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 Building Knowledge in the Virtual World – Influence of Real Life Relationships

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Loureiro ◽  
Teresa Bettencourt
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Strategy ◽  
Real Life ◽  
University Level ◽  
The University

This paper intends to present a preliminary PhD research that is being developed by the authors, with the intention to determine how to improve teaching and learning situations, at the university level, based on experiences in immersive virtual worlds. The authors have realized that, nowadays, courses don’t fulfill our students’ needs. They belong to a networked and multitasking generation, and what they get from today’s teaching strategy does not, in many situations, fulfill students’ needs and perspectives. They need to gather competences in order to become motivated citizens, communicative and knowledge builders. It is our belief that we can take advantage from the immersive virtual worlds’ resources to overcome this situation and therefore to transfer it to real life. In order to achieve this we need, at the first instance, to understand how social interactions occur in these environments (in particular at Second Life®), how they grow and how they are developed. What we present here is a preliminary sample of our intended research.

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 Effects of Second Life on the Motivation of EFL Student Teachers

2019 ◽  
pp. 86-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Galip Kartal ◽  
Cem Balçıkanlı
Keyword(s):  
Student Teachers ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Free Environment

This study aimed at investigating the effects of using a virtual world, Second Life (SL), on the motivation of Turkish EFL student teachers. First, a 10-week real-life task syllabus was designed and conducted in SL. Focus-group interviews were utilized to enhance the quality of the tasks. Then, the effects of SL on motivation were tracked via qualitative research tools, namely semi-structured interviews, weekly evaluation forms, and observations. The findings showed that SL was effective in increasing motivation of the participating student teachers. The characteristics of the virtual world that were reported to have an effect on motivation were as follows: natural environment, realistic places, anxiety-free environment, excitement, and visual support. This chapter provides possibilities for those who are interested in employing virtual world technologies in foreign/second language teaching and learning and finally describes an investigation into the role of the virtual world in relation to affordances such technologies present across the globe.

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.

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.

scholarly journals 3D Interactions between Virtual Worlds and Real Life in an E-Learning Community

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrike Lucke ◽  
Raphael Zender
Keyword(s):  
Learning Community ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Learning Platform ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Learning Scenarios

Virtual worlds became an appealing and fascinating component of today's internet. In particular, the number of educational providers that see a potential for E-Learning in such new platforms increases. Unfortunately, most of the environments and processes implemented up to now do not exceed a virtual modelling of real-world scenarios. In particular, this paper shows that Second Life can be more than just another learning platform. A flexible and bidirectional link between the reality and the virtual world enables synchronous and seamless interaction between users and devices across both worlds. The primary advantages of this interconnection are a spatial extension of face-to-face and online learning scenarios and a closer relationship between virtual learners and the real world.

scholarly journals Knee-High Boots and Six-Pack Abs: Autoethnographic Reflections on Gender and Technology in Second Life

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Delia Dumitrica ◽  
Georgia Gaden
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Gender And Technology ◽  
The Social ◽  
Performance Of Gender ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Visual Element ◽  
Situated Perspective

In this paper, we explore the experience and performance of gender online in Second Life, currently one of the most popular virtual world platforms. Based on two collaborative autoethnographic projects, we propose that gender has to be explored at the intersection between our own situated perspective and the vision embedded in the social and technical infrastructure of the virtual world. For us, the visual element of a 3D world further frames the representation and performance of gender, while technical skill becomes a crucial factor in constructing our ability to play with this performance. As we recollect and interrogate our own experiences in SL, we argue that the relation between gender and virtual worlds is a complex and multifaceted one, proposing our positioned account of experiencing this relation. It is critical, we suggest, that studies of mediated experience in virtual worlds take into account the position of the researcher in ‘real’ life (IRL) as well as the dominant discourses of the environment they are immersed in. In this we must also be critical, of ourselves, our assumptions, as well as the environment itself.

Teaching and Learning Abstract Concepts by Means of Social Virtual Worlds

2019 ◽  
pp. 314-329 ◽  
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.

Second Life

2013 ◽  
pp. 204-218
Author(s):  
Yvonne Masters ◽  
Sue Gregory
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning Environment

An increasing number of educational institutions are trialling the use of virtual worlds as teaching and learning environments, particularly for distance education students. In 2009 the authors have begun a research project to explore the efficacy of one such virtual world, Second Life, as a viable adjunct to other online learning experiences. However, it is now recognised that most academics have no experience of teaching in a virtual world. An integral aspect of our research is to examine whether a novice user of Second Life could quickly learn to teach effectively with this tool. The teaching experience is outlined from two points of view: the novice and the expert. The emergent themes are discussed and conclusions are made regarding the efficacy of Second Life as a teaching and learning environment for distance education students and the level of support that might be needed to assist other novices to teach in-world.

WHY PEOPLE JOIN VIRTUAL WORLDS OF COMPUTER GAMES? QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AMONGST POLISH USERS

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Hofman-Kohlmeyer
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Computer Games ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Target Market ◽  
The World ◽  
Game Environment ◽  
Game Developers ◽  
Depth Interviews

Introduction: When virtual worlds (e.g. Second Life or World of Warcraft) became immensely popular, with millions of active users around the world, real life companies started to utilize them for business purposes, such as testing new products or organizing various events. However, the activities of companies can only be successful if a sufficient number of players are engaged in virtual worlds. Objectives: The present paper is aimed to investigate individual players’ motives for joining virtual worlds of computer games. Methods: The author carried out 22 in-depth interviews amongst polish players (20 were finally accepted) of three virtual worlds: The Sims, Second Life and Euro Track Simulator 2. Interviews were carried out from August 21, 2018 to December 5, 2018. Results: Respondents most frequently mentioned consecutively: curiosity (caused by TV series, TV programme, newspaper or advertisement), interact with others, interest in the topic of a game, enjoyment from playing, opportunity to see or do things unattainable in real life, exploring the virtual world, spending free time. With reference to the gratification paradigm, individual motivations were divided into: experiential (16 motives), functional (6 motives), social (3 motives). From the perspective of marketing managers, understanding the motivations of players allows them to describe the target market of their promotional activities inside the game environment. For game developers, it can help attract new and maintain current users.

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