victec a project funded by the european union

november 2002 teacher presentation

• victec• a project funded by the European

Union• researching ways of combating

bullying using information and communication technology


the EU framework for victec• the information technology revolution is

creating new possibilities to support learning. As it does definitions of learning are changing, as economic and social conditions change, reshaping how people learn and what they need to learn to adapt

• the EU research action on eLearning Futures supports experimental, longer-term research into next generation eLearning systems and services. These activities aim to enhance human learning and cognitive processes and anticipate future needs of individual learners


• the aim of the project• ‘to address the emotional and

empathic aspects of the learning process through the use of a new kind of interactive 3D environment that explores virtual play and improvisational drama with synthetic characters’

• time scale:• started March 2002, ending August

2004


• victec’s main participants:• The Centre for Virtual Environments,

Salford University (GB)• The University of Hertfordshire (GB)• The Institute of Theoretical Psychology,

University of Bamberg (DE)• Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e

Computadores (INESC) (PT)• AUTOR Tecnologias Multimedia (PT)• Schools in the three countries


• bullying in schools• teachers in all three countries share a

desire to discover more about:• the effects of bullying • the causes of bullying• …and along the way• the differences between countries• the things we share


• bullying in schools• a child is considered to be victimised (or

bullied) when they are exposed to repeated negative actions over time and when there is an imbalance of power (Olweus, 1991)

• the types of bullying include physical bullying, verbal such as name calling, cruel teasing and indirect bullying. The latter refers to behaviour such as malicious rumour spreading, being left out of a circle of friends and having friends deliberately falling out with victim


• types of bullying behaviours:• we need to consider in our research:• the victim • the bully• the bully/victim• the bystander


• virtual environments• a virtual environment is a 3D

computer world that the user can explore in real time.

• there are a lot of games on the market that create 3D worlds. Many are exciting, dangerous worlds in which the user is confronted with a range of threats that he or she must face and overcome


• virtual environments in education• at an early stage• huge potential to explore a range of

situations at little cost to individual• examples:• scientific experiments• taking things apart• Moon exploration• testing a car design• and so on


• virtual environments

• victec aims to create a virtual world based on a school with a European character


• the characters• the school will

be populated by software characters that have what is called artificial intelligence


• intelligent agents• intelligent agents are characters in

the virtual environments • they have artificial intelligence• researchers in this field aim to create

characters that interact with users in an intelligent and human-like way

• victec aims to use this interaction as a way of teaching children about the world they inhabit


• the psychologist’s role• the psychological aspects of the software

will be evaluated to help us understand the nature of what the user experiences and what change has been effected by interaction with the package.

• though there has been much investigation into bullying and into the effects of anti-bullying campaigns, victec is a new and exciting focus of research


• scenario development• with schools, victec will generate a

number of scenarios or situations that arise directly from the experiences of pupils in schools

• this may be through a variety of means: discussion with children and teachers, class drama, ideas from drama groups

• it may be generated using a scripting tool called Kar2ouche. There are examples of scenarios already developed in the appendix at the end of the presentation


• the scenarios• scenarios will be chosen to support

situations that will firstly not harm the user

• scenarios will give the user insights into the choices that can be made in situations – the user should never feel helpless

• scenarios will give messages • scenarios will give users access to

coping responses


• key messages such as• to a victim: do not suffer in silence,

talk to a friend• don’t just ignore the bully, don’t just

let the bullying happen • to a bully: think about why you are

doing the bullying, are you aware of the consequences of your actions?

• is there something going on in your life that makes you do what you are doing?


• to the bully/victim• think about your behaviour with other

children and whether you might be annoying them

• are there any ways that you could behave differently?

• get others to help you – talking to your friends can help you to understand why bully/victims behave in the way they do


• bullying, ICT and the curriculum: • where will it fit into the curriculum?• how can we justify the use of ICT in

the ways outlined in this presentation?


• teachers’ involvement:• a unique contribution to a common

concern• professional development• Forging international links• greater understanding of bullying• greater understanding of ways in

which information technology can be used in the classroom


• contact details:• the best way to contact us to find the

latest news on the project is through the website:

• http://net.autor.pt/victec

• this is a temporary address – an Internet search with just ‘victec’ should find you the latest address

http://net.autor.pt/victec


• the way forward?• do consult the project’s website for

updates• your local contacts will keep you

informed of developments. Do contact individuals to see how things are going or to offer any observations

• we are arranging another teachers’ workshop at a later stage in the project

• some schools are working closely with partners on developing scenarios. If your school wants to know more about this contact your local institution


• appendix to the presentation• the slides that follow offer details of

some of the bullying software available. It includes seven bullying scenarios developed in England by researchers as exemplar material

• these are being added to by schools in Salford

• if you want your school to contribute scenarios using this software contact the project


• the appendix• the market• Kar2ouche available from Immersive

Education• this is a story-boarding piece of

software. It is presently in 2D but will shortly offer a 3 D experience

• It allows pupils and teachers to recreate in a realistic environment with realistic characters their own stories


• the market • Just like every other morning from

Granada Learning and SEMERC• this is a talking book that tells the

story of a boy who is being bullied at school


• the market • Learning for Life from Grampian

Police• this is a programme that covers all

aspects of bullying in schools. As in ‘Just like every other morning’ the user follows a scenario that tells the story in a linear way

• there are activities that require some interaction but these allow the user little freedom to explore


• websites for advice on bullying• in the UK there is ‘Bullying Online’ at:

www.bullying.co.uk• Childline deals with the range of

problems experienced by young people. Its website is to be found at: www.childline.org.uk

• both of these websites will give lots of information about bullying as well as links to a whole range of other information

• A short animation sequence on bullying can be found on the BBC TV website at www.bbc.co.uk/


• Ready made scenarios• Episode 1• Episode 2• Episode 3• Episode 4• Episode 5• Episode 6• Episode 7

victec a project funded by the european union

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