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Virtual Worlds Research Discussion Group  
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Welcome to the Virtual Worlds Researcher's Group.  The group was the conceived by Greg Wadley/Grog Waydelich as a forum for discussing current and planned research projects, methods and methodology. Read more
Educational Frontiers:Learning in a Virtual World  
Virtual worlds are engaging, stimulating spaces where students can meet online for normal class activities, including lectures, discussions, case studies, projects, papers, exams, and labs. Classes are a mix of synchronous and asynchronous activity. A virtual world class differs from a traditional course management system, such as Blackboard or Moodle, due to the three-dimensional (3D) graphical setting.. Read more >>
Virtual Worlds, Real Tasks  
Online games are the new playground for children and teenagers, and present unique opportunities for rich online learning environments. However, addiction to online games causes educational and social problems for which teachers, parents, and researchers are seeking solutions... Read more >>
Mediating the Tensions of Online Learning with Second Life  
The authors posit that a multiuser virtual environment such as Second Life offers a valuable medium for enhancing and enriching online education because it meets human needs for belonging, esteem, and self-actualization... Read more >>
Journal of Virtual Worlds Research  
The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research is an online, open access academic journal that adheres to the highest standards of peer review and engages established and emerging scholars from anywhere in the world. The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research is a transdisciplinary journal that engages a wide spectrum of scholarship and welcomes contributions from the many disciplines and approaches that intersect virtual worlds research... Read more >>
Comments On Proving the Potential of Virtual Worlds  
My negative comments on Second Life in my July 2nd post inspired several replies which rightly chastised me for being too one sided. Given that readers of the e-mail version of this newsletter don't automatically get the comments, I am reproducing them here... Read more >>
Web worlds 'useful' for children  

Virtual worlds can be valuable places where children rehearse what they will do in real life, reveals research. They are also a "powerful and engaging" alternative to more passive pursuits such as watching TV, said the BBC-sponsored study... Read more

Design and Development of Virtual Reality: Analysis of Challenges Faced by Educators  
There exists an increasingly attractive lure of using virtual reality applications for teaching in all areas of education, but perhaps the largest detriment to its use is the intimidating nature of VR technology for non-technical instructors. What are the challenges to using VR technology for the design and development of VR-based instructional activities, and what are the recommended approaches? ... Read more
Get a Life: Students Collaborate in Simulated Roles  
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Whyville looks and feels like a game to the kids who use it. For teachers, it is one more tool for delivering lessons in a package that delights their students.... Read more
Web 2.0 Language Learning: Virtual Worlds, Social Networks, Mashup Assessments  
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Can you really learn a language in a virtual world or using Web 2.0 applications? Yes, if.... Success has to do with how the learning experience is designed, and how and where learning objectives and outcomes are defined, and how they are assessed.... Read more
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