Presentation -Peter Marzec & Kim Tan

Incorporating Virtual Learning in Operations Management via Second Life:

Evaluation and Learning

Dr Kim Tan
Associate Professor in Operations Management
Nottingham University Business School

Peter Marzec
Research Assistant
Nottingham University Business School


Abstract

The adoption of Second Life as a pedagogical tool for Operations Management teaching at the Nottingham University Business Schools is novel solution to two key issues. First, it reacts to the notion that "nothing will protect the business school from being swept into the current of technologically driven change" ( Piccoli et al., 2001; p402) with the proactive adoption of a new technology. Secondly, the necessity for students to experience production and operations management principles first hand to gain insight beyond what lectures can provide (Ammar and Wright, 1998). This study further acknowledges that: a) learning and teaching research in the context of virtual worlds is still in its infancy (Chen et al., 2005); b) what the realities are of using Second Life as a teaching tool (Brown, 2009) ; and c) the little is known about the effectiveness of such environments compared to traditional classroom education (Piccoli et al., 2001).



As a reaction to the first acknowledgement, the study first identifies the challenges facing the teaching of Operations Management and contextualises the use of virtual worlds in teaching by emphasising the difficulties in matching student learning styles with the teaching of Operations Management. From the second acknowledgement, the study subsequently details a number of issues concerning the development and implementation of such a project. The study then concludes with a discussion on evaluating the effectiveness of such a pedagogical tool in teaching to address the third and final acknowledgement.



The project itself involves the construction of a virtual manufacturing plant in Second Life which allows students to learn various Operations Management concepts and to replicate the experience of visiting a ‘real-life’ factory floor with machinery, product flows, inventories, warehouse(s) etc. The initial scope of the project is to facilitate the teaching of the Lean Manufacturing and Facility Design concepts to Undergraduates and Masters Students at the Nottingham University Business School. In the virtual plant, students assume certain roles (operators, engineers, managers) to manage the plant and experience the difference between Lean and traditional manufacturing and the effect of plant layout on performance.