A Girls-Only Online Virtual World Environment and its Implications for Game-Based Learning

2017 ◽  
pp. 74-95
Author(s):  
Shahnaz Kamberi
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Game Based Learning ◽  
Teenage Girls ◽  
Java Programming ◽  
Negative Perceptions ◽  
3D Virtual World ◽  
Game Environment ◽  
World Environment

This chapter outlines how and why virtual worlds are the best gaming environments for female game players. It explores strategies for utilizing this information to provide a mass multiplayer online game environment to improve the negative perceptions of computer science and programming by teenage girls. The author shares insights from a case study involving workshops, utilizing a 3D virtual world called Gamher World to teach Java programming to forty-nine 13- to 17-year-old girls. The chapter concludes with recommendations for using virtual worlds to improve the methods used to introduce STEM to girls.

Knowledge Creation and Student Engagement Within 3D Virtual Worlds

2018 ◽  
pp. 507-525
Author(s):  
Brian G. Burton ◽  
Barbara Martin
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Knowledge Creation ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Knowledge Conversion ◽  
3D Virtual Worlds ◽  
3D Virtual World ◽  
Knowledge Spiral

Examined in this 3D Virtual World case study was undergraduate student engagement on a learning task and student creation of knowledge. After creating a 3D didactic constructivist virtual world, student conversations were recorded for analysis using Hara, Bonk, and Angeli's (2000) engagement framework and Nonaka and Takeuchi's (1995) knowledge creation theory. The five forms of student engagement augmented the learning process and a complete knowledge spiral was documented, emphasizing the use of the four modes of knowledge conversion. Though limited in time and scope, results further suggest that a highly engaged community of learners was created.

More than just Logging In

2013 ◽  
pp. 149-160
Author(s):  
Kae Novak ◽  
Chris Luchs ◽  
Beth Davies-Stofka
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Content Delivery ◽  
Immersive Learning ◽  
Delivery Vehicles

This case study chronicles co-curricular activities held in the virtual world Second Life. The event activities included standard content delivery vehicles and those involving movement and presence. Several international content experts were featured and allowed students to meet and discuss ideas on a common ground with these experts. When developing these events, the researchers wondered, could an immersive learning environment be provide a deeper level of engagement? Was it possible to have students do more than just logging in? During the events, the students discovered a whole new way of learning. Chief among their discoveries was the realization that in these virtual world educational events, students, scholars, and faculty can all be mentors as well as learners. In virtual worlds, the expert-on-a-dais model of teaching is rapidly replaced by a matrix of discussion, collaboration, and movement that quickly generates a pool of ideas and knowledge.

Exploring the Use of a 3D Virtual Environment in Cultural Transmission to Show Chinese Cultural Project “Confucius' Journey” as an Example

2015 ◽  
pp. 92-104
Author(s):  
Yungang Wei ◽  
Xiaoye Tan ◽  
Xiaoran Qin ◽  
Xiaohang Yu ◽  
Bo Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Virtual Human ◽  
Virtual Technology ◽  
Scene Construction ◽  
Intelligent Interaction ◽  
3D Virtual World ◽  
3D Virtual Environment ◽  
World Environment

The use of 3D virtual technology in cultural transmission has been more and more innovative and popular in the recent years. Meanwhile, with the high interactivity, experience of virtual technology deeply rooted in the people's hearts, the use of 3D virtual world in cultural transmission shows an evident advantage. Through scene construction and intelligent interaction in a 3D virtual world environment, we developed the project “Confucius' Journey”. And considering the problems in such applications, such as the lack of interaction and reduced effectiveness in representing the application purpose, we explored interactive objects and virtual human technology. In addition, we can verify the advantage of using the 3D platform via the experimental results.

Methods for the Measurement and Visualization of Social Networks in Multi-User Virtual Worlds

2011 ◽  
pp. 530-541
Author(s):  
Devan Rosen
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Communicative Interaction ◽  
Internet Relay Chat ◽  
Cornell University ◽  
Methodological Procedures

Virtual communities that allow many users to interact in a virtual world, often called multi-user virtual worlds (MUVWs), allow users to explore and navigate the virtual world as well as interact with other users. The communicative interaction within these virtual worlds is often text-based using Internet relay chat (IRC) and related systems. IRC has posed a difficulty for researchers looking to evaluate the interaction by analyzing and interpreting the communication since data is stored in the form of chatlogs. The current chapter explicates methodological procedures for the measurement and visualization of chat-based communicative interaction in MUVWs as social networks. A case study on an educational MUVW, the SciCentr programs sponsored by Cornell University, is used to elaborate methods and related findings.

Using the Interaction-Combinations Integration Model to Explore Real-Life Learning in User-Created Virtual Worlds

2011 ◽  
pp. 47-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Antonacci ◽  
Nellie Modaress ◽  
Edward Lee Lamoureux ◽  
David Thomas ◽  
Timothy Allen
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Emerging Technologies ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
Case Study Method ◽  
Integration Model

User-created virtual worlds are emerging technologies with rapidly growing acceptance in education. Of the various reported educational uses of these virtual worlds, the focus of this chapter is on virtual worlds for constructivist learning activities, because this use has application to many real-life courses and has the potential to transform teaching and learning. To assist educators with recognizing and understanding virtual world learning activities, Antonacci & Modaress (2005, 2008) developed the Interaction-Combinations Integration model. However, this model has not been studied in actual virtual-world learning practice. Using a case study method, this chapter examines the usefulness of this model to organize and describe actual virtual world learning activities, provides additional learning activity examples, and describes what was needed to implement and conduct these learning activities.

A Virtual World Environment for Group Work

2011 ◽  
pp. 233-244
Author(s):  
E. Brown ◽  
M. Hobbs ◽  
M. Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Group Work ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Differentiated Learning ◽  
Socially Situated ◽  
World Environment

This article seeks to show that a virtual world can provide a useful addition in the use of computermedi ated learning tools. We discuss the underlying educational context and link this to the properties of virtual worlds and, in particular, that of Second Life. We report on the progress of a project for developing group work that seeks to link affordances in the environment to learning outcomes and employs a socially situated, constructivist, pedagogical framework. We found that a virtual world environment can enable autonomous, differentiated learning through the use of suitably structured tasks, and postulate that an individual’s depth of engagement with the environment may be linked to the learning style.

Impact of Flow and Brand Equity in 3D Virtual Worlds

2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 69-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah ◽  
Brenda Eschenbrenner ◽  
David DeWester ◽  
So Ra Park
Keyword(s):  
Brand Equity ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Behavioral Intention ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Theoretical Foundation ◽  
Flow Experience ◽  
3D Virtual Worlds ◽  
3D Virtual World ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This research is a partial test of Park et al.’s (2008) model to assess the impact of flow and brand equity in 3D virtual worlds. It draws on flow theory as its main theoretical foundation to understand and empirically assess the impact of flow on brand equity and behavioral intention in 3D virtual worlds. The findings suggest that the balance of skills and challenges in 3D virtual worlds influences users’ flow experience, which in turn influences brand equity. Brand equity then increases behavioral intention. The authors also found that the impact of flow on behavioral intention in 3D virtual worlds is indirect because the relationship between them is mediated by brand equity. This research highlights the importance of balancing the challenges posed by 3D virtual world branding sites with the users’ skills to maximize their flow experience and brand equity to increase the behavioral intention associated with the brand.

scholarly journals Game-Based Learning in Museums—Cultural Heritage Applications

Information ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marijana Ćosović ◽  
Belma Ramić Brkić
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
Intangible Cultural Heritage ◽  
Cultural Institutions ◽  
Game Based Learning ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
Pros And Cons

As traditional museums migrate to the virtual world, they offer wider access to the exhibit collections but often fail to present content of those collections in more engaging way. Game-based learning is one of the solutions to mitigate this inevitable transition and support active learning in the process. It is increasingly gaining interest from the cultural heritage scientific community for the purpose of promoting cultural heritage, raising awareness of its importance and motivating users to visit cultural institutions such as museums more often. There are numerous examples of serious games that are based on or contain heritage content. Tangible cultural heritage is more represented in the virtual worlds and mainly based on applications of 3D technology. Recently, intangible cultural heritage is gaining more visibility within cultural heritage scope as a domain in which game-based learning could assist in its preservation. This paper attempts to address pros and cons of game-based learning in general and reflect on the choices of using serious games in the museum environment.

scholarly journals Virtual Worlds, the IRB and a User's Bill of Rights

1970 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey M. Stanton
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Institutional Review Boards ◽  
Bill Of Rights ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Institutional Review ◽  
Preliminary Version

Virtual worlds provide a vibrant and exciting new venue for the conduct of social research. New social phenomena have emerged in the context of these worlds as individuals and groups use the worlds’ social communication tools to overcome limitations of time and distance. Yet these worlds also pose some novel ethical problems for social researchers who wish to conduct their work in these contexts. The present paper discusses ethical dimensions of research in virtual worlds in order to uncover some of these novel problems. The paper reports and analyzes a case study in which the author participated in a virtual world research study. The paper discusses a preliminary version of a virtual world subject’s bill of rights that can serve as the basis for further discussion among social researchers. The paper concludes with recommendations for virtual worlds researchers on strategies for working with their institutional review boards (human subjects ethics review) to obtain approval for their research proposals.

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