A 3D Virtual World Teaching and Learning Platform for Computer Science Courses in Second Life

Author

Wei, Ching-Song ; Chen, Yan ; Doong, Jiann-Gwo

Author_Institution

Comput. Inf. Syst. Dept., CUNY, New York, NY, USA

fYear

2009

fDate

11-13 Dec. 2009

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

4

Abstract

Key factors contributing to the high attrition rate for computer science students include loss of interest in material and lack of practice. In order to better engage students and improve retention rate, we have developed a novel teaching and learning platform in the Second Life to immerse and engage students in the same way that today´s best video games grab and keep players´ attention. Our goal is to stimulate students´ interests, motivation and creativity and help them overcome the difficulties in study. The platform can enrich the existing curriculum and can be used as a supplement to the traditional classroom environments. It may also be applied to distance learning courses.

Keywords

computer aided instruction; computer science education; educational courses; teaching; virtual reality; 3D virtual world teaching; Second Life; computer science courses; computer science students; curriculum; distance learning courses; learning platform; video games; Cities and towns; Computer science; Computer science education; Educational institutions; Educational programs; Games; Management information systems; Programming; Public healthcare; Second Life;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Computational Intelligence and Software Engineering, 2009. CiSE 2009. International Conference on

Conference_Location

Wuhan

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-4507-3

Electronic_ISBN

978-1-4244-4507-3

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/CISE.2009.5365895

Filename

5365895