In-World Behaviors and Learning in a Virtual World

Abstract

Educational virtual worlds can give students opportunities that would not otherwise be possible in face-to-face settings. The SciEthics Interactive simulations allow learners to conduct scientific research and practice ethical decision-making within a virtual world. This study examined the in-world behaviors that identify students who perceive learning in virtual worlds as effective. Participants include 53 students in higher education coursework. This study indicated that there is a positive relationship between learning and a feeling of presence, specifically with avatar identification. Movement in-world that is explorative and open is also correlated to presence. These findings indicate if learning in virtual worlds is to be perceived as a worthwhile activity by students, then learners require support to develop identification with their avatar and to build a sense of immersion within the virtual world.

References

	Allbeck, J. M., & Badler, N. I. (2002). Embodied autonomous agents. Handbook of virtual environments, 313-332.
	Bailey, R. Wise, K. Bolls, P. (2007) How avatar customizability affects children's arousal and subjective presence during junk food-sponsored online video games, Cyberpsychol Behav. 2009 June; 12(3): 277-83.
	Bangay S. Preston L. (1998). An investigation into factors influencing immersion in interactive virtual reality environments.Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, ▪▪▪, 43–51.10350927
	Bell M. W. (2008). Virtual worlds research: Past, present & future.Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, 1(1).
	Biocca F. (1999). The cyborg's dilemma: Progressive embodiment in virtual environments.Human Factors in Information Technology, 13, 113–144. 10.1016/S0923-8433(99)80011-2
	Bogdanovych A. Rodriguez-Aguilar J. A. Simoff S. Cohen A. (2010). Authentic interactive reenactment of cultural heritage with 3D virtual worlds and artificial intelligence.Applied Artificial Intelligence, 24(6), 617–647. 10.1080/08839514.2010.492172
	Boulos M. N. K. Hetherington L. Wheeler S. (2007). Second Life: An overview of the potential of 3‐D virtual worlds in medical and health education.Health Information and Libraries Journal, 24(4), 233–245. 10.1111/j.1471-1842.2007.00733.x18005298
	Cheng L. Farnham S. Stone L. (2002). Lessons Learned: Building and Deploying Shared Virtual Environments. In Schroeder, R. (2002) The Social Life of Avatars (pp. 90–112). London: Springer-Verlag. 10.1007/978-1-4471-0277-9_6
	Childs, M. (2011) Enhancing Learning, Teaching and Student Success in Virtual Worlds: Why Rosa keeps dancing, Opening Keynote at SOLSTICE: Effective Practices: Enhancing Learning, Teaching and Student Success conference, Edge Hill University, 8th - 9th June 2011
	Childs, M. (2014) “Two models to conceptualize space” in Kuksa, I. and Childs, M. Making Sense of Space: The Design and Experience of Virtual Spaces as a Tool for Communication, Chandos, UK:Oxford, 69 – 80
	Childs M. Kuksa I. (2009). Why are we in the floor? Learning about theatre design in Second Life.Proceedings of the Edulearn 09 International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies, Barcelona, Spain, 1134 – 1145.
	Conradi E. Kavia S. Burden D. Rice A. Woodham L. Beaumont C. Poulton T. (2009). Virtual patients in a virtual world: Training paramedic students for practice.Medical Teacher, 31(8), 713–720. 10.1080/0142159090313416019811207
	Deleuze G. Guattari P. F. (1987). A thousand plateaus: Capitalism and schizophrenia (Vol. 2). U of Minnesota Press.
	Gartner. (2007, July 13). Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies, 2007. Retrieved from http://www.gartner.com/id=509710
	Gartner. (2012, August 16). Gartner's 2012 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies Identifies “Tipping Point” Technologies That Will Unlock Long-Awaited Technology Scenarios. Retrieved from http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2124315
	Gonzalez, G., Younger, J., & Lindgren, R. (2011). The Payoff of Avatar Creation: Investigating the Effects on Learning and Engagement, Presentation at the Games + Learning + Society Conference, Madison, Wisconsin.
	Hecht D. Reiner M. (2007). Field dependency and the sense of object-presence in haptic virtual environments.Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 10(2), 243–251. 10.1089/cpb.2006.996217474842
	Hew K. F. Cheung W. S. (2010). Use of three‐dimensional (3‐D) immersive virtual worlds in K‐12 and higher education settings: A review of the research.British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(1), 33–55. 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2008.00900.x
	Inman, C., Wright, V. H., & Hartman, J. A. (2010). Use of Second Life in K-12 and higher education: A review of research. SECOND LIFE AS A LANGUAGE LEARNING TOOL (EFL), 67.
	Jarmon L. Traphagan T. Mayrath M. Trivedi A. (2009). Virtual world teaching, experiential learning, and assessment: An interdisciplinary communication course in Second Life.Computers & Education, 53(1), 169–182. 10.1016/j.compedu.2009.01.010
	Laarni J. Ravaja N. Saari T. Hartmann T. (2004). Personality-related differences in subjective presence. In Proceedings of the seventh annual international workshop presence (pp. 88-95).
	Mikropoulos T. A. Natsis A. (2011). Educational virtual environments: A ten-year review of empirical research (1999–2009).Computers & Education, 56(3), 769–780. 10.1016/j.compedu.2010.10.020
	Murray J. H. (1997). Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. New York: The Free Press.
	Nadolny L. Woolfrey J. Kahn S. Pierlott M. (2013). SciEthics Interactive: The design and development of a science and ethics virtual environment.Educational Technology Research and Development, 61(6), 979–999. 10.1007/s11423-013-9319-0
	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization. (2009). Virtual NOAA. ESRL Quarterly Newsletter, Summer. Retrieved from http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/news/quarterly/summer2009/virtual_noaa.html
	Patel, K., & Vij, S. (2010). Spatial navigation in virtual world. Advanced knowledge based systems: model, applications and research, TMRF e-Book, 101-125.
	Picciano A. G. (2002). Beyond student perceptions: Issues of interaction, presence, and performance in an online course.Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 6(1), 21–40.
	Ragan E. D. Sowndararajan A. Kopper R. Bowman D. A. (2010). The effects of higher levels of immersion on procedure memorization performance and implications for educational virtual environments.Presence (Cambridge, Mass.), 19(6), 527–543. 10.1162/pres_a_00016
	Schaik P. V. Turnbull T. Wersch A. V. Drummond S. (2004). Presence within a mixed reality environment.Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 7(5), 540–552. 10.1089/cpb.2004.7.54015667049
	Schuemie M. J. Van Der Straaten P. Krijn M. Van Der Mast C. A. (2001). Research on presence in virtual reality: A survey.Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 4(2), 183–201. 10.1089/10949310130011788411710246
	Singer M. J. Witmer B. G. (1999). On selecting the right yardstick.Presence (Cambridge, Mass.), 8(5), 566–573. 10.1162/105474699566486
	Slater M. Usoh M. (1993). Representations Systems, Perceptual Position, and Presence in Immersive Virtual Environments.Presence (Cambridge, Mass.), 2, 221–233.
	Sourin A. Sourina O. Prasolova-Førland E. (2006). Cyber-learning in cyberworlds.Journal of Cases on Information Technology, 8(4), 55–70. 10.4018/jcit.2006100105
	Taylor T. L. (2002). Living Digitally: Embodiment in Virtual Worlds. In SchroederR. (Ed.), The Social Life of Avatars (pp. 40–62). London: Springer-Verlag. 10.1007/978-1-4471-0277-9_3
	Thornson C. A. Goldiez B. F. Le H. (2009). Predicting presence: Constructing the tendency toward presence inventory.International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 67(1), 62–78. 10.1016/j.ijhcs.2008.08.006
	Tüzün H. Yılmaz-Soylu M. Karakuş T. İnal Y. Kızılkaya G. (2009). The effects of computer games on primary school students’ achievement and motivation in geography learning.Computers & Education, 52(1), 68–77. 10.1016/j.compedu.2008.06.008
	Wallach H. S. Safir M. P. Samana R. (2010). Personality variables and presence.Virtual Reality (Waltham Cross), 14(1), 3–13. 10.1007/s10055-009-0124-3
	Warburton, S. (2007, November). No life in Second life? Symposium session presented at the Online Educa, Berlin.
	Warburton S. (2009). Second Life in higher education: Assessing the potential for and the barriers to deploying virtual worlds in learning and teaching.British Journal of Educational Technology, 40(3), 414–426. 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2009.00952.x
	Wiecha J. Heyden R. Sternthal E. Merialdi M. (2010). Learning in a virtual world: Experience with using second life for medical education.Journal of Medical Internet Research, 12(1), e1. 10.2196/jmir.133720097652
	Wired (2012, May 31). How virtual worlds were killed by Facebook. Retrieved from http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-05/31/facebook-killed-virtual-world
	Yoon T. E. George J. F. (2013). Why aren’t organizations adopting virtual worlds?Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 772–790. 10.1016/j.chb.2012.12.003
	Zahorik P. Jenison R. L. (1998). Presence as being-in-the-world.Presence (Cambridge, Mass.), 7(1), 78–89. 10.1162/105474698565541

You do not own this content. Please login to recommend this title to your institution's librarian or purchase it from the IGI Global bookstore.

Username or email:
*

Password:
*

Forgot individual login password?

Create individual account

In-World Behaviors and Learning in a Virtual World

MLA

APA

Chicago

Export Reference

Abstract

References

Request Access