scholarly journals Artistic Expression in Second Life: What can we learn from creative pioneers of new mediums?

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
John Lester / Pathfinder Linden
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Visual Art ◽  
Physical World ◽  
Artistic Expression ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Performing Artists ◽  
Shared Experiences

Second Life is a virtual world that allows its Residents to create completely original content using atomistic building tools in a shared and globally accessible space. In this respect it is a very unique new medium for artistic expression, as it give artists not only a new collection of creative tools but also the ability to create an environment where individuals can experience this art as a group while engaging with each other. How are artists exploring this new medium of virtual worlds, and what can we all learn from them? In some ways, they are leveraging very ancient human desires for shared experiences around classic creative work such as music and visual art. In other ways, they may be creating completely new models of artistic expression, such as dynamic art that changes based on the interactions of both live performing artists and patrons in a global setting that sometimes blurs the boundaries between the virtual world and the physical world. Studying these new artistic explorations may yield insights into yet unforeseen best practices for engaging human beings around creative content and collaborative expression in virtual worlds.

Connecting to the (virtual) ground: between groundedness and groundlessness in Second Life

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 303-311
Author(s):  
Aikaterini Antonopoulou
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Physical World ◽  
High Rise ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Multiple Material ◽  
The One ◽  
Background Context

The ground as the solid surface of the earth, as the land that lies under our feet and as the foundation on which anything built rests, has always served as a condition of a possibility of place. Heaviness and gravity on the one hand, and the attempts to overcome them through high-rise constructions on the other, define physical space and create different sorts of spatial relationships. Now that mobility and connectivity have introduced a new dynamism and flexibility, and the attention increasingly shifts from the one and only ‘native’ ground to multiple material and immaterial conditions that shape our existence, the question is whether the attachment to the ground refers to the materiality of the ground itself or to some sort of phantasmatic background context. In a world that is less about place and more about places, less about origins and more about connections between the different sites of our lives, the notion of ‘groundedness’ mediates between materiality and symbolism. Similarly to physical space, cyberspace is also capable of creating a ‘there’ and a place, establishing new geographies and different sorts of attachment. Are we then moving from a conscious attachment to a native ground and a single home, to a multiplicity of places, grounds, and, if possible, ‘homes’? This attachment to the ground is the focus of this essay. It mediates between groundedness and groundlessness: from the Heideggerian ‘being in the world’ as ‘being on the earth’ and the understanding of the ‘native ground’ as a repository of meanings and memories, to flying in the physical world and studying an avatar's weightless existence in virtual worlds. By using examples taken from the virtual world of Second Life, it aims to question the symbolisation of the ground, and through this, to explore the forms that placeness takes within digitisation.

scholarly journals Can We Move Beyond Visual Metaphors? Virtual World Provocations and Second Life

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela G. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Visual Metaphors

Is it possible for the human beings, who are the driving forces behind virtual worlds and the avatars that inhabit them, to move beyond Real Life metaphors? What does this sort of questioning mean for teaching and learning in virtual worlds?

scholarly journals The effects of gamification on self-efficacy and persistence in virtual world familiarization

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Peter J. "Asikaa" Cosgrove
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Virtual Classroom ◽  
Barriers To Entry ◽  
Learning Programs ◽  
Training Courses

Students who are inexperienced with multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) such as Second Life can experience significant difficulties when first entering the virtual classroom. The unfamiliar paradigm of moving an avatar around a simulated Euclidean space can lead to disorientation, confusion, frustration and ultimately, a defeatist affect that leads to abandonment of the format. Overcoming these barriers-to-entry necessitates a foundational training course in which students can become efficacious in the basic use of virtual worlds. However, researchers have not fully established evidence-based best practices for the design of these training courses. Gamification, the process in which non-game activities are endowed with the typical attributes of a game, is a technique that has been empirically shown to improve motivation and satisfaction in such fields as education and the workplace. This study experimentally tested the effects of gamifying a virtual world familiarization course on self-efficacy, persistence, task skill and satisfaction. The results inform a theoretical model and substantive recommendations for the design of familiarization courses for virtual world learning programs.

scholarly journals Virtual Worlds Round Table

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Yee ◽  
Liz Losh ◽  
Sarah Robbins-Bell
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Round Table ◽  
State University ◽  
Online Journal ◽  
Ball State University

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.

scholarly journals The Griefer and the Stalker: Disruptive Actors in a Second Life Educational Community

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Paul Lafayette DuQuette
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
English Language ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Fear And Anxiety

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.

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.

Using Virtual World Technology as a Faculty Development Tool in Higher Education

2012 ◽  
pp. 149-160
Author(s):  
Linda W. Wood
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Faculty Development ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Faculty Perceptions ◽  
College Faculty ◽  
Teaching Tool ◽  
Development Tool ◽  
Virtual World Environments

Higher education institutions are constantly challenged with the task of educating a technology savvy generation of students. Colleges must be able and ready to meet the needs of these digital-age students. What are the perceptions of college faculty of using virtual world technology as a teaching tool in the classroom? The purpose of this chapter is to explore how virtual world environments can be used as a faculty development tool in order to encourage the use of virtual worlds as a teaching tool in the classroom. This chapter references research from a mixed methods study exploring college faculty perceptions of the adoption of virtual world technology into the classroom, which in turn, provides insight to the willingness of higher education faculty to adopt this type of technology. In addition, the final section of the chapter includes a suggested guide on how to create a virtual world faculty development workshop based in Linden Lab’s Second Life.

The Added Value of 3D World in Professional, Educational, and Individual Dynamics

2017 ◽  
pp. 275-297
Author(s):  
Ivonne Citarella
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Economic Opportunities ◽  
Fantasy World

The author focused her studies on the series of professional competences which have grown within virtual worlds, and which have been made possible thanks to two main peculiarities: the highly intuitive software and playfulness gaming. The research allowed to classify the various professions born within the Second Life virtual world, these have allowed also to become a viable economic opportunities in real life. In parallel with the observations on the dimension of “work” within Second Life, the author gave also attention to the relational and educational dynamics. The author decided to enact her sociological and didactical experiment in the occasion of the event Salerno in Fantasy, a yearly convention dedicated to the Fantasy world.

The Current State and Future Potential of Virtual Worlds

2011 ◽  
pp. 2535-2543
Author(s):  
John M. Artz
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Application Technology ◽  
Current State ◽  
Future Potential

Virtual worlds, while not a new phenomenon, have come to the foreground of information technology in the past few years largely due to the growth of Second Life, a three dimensional, global virtual world that has captured the imagination of millions. This article provides some background on this virtual world phenomenon providing both a history and a classification of virtual world technology. It then focuses on Second Life discussing the application, technology, and social implications. Included in the discussion are some current initiatives such as the open source client and server projects and the implications of those initiatives. Finally, we provide some speculation on the future potential of virtual world technology as an extrapolation of the current trajectory.

Teaching and Learning Abstract Concepts by Means of Social Virtual Worlds

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Griol ◽  
Zoraida Callejas
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Resources ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Educational Activities ◽  
Virtual Spaces ◽  
3D Objects ◽  
The World

Social Virtual Worlds are increasingly being used in education, as their flexibility can be exploited in order to create heterogeneous groups from all over the world who can collaborate synchronously in different virtual spaces. In this paper, the authors describe the potential of virtual worlds as an educative tool to teach and learn abstract concepts by means of programmable 3D objects. They describe the main experiences carried out recently in the application of these technologies in transnational educational activities that combine the Moodle learning resources and programmable 3D objects in the Second Life virtual world.

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