Related Papers
Journal of Educational Computing Research
Teaching with Virtual Worlds: Factors to Consider for Instructional Use of Second Life
2010 •
Dr. Fears
Substantial evidence now supports pedagogical applications of virtual worlds; however, most research supporting virtual worlds for education has been conducted using researcher-developed Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVE). Second Life (SL) is a MUVE that has been adopted by a large number of academic institutions; however, little research has systematically investigated the potential of using SL for higher education. A 2–year pilot study was conducted that included seven SL activities and a mixed-methods evaluation of the SL's affordances, challenges, and limitations. Three SL integration factors emerged, each with sub-factors: pedagogical (relevance, complexity of required SL skills, use of SL affordances); contextual (student prior gaming experience, activity duration, frequency of events); and logistical (SL usability, training, technical support, computer issues). A framework for creating SL instructional activities is presented using the factors.
Children's Playground Games in the New Media Age
Andrew Burn
This is the opening chapter of Burn, A and Richards, C (ed) (2014) Children’s games in the new media age: Childlore, Media and the Playground. Farnham: Ashgate. It presents an overview of a major research project undertaken by three UK universities with the British Library, digitising the Opie archive and adding new collections representing play in school playground in the age of new media.
Language Learning Quests in Second Life: A framework for blending digital game-based learning and virtual worlds
Joe Pereira
The Educators Coop: A Model for Collaboration and LSI Communication Research in the Virtual World
JOe Sanchez
Three-dimensional virtual worlds will be a widely used knowledge-and-social-interaction tool and will become another part of the socio-technical system that many people use for communication, whether for work or play, in the foreseeable future. This paper presents an approach that LSI researchers and educators (and other communication scholars) can take for their entry into this new 3-D virtual public and private sphere of interaction. We discuss LSI scholars as users of the technology, specifically Second Life®, to enhance collaboration with colleagues and to enable scholars to extend some very practical research and educational operations into virtual spaces. Secondarily, we briefly discuss some possible foci for LSI research, including some emerging communication practices. The paper concludes with a brief look at current challenges for LSI researchers with 3-D virtual world technologies.
Games and Culture
Virtual Heterotopias and the Contested Histories of Kowloon Walled City
2022 •
Lawrence May
Hong Kong's Kowloon Walled City has found new life in videogames during the three decades since its demolition, taking on unstable and sometimes contradictory forms when reimagined through virtual architecture. At stake in these acts of memory are the historical discourses surrounding everyday life in Kowloon Walled City, its uncertain political and cultural status, and ongoing postcolonial debates concerning Hong Kong identity. I analyze Kowloon's Gate, Shenmue II, and Mr Pumpkin 2: Walls of Kowloon to uncover the contestation of the city's histories through the types of spaces Michel Foucault described as heterotopic: at once real and unreal, and existent and non-existent. This analysis reveals the fluid nature of cultural memory and historical discourse in videogame spaces, as well as how virtual spatiality and the past can be used together to understand and define the present.
Pedagogy and Learning in the Virtual World of Second Life by LJARMON@MAIL.UTEXAS.EDU
2000 •
Judith Boettcher
The effects of Avatars’ Gender and Appearance on Social Behaviour in Virtual Worlds
2010 •
Domna Banakou
A Brief History of Virtual Economy
Mohamed Nazir
The virtual world economy is a multibillion-dollar industry. There is significant evidence for the growth of virtual economies within a variety of virtual worlds. There is an increasing demand from users to buy, sell, and invest in virtual items and services, including virtual properties. However, there is also evidence suggesting that many companies struggle to succeed in the virtual economy platform. In order to facilitate and drive success in virtual business strategies, it is necessary to have a framework for classifying elements of virtual economies. This paper proposes a classification framework of virtual economy elements based upon the characteristics of products and services, the transaction and marketplace, as well as the currency and exchange systems present in these economic environments. In addition, this research highlights the opportunities and challenges presented to both users and companies within the virtual economy platform.
Learning in Virtual Environments International Conference
SLAVE–Second Life Assistant in a Virtual Environment
2008 •
Matthew Montebello
Abstract: Virtual worlds, in particular Second Life, have recently been gaining more momentum in emerging trends within the educational research dimension due to their dynamic, flexible and accessible nature. One problem which educators are facing is that of having an aesthetically appealing display which at times learners cannot exploit at will unless a preplanned event has been scheduled. Residents often complain that educational lands are often void of life, and show a marked lack of presence. SLAVE aims to provide a ...
… of the 2008 ACM conference on …
Situated practices of looking: visual practice in an online world
2008 •
Paul Dourish
Graphical virtual worlds are increasingly significant sites of collaborative interaction. Many argue that the simulation of the everyday environment makes them particularly effective for collaboration. Based on a study of visual practice in Second Life, we argue: first, that the practice of looking is more varied than it might at first seem; second, that we need to look beyond the virtual in understanding virtual worlds; and third, that implementations blend interactional practice. We suggest that the value of virtual worlds as sites of collaboration ...
