Knowledge Creation and Student Engagement Within 3D Virtual Worlds

International Journal of Virtual and Augmented Reality ◽

10.4018/ijvar.2017010104 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 43-59

Author(s):

Brian G. Burton ◽

Barbara Martin

Keyword(s):

Student Engagement ◽

Virtual Worlds ◽

Knowledge Creation ◽

Virtual World ◽

Learning Task ◽

Community Of Learners ◽

Complete Knowledge ◽

3D Virtual Worlds ◽

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.

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Impact of Flow and Brand Equity in 3D Virtual Worlds

Journal of Database Management ◽

10.4018/jdm.2010070103 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 69-89 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

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.

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Consumer trust in 3D virtual worlds and its impact on real world purchase intention

Nankai Business Review International ◽

10.1108/nbri-03-2015-0009 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 381-400 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Yan Peng ◽

Dan Ke

Keyword(s):

Social Presence ◽

Virtual Worlds ◽

Real World ◽

Virtual World ◽

Purchase Intention ◽

Content Type ◽

Online Trust ◽

3D Virtual Worlds ◽

Virtual Prototypes ◽

3D Virtual World

Purpose – This paper examines the three-dimensional (3D)virtual world users’ perceptions of authenticity and trustworthiness in the virtual prototypes and users’ potential purchase behavior in the real-world settings. The 3D virtual worlds provide a new platform that exhibits virtual prototypes as a promotion channel for new products of real-world and online service, where users can communicate “face to face” via their representative avatars. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted an experiment in Second Life and collected data in a post-study questionnaire to test our proposed conceptual model. Structural equation modeling was the main methodology. Findings – The research results showed that 3D virtual world users obtained a high sense of telepresence and social presence. The sense of telepresence positively leads to users’ perceptions of online trust in the virtual prototypes and thus increases their intention to purchase real-world objects; the users’ sense of social presence positively associates to their perceptions of authenticity and online trust and, therefore, their purchase intention. Research limitations/implications – In survey research, the common method variance is a problem. A more robust way is to use objective measures. Practical implications – A new channel was proposed for businesses to enhance their online strategies that will increase their business value. Social implications – 3D virtual world is also a cutting-edge platform for remote education, public information service, etc. Originality/value – This paper initially contributes to the literature that interprets underlying factors in 3D virtual worlds associated to purchase intention in real-world objects. We demonstrated the advantages, i.e. the communication efficacy and vivid virtual design in the 3D user-generated environment.

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

Integrating an Awareness of Selfhood and Society into Virtual Learning - Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-2182-2.ch006 ◽

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.

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More than just Logging In

Immersive Environments, Augmented Realities, and Virtual Worlds ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-2670-6.ch009 ◽

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.

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

Handbook of Research on Methods and Techniques for Studying Virtual Communities ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-040-2.ch031 ◽

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.

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

Multi-User Virtual Environments for the Classroom ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-545-2.ch004 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 47-61 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

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.

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Virtual World Professionals and the Interloper Effect in 3D Virtual Worlds

Advances in Social Networking and Online Communities - Virtual Worlds and Metaverse Platforms ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-854-5.ch021 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 321-336 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Victoria McArthur

Keyword(s):

Virtual Worlds ◽

Real World ◽

Virtual World ◽

Social Stigma ◽

Specific Mechanism ◽

3D Virtual Worlds ◽

Or Organization ◽

A Company

In this chapter we discuss virtual world professionals: real world employees deployed in virtual worlds for the purpose of representing a company or organization there. We investigate the notions of belonging and community in 3D virtual worlds, and identify the ways in which “belonging” and “not belonging” are constructed and perceived, especially in relation to so-called employee avatars. We explore the dimension of social stigma in virtual worlds and discuss the utility of the separate categories of outsiders and interlopers for inhabitant characterization. Our motivation for doing so is to determine the degree to which corporate presence can be mediated through the specific mechanism of employee avatar appearance. In considering the possibility that some employee avatars may be perceived as interlopers, we propose three methods for investigating the effect of their presence in virtual worlds, called the “interloper effect.”

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