Entornos virtuales para el desarrollo de la educación inclusiva: Una mirada hacia el futuro desde el pasado de Second Life / Using virtual worlds for the development of inclusive education: A glance at the future from the past of Second Life
Keywords:
Second Life, mundos virtuales, discapacidad, educación inclusiva, colaboración, participación, exclusión, avataresAbstract
Second Life es un entorno virtual con potencial para ser aplicado al desarrollo de la educación inclusiva por su carácter innovador, por promover la participación en un entorno en 3D de todos los alumnos que pueden acceder a la plataforma, por promulgar la colaboración en red de manera virtual y por acercar a los estudiantes al tipo de comunicación que utilizan en su tiempo de ocio y a las tecnologías que probablemente emplearán como profesionales. La utilización de entornos virtuales supone la proyección de los usuarios en avatares. La conexión entre la persona física y los avatares muestra la ambigua, difusa y borrosa línea que separa los mundos virtuales de la realidad. Es en este espacio en el que los docentes deben situar las actividades académicas, conectando y, simultáneamente, distinguiendo ambos mundos. Los avatares se convierten en herramientas para la empatía, para potenciar la relación entre pares y que posibilitan actividades académicas en un entorno distinto al aula física. No obstante, para que estas actividades tengan lugar, es necesario que se proporcionen unas condiciones de acceso idóneas a la plataforma a los estudiantes con discapacidad, mediante una adaptación de la interfaz y el software. De lo contrario, la tecnología virtual tendrá el efecto opuesto al propuesto: incrementará la brecha digital existente entre los alumnos con discapacidad y el resto de los estudiantes.
Abstract
Second Life is a virtual environment which could be used, with innovation and experimentation, for the inclusion of students with disabilities. SL promotes the participation of all the students in a 3D environment through collaboration in a virtual network, exercising the type of communication the students use in their leisure time and the technology they will probably employ in their professional career. The use of virtual environments involves the projection of users into avatars. The connection between the individuals and the avatars demonstrates the ambiguous and blurred line that separates reality and virtual worlds. It is in this space where educators must place the academic activities, connecting and simultaneously distinguishing both worlds. The avatars become tools for empathy, to enhance the relationship between peers and a medium to develop academic activities in an environment which is different from the physical classroom. Nevertheless, to develop educational activities in the metaverse, it is necessary to provide the appropriate access to the platform for students with disabilities, adapting the interface and software. Otherwise, virtual technology will increase the digital divide between students with disabilities and other students.
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