scholarly journals Digital Guqin Museum from a Virtual World to the Real World : Conception and design of an ongoing cultural sim

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuen-git Chow
Keyword(s):  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Mixed Reality ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Musical Instrument ◽  
Good Match ◽  
Chinese Music ◽  
Place Holder ◽  
Informal Settings

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.

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.

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.

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.

scholarly journals Virtual Identity

1969 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Yumansky
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Ordinary People ◽  
Online Forums ◽  
Self Presentation ◽  
Virtual Identity ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Online Identities

This paper will explore the realm of virtual identity within the context of the online virtual world, Second Life. The creation of virtual identities involves the complex process of constructing an online self-presentation. With the prevalence of online forums and virtual reality, ordinary people are crafting identities online and digressing from their actual identities in real life. In order to explain this phenomenon, I draw on narrative theory's conceptualization of character in order to understand how people craft online identities.

Towards a Beneficial Formalization of Cyber Entities’ Interactions during the E-Learning Process in the Virtual World of “Second Life”

2013 ◽  
pp. 278-314
Author(s):  
Pellas Nikolaos
Keyword(s):  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Active Involvement ◽  
Academic Communities ◽  
Bibliographic Data ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Quality Infrastructure

This chapter investigates the new interactive dimension, which arises between cyber entities (avatars) that move around, meet others, and emulate their work in [D-] CIVEs ([Distributed-] Collaborative Immersive Virtual Environments). The active involvement and immersion in these “environments” elaborates the maximum possible total-relationship of the developmental users’ forces (teachers and students) and creates “situations of real-life” in a 3D virtual system. The inspiration to deal with this issue originated through the prior knowledge that was gained from the previous educational studies in the virtual world of Second Life (SL), which was used as an environmental tool for action-based learning and research programs on Higher Education. The investigation and presentation of quality infrastructure that this interactive “world” hosts in was the objective of this research, through the presentation and promotion of academic communities’ previous applications to enrich their curricula. The original contribution of this effort is to become a highly inexhaustible source of inspiration for the bibliographic data and interdisciplinary for the field of e-learning future.

Legal and Ethical Aspects of Teaching in Selected Social Virtual Worlds

2013 ◽  
pp. 1395-1416
Author(s):  
R. S. Talab ◽  
Hope R. Botterbusch
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Ethical Aspects ◽  
Virtual Currency ◽  
Virtual Property ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
And Control

Topics discussed in this chapter include Generations Y and Z and their acceptance of virtual reality, the increase in the number of virtual worlds, gaming virtual worlds, and the social virtual worlds for educators selected for inclusion in this discussion. Open source virtual world platform portability issues are discussed in connection with the acquisition, development, and control of virtual property. The line between “play spaces” and real life is discussed in terms of the application of the “magic circle” test to teaching in virtual worlds with a real-money based virtual currency system, as well as how faculty can reduce student legal and ethical problems. Virtual world law is examined in light of the terms of service (TOS) and end-user license agreements (EULAs), the concept of virtual property, community standards/behavioral guidelines, safety/privacy statements, intellectual property and copyright. Ethical aspects of teaching in virtual worlds include a definition and analysis of griefing/abuse, harassment, false identity, and ways that each world handles these problems. Whyville, SmallWorlds, and Second Life are examined in terms of legal and ethical aspects Research findings and legal and ethical teaching guidelines are presented for those teaching courses using virtual worlds, with special considerations for teaching in Second Life. These topics are for informational purposes, only. Instructors should seek competent legal counsel.

Promoting health in a virtual world: Impressions of health communication messages delivered in Second Life

First Monday ◽  
2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Cowdery ◽  
Jeannette Kindred ◽  
Anna Michalakis ◽  
L. Suzanne Suggs
Keyword(s):  
Health Education ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Intervention Program ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Education Intervention ◽  
Nutrition Research ◽  
Health Education Intervention

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the use of the online virtual world Second Life (SL) for the delivery of health communication messages designed to encourage individuals to make healthy lifestyle choices regarding physical activity and nutrition. Research questions addressed participants’ impressions of the usefulness and relevance of health information received via an online virtual world and participants’ overall impressions of an online health education intervention program. Forty individuals participated in a health education intervention and completed a post-test survey. Four focus groups were also held, one in real life and three in Second Life and included a total of 28 participants. Overall, participants rated the health intervention positively, found the information useful in helping them think about changing their health behaviors, and reported finding the information easy to understand and personally relevant. Participants were also consistent in reporting they found the use of Second Life to be a unique and novel approach for the delivery of health information.

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.

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