About « Monash Chinese Island

About

Monash Chinese Island Traditional College

Where are we now?

Monash Chinese Island is an initiative of the Chinese Studies Program at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Chinese Island is a rich Chinese language and culture learning environment in Second Life primarily set up for students and staff at Monash University to engage in both synchronous and asynchronous learning, but also open to the general public.

The island, its facilities, the learning materials and activities have been designed with strong social constructivist pedagogical principles in mind. Both synchronous and asynchronous activities place the learner at the centre of the learning experience. The role of teaching staff on the island is to guide and nurture students as they work their way through specific lessons or activities. When staff are not present, learning is facilitated and scaffolded by the island’s virtual-physical environment, virtual infrastructure, rich visual environment, rich sound-scape, as well as rich text-based and multi-media learning materials.

Since the begining of 2008 around 200 undergraduate Chinese language and culture students ranging from beginner to advanced intermediate level have participated in a range of lessons on the island.

In 2009 a new initiative is being trialled on the island with the implementation of the Chat Club, a mentor scheme for beginner and advanced beginner students. From the 27th of July to the 30th of October a senior student-mentor will be available on the island 4 times a week for free text and voice-based chatting in Mandarin, as well as answering questions and doing practice spoken exercises specifically related to classroom-based course material. The Chat Club will run every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night from 8-9pm Australian Standard Eastern Time.

Where have we come from?

Chinese Island is already the second iteration of our Chinese language and culture teaching and learning activities in Second Life. For a brief overview of how we got here, please watch the following video: