Week 4 Ji Yuan Article review

Using Virtual Worlds in Education: Second Life as an Educational Tool

Research aims

The research aims of this paper are as follows: firstly, education in SL, and this part includes getting started in SL and teaching in SL. Secondly, the paper explores both merits and demerits of using SL in education. Thirdly, evaluation and suggestions for using SL.

Research methods

1. Sample and setting

9 students as a group and they attended in a upper level psychology class in SL.

2. Data collection

Collect qualitative feedback from a group of 9 students who attended class in SL.

3. Data analysis

Students who attended the class in SL were invited to give their feedback and those data were analyzed by author.

Research results

According to the research, there are more than 100 universities in US are now using SL. Faculty use these spaces to hold lectures or meetings with students, display digital artwork, hold music performances, host gatherings, and build virtual environments. When it comes to teaching in SL, things get even easier. Teachers can deliver lectures in SL that can be attended by student avatars. Holding online classes thus students don’t have to travel to interact fact to face.

For psychology students, SL provide an interesting platform for research on computermediated social interaction (e.g., Vail et al., 2008). SL makes it possible for students to observe the behavior of avatars in some particular situations within contexts. To the extent that behavior is similar in virtual-world and real-world environments, virtual worlds present an opportunity for research on many aspects of behavior (Bainbridge, 2007).

When it comes to merits of using SL in education, firstly, SL exposes students to a new technology which provide students an experience interacting in virtual world. Secondly, SL increase students engagement for classes. Students who might feel uncomfortable to comment and ask questions in real world feel more comfortable doing so in a virtual world (e.g.,Childress & Braswell, 2006). Secondly, one potential positive outcome of using SL is that SL can provide a platform for more informal interaction between students and faculty. Activities with teachers are all possible and convenient for students in SL.

In terms of limitations, first of all, students and instructors have to invest time on creating avatars and learning how to navigate and communicate in the virtual world. What’s more, there are also technological requirements; SL requires more than a basic computer. SL does not always work as planned and technological glitches can cause problems and delays. What’s more, students and teacher’s willingness to try new technology needs to be weighed. Some students do not enjoy online interaction, and some might have anxiety about learning to use SL. Similarly, instructors vary in their level of enthusiasm for learning new technologies and the speed with which they learn them (e.g., Bente, R¨uggenberg, Kr¨amer, & Eschenburg, 2008). In addition, security issues must be considered. Students need to be informed about appropriate behavior and safeguarding their privacy while interacting in SL.

As for suggestions for using SL, they are as follows:

1. Send students to SL with specific educational objectives.

This means prepare educational objectives for student learning activities in SL, and share these objectives with the students.

2. Be prepared for the unexpected and have plan B.

Engaging in course in virtual world can pose unexpected challenges when the technology does not perform correctly. So plan B will be necessary in such situations.

3. Prepare Students for the Social Experience

Make sure students understand that just as in real life, some people they meet will be helpful and friendly and others will not. Make sure students know how to avoid places or leave unwanted interactions, and that they know how to interact appropriately in the virtual world.

In conclusion, the use of virtual worlds like SL in teaching can bring both benefits and drawbacks. Some of the potential benefits and uses of virtual worlds in teaching have yet to be examined. It is clear that many questions need to be addressed before understanding how this technology can best be used to facilitate teaching and learning.

Reference

Bainbridge, W. S. (2007). The scientific research potential of virtual worlds. Science, 317, 472–476.

Bente, G., R¨uggenberg, S., Kr¨amer, N. C., & Eschenburg, F. (2008). Avatar-mediated networking: Increasing social presence and interpersonal trust in net-based collaborations. Human Communication Research, 34, 287–318.

Childress, M. D., & Braswell, R. (2006). Using massively multiplayer online role-playing games for online learning. Distance Education, 27, 187–196.

Vail, B. J., Cronk, A. J., Crosby, B., Richardson, E., Uffelman, A., Warner, M., et al. (2008, May). The real life challenge of using Second Life to teach experimental psychology. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science, Chicago.