Unpacking Strong versus Weak Presence in Second Life Enactive Role Play

Author(s):  
Caroline M L Ho

This chapter focuses on investigating participants’ presence in Second Life among students in enactive role play. The interest in the study is on the nature of participant interaction and construction of discourse moves which reflect the nature and extent of their presence (identified as ‘strong’ or ‘weak’) in the virtual world. The chapter examines the key concept of presence and its association with related concepts of engagement and identity against the sociocultural approach to learning and functional linguistic theory which provide the theoretical underpinnings and frame the research focus of this study. A review of related studies in the field follows after which background information on the context of the study is provided. The method of analysis is explained after which an analysis and a discussion of findings are presented. The chapter closes with highlighting the pertinent pedagogical implications of virtual enactive role play in 3D immersive spaces for learning.

1970 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Smith

Personnel at the Second Life NASA CoLab island have been experimenting with providing live, virtual world broadcast events for the benefit of the space and technology community. The broadcasts range from simple one-way stream feeds to more complex two-way interactive events. This paper will provide background information about the NASA CoLab, sketch an evolutionary timeline of experimental events held at the NASA CoLab island, and compare a couple of similar two-way mixed reality events.


Author(s):  
Bjoern Jaeger ◽  
Berit Helgheim

Working in a virtual world creates new opportunities for both students and teachers. In particular, virtual team role play provides excellent support for collaborative learning approaches in a cost efficient manner. The purpose of this chapter is to describe experiences developing a virtual team role play learning environment in Second Life® over a period of three years. Theoretical justification for bringing role playing into a virtual world is provided. The chapter outlines the role play, its setup in both real and virtual world, and describes how it has evolved from a setup at one university, to a distributed case involving several locations. Experiences from role playing sessions are presented for each year.


Author(s):  
Lorri Mon

Education within Second Life frequently recapitulates the “sage on the stage” as students sit their avatars down in chairs in the virtual world and listen to or read an instructor’s lecture while watching a slideshow. This conceptual article explores alternative active learning techniques supporting independent and collaborative learning within virtual worlds. Within Second Life, educators can utilize a variety of scripted tools and objects as well as techniques of building and terra-forming to create vibrant virtual personal learning environments and learning experiences that are engaging and responsive to individual learners. Issues of embodiment in an avatar are discussed in terms of social presence, and student learning styles are considered as well as approaches to problem-based learning, games, role play, and immersive virtual world environments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Teodoro Rudolphi-Solero ◽  
Alberto Jimenez-Zayas ◽  
Rocio Lorenzo-Alvarez ◽  
Dolores Domínguez-Pinos ◽  
Miguel Jose Ruiz-Gomez ◽  
...  

Abstract Background A multi-user competitive game within the virtual world Second Life for undergraduate radiology learning was adapted for team participation. This study aimed to assess student perception, impact on learning, and eventual correlation of game results with post-exposure tests and course grades. Methods The game consisted of six weekly stages, dedicated to thoracic, abdominal, and musculoskeletal radiological anatomy and semiology. Participants had several days a week to review self-guided radiology educational content and then complete individual multiple-choice tests and solve team tasks to progress through the game's ranking. Additionally, they completed a cognitive load test, a questionnaire about the experience and a post-exposure knowledge test. Results Fifty-two students organised into 13 teams participated in the game and assessed different aspects of the experience with a mean score ≥ 7.8 on a 10-point scale, highlighting the participation of the teacher (9.3 ± 1.1), the educational contents (8.8 ± 1.4) and the usefulness for their education (8.7 ± 1.4). Participants obtained better post-exposure test results (p < 0.007) and better course grades (p < 0.021) than non-participants did. Conclusion A multi-user game adapted to team competition to learn radiology in Second Life was very positively perceived by third-year medical students, who highly valued its content, organisation, and usefulness for their training. Most of the participants agreed that they had collaborated as a team and that playing in competitive environments helps them learn better. The best post-exposure and academic results compared to non-participating students indicate the potential impact of the game on learning.


2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Thomas Schwartz

Since January 2007, Music Academy Online , a web-based business dedicated to generating interest in classical music, has been developing a ‘Disney World for Classical Music’ in the virtual world of Second Life®. The virtual world provides a unique opportunity to teach classical music in an interdisciplinary fashion, the ability to reach out to a population that is hesitant to explore classical music, and a way for reaching out to those who have been disenfranchised by traditional educational paths. This has led to the development of iconography in Second Life that exploits the virtual world’s inherent ability to put seemingly disparate information together in a way that encourages questioning and discussion. But above all, this has led to the conclusion that the importance of human interaction and the Socratic method are the key elements in virtual world education.


2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Yee ◽  
Liz Losh ◽  
Sarah Robbins-Bell

By being an online journal, the JVWR allows for the inclusion of some pieces that might not otherwise fit a standard journal. This was the thought behind bringing together a group of virtual world scholars to discuss a series of questions and share their thoughts. Meeting in Second Life, Nick Yee (PARC), Liz Losh (UC Irvine), and Sarah Robbins-Bell (Ball State University) were gracious enough to share their thoughts on the study of virtual worlds culture.


2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuen-git Chow

This paper provides an overview of the Digital Guqin Museum built in Second Life that provides the user an opportunity to experience and interact with different facets of Chinese culture. The user will find examples of Guquin culture, considered by some to be a place holder for Chinese culture , such as the guqin, a rarely seen musical instrument sometimes confused with the guzheng, a more common popular instrument. Users can see the making of a guqin instrument and listen to guqin music being played, which represents both Chinese music, and more specifically, the guqin music genre - an elegant and quiet music – that might be considered a good match for a virtual world. The Digital Guqin Museam enables participants to play guqin music both in-world and via mixed-reality session, such as the recreation of an online “yaji” – elegant gatherings . This paper questions which groups of Guqin players would be interested and which group would not, and what types of uses might be most engaging . The Digital Guqin Museum in Second Life enables meetings possible only in a virtual world. Real life people could meet in virtual places, visit cities, venues as an end in itself. DGM has been shown to professional guqin players, in informal settings and at a specialists conference.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Paul Lafayette DuQuette

Linden Lab’s Second Life (SL) is well-known for its hands-off approach to user conflict-resolution. Although users are given tools to mute and block individual accounts as well as ban undesirable avatars from user-owned land, that does not prevent determined, malicious users from disrupting communities and harassing individuals. This case study focuses on two such malicious users exemplary of two specific types of malevolent virtual world actors: in-world griefers and online stalkers. As part of a decade-long ethnographic research project within the Cypris Chat English language learning community in SL, this paper utilizes data gleaned from notes on participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and first-hand encounters. It categorizes the disparate strategies these individuals have used over the years in their attempts to disrupt group cohesion, sow distrust between students and teachers, humiliate individuals, and foment an atmosphere of fear and anxiety. It then reviews the methods community members used to defend themselves from such attacks and analyzes the efficacy of these strategies. This study builds on our understanding of harassment in virtual worlds and acts as a cautionary tale for future virtual world educators and community leaders considering the development of their own online classes and groups.


Author(s):  
Scott Grant ◽  
Rosemary Clerehan

<span>For the second-language learner, the affordances of a virtual world have the potential to confer benefits conventionally aligned with real world experiences. However, little is known about the pedagogical benefits linked to the specific characteristics of the virtual world, let alone the issues arising for staff hoping to assess students' participation in these worlds. This case study is based on a two-part assignment in a first-year Chinese unit at an Australian university, exploring the virtual world assessment practices of one lecturer. The findings, while suggesting the strengths of the assessment regime with respect to many of the affordances and to alignment with policy, highlight deficient aspects of the design and implementation processes which can relatively easily be addressed. The case study reveals the critical importance of sufficient scaffolding and support, feedback and appropriate communication of students' achievement to them in order to promote further reflection.</span>


2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (22) ◽  
pp. 2718-2729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret A. Nosek ◽  
Susan Robinson-Whelen ◽  
Tracey A. Ledoux ◽  
Rosemary B. Hughes ◽  
Daniel P. O’Connor ◽  
...  

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