Second Life and Higher Education: New Opportunities for Teaching and Learning

Title
Second Life and Higher Education: New Opportunities for Teaching and Learning
Publication Date
2011
Author(s)
Masters, Yvonne
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1120-7950
Email: ymasters@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:ymasters
Gregory, Sue
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0417-8266
Email: sgregor4@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:sgregor4
Editor
Editor(s): Paul Jerry and Linda Lindsey
Type of document
Book Chapter
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Inter-Disciplinary Press
Place of publication
Oxford, United Kingdom
Edition
1
Series
At the Interface
UNE publication id
une:9957
Abstract
Over time, higher education has been repositioned in terms of the delivery of courses. While traditional face-to-face teaching still occurs, there has been a major shift to encompass not only some online teaching and learning approaches for on-campus (internal) students, but also the delivery of courses wholly online to off-campus (distance education/external) students. This has necessitated adjustments in the way higher education institutions use technology for teaching and learning. At the University of New England (Australia) the authors have been researching the efficacy of one virtual world, Second Life, for teaching and learning. Two research pilots have provided data to demonstrate that students were engaged in their learning and appreciative of this innovative approach to teaching and learning online. In 2010, the authors commenced a new research project to ascertain whether students learning via this virtual world environment performed better in their assessment tasks than those students who used a traditional learning management system. Data indicate that this is the case. In this chapter, the current research project is firstly situated within the range of research conducted by the authors in Second Life. Its aims are then outlined, the research methods described and one aspect of the data presented and analysed. Indications for future research are then explored.
Link
Citation
Experiential Learning in Virtual Worlds: Opening an Undiscovered Country, p. 137-146
ISBN
9781848880757
Start page
137
End page
146

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