-produced drama in the virtual world for language education, as well as a follow-on Knowledge Transfer project (2017-18) which trained tertiary students to lead the introduction of secondary school students to the virtual world. Implications on best practice and gamification of education will be explored.