A Case Study of Communication and Social Interactions in Learning in Second Life

Author

Zhang, Qiping ; Marksbury, Nancy ; Heim, Steven

fYear

2010

fDate

5-8 Jan. 2010

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

9

Abstract

In this paper we report on a case study of learning in Second Life. A system view of education guided this preliminary work to focus on communication and social interactions in learning in Second Life. Two undergraduate Computer Science courses were observed. Significant differences are revealed in required instructor direction and signs of negative engagement. Despite instructor engagement and novel environmental attractions, student communications with peers and with the instructor remain paramount to student engagement. Besides regular academic evaluation such as assignment grades and course-related communication, two unanticipated learning outcomes were reported.

Keywords

computer aided instruction; computer science education; educational courses; computer science courses; instructor engagement; learning in Second Life; social interactions; student communications; Avatars; Communications technology; Computer science; Computer science education; Games; Internet; Open systems; Second Life; Space technology; Virtual environment;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

System Sciences (HICSS), 2010 43rd Hawaii International Conference on

Conference_Location

Honolulu, HI

ISSN

1530-1605

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-5509-6

Electronic_ISBN

1530-1605

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/HICSS.2010.3

Filename

5428765