Using an avatar-based digital collaboration platform to foster ethical education for university students

Abstract

When teaching business ethics, teachers often design collaborative learning activities that allow students to practice ethical decision-making skills with their peers. However, conventional asynchronous learning platforms do not provide real-time communication or collaborative learning functions, making it difficult for teachers to provide students with opportunities for continuous reflection on ethical decision-making and meet teaching objectives. The avatars-based digital collaboration platform addresses these limitations. The Gather Town platform allows students to engage in real-time interaction and ethical decision-making training missions with their peers in a virtual learning environment. In this study, 37 students from a local university were recruited for the experimental group and used the Gather Town platform, while 35 students in the control group used a different conventional asynchronous learning platform. Compared to the control group, the experimental group showed significantly higher levels of learning motivation, ethical decision-making, and significantly higher scores on post-tests. Through analysis of student performance and feedback, the authors found that the use of the Gather Town platform for synchronous collaborative learning missions that included peer discussions and continuous revision of mind map worksheets was effective in practicing ethical decision-making and improving learning outcomes.