Application Of Virtual Worlds Research Articles

A framework to prepare the application of virtual worlds in distance education in developing countries

This paper presents a framework to help preparing the implementation of virtual worlds, emphasizing on the requirements that distance education students need to meet to have a successful learning experience. A virtual world was developed using the OpenSimulator platform, under the pedagogical perspective of the Experiential Learning model, in a role-play simulation approach. An exploratory study was carried out with 19 experts from three different domains, collecting specialized feedback around technical and pedagogical dimensions, considering the target audience peculiarities, especially focusing on developing countries. The results culminated with the proposal of eight guidelines to harness the potential of the technology of virtual worlds for distance education.

Editorial Assembled 2019

The Journal of Virtual World Research Assembled 2019 issue, presents six striking studies that spread over a plethora of subjects, all aimed to expand the Virtual World knowledge bank for the benefit of practitioners and academics alike. These studies broaden the understanding of a Virtual World user’s experience associated with presence and immersion, governance within the worlds, learning success mechanisms, as well as users’ interactions and relationships. Each of these topics provides traction in obtaining the highest advances in the application of Virtual Worlds within society.

Virtual World-Based Information Security Learning: Design and Evaluation

There has been a growing interest and enthusiasm for the application of virtual worlds in learning and training. This research proposes a design framework of a virtual world-based learning environment that integrates two unique features of the virtual world technology, immersion and interactivity, with an instructional strategy that promotes self-regulatory learning. We demonstrate the usefulness and assess the effectiveness of our design in the context of information security learning. In particular, the information security learning module implemented in Second Life was incorporated into an Introduction to Information Security course. Data from pre- and post-learning surveys were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the learning module. Overall, the results strongly suggest that the virtual world-based learning environment enhances information security learning, thus supporting the effectiveness of the proposed design framework. Additional results suggest that learner traits have an important influence on learning outcomes through perceived enjoyment. The study offers useful design and implementation guidelines for organizations and universities to develop a virtual world-based learning environment. It also represents an initial step towards the design and explanation theories of virtual world-based learning environments.

Acceptance, Usability and Health Applications of Virtual Worlds by Older Adults: A Feasibility Study.

BackgroundVirtual worlds allow users to communicate and interact across various environments, scenarios, and platforms. Virtual worlds present opportunities in health care to reduce the burden of illness and disability by supporting education, rehabilitation, self-management, and social networking. The application of virtual worlds to older adults who bear the burden and cost of health conditions associated with age has not been evaluated.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to explore the usability, ease of use, and enjoyment of a virtual world by older adults, the types of virtual world activities that older adults may engage in, and the perceptions of older adults regarding the application of virtual worlds in health care.MethodsThis quasi-experimental pre-post design research was guided by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Participants were recruited from a Lifelong Learning Institute (LLI) program at Nova Southeastern University. Participants attended four training sessions over a 5-week period in the Second Life (SL) virtual world. Subjects were surveyed before and after the training on perceived ease of use, attitudes towards technology, behavioral intention to use the system, facilitating conditions, effort expectancy, and self-efficacy.ResultsOlder adults (N=19) completed the informed consent and attended the first training session, and 11 participants (58%, 11/19) completed the full training and the post survey. Completers (82%, 9/11) were more likely than non-completers (37%, 3/8) to consider themselves technologically savvy (P=.048), and to express confidence in being able to use the virtual world (100%, 11/11 vs 37%, 3/8; P=.002). All completers (100%, 11/11) perceived that SL has application in health behaviors and disease and reducing social isolation among people who are homebound. Of the completers, 10 (91%, 10/11) responded that they enjoyed learning how to use SL. Completers suggested that future trainings include more assistants and smaller groups.ConclusionsThis pilot study suggests that virtual worlds can be both a feasible and an applicable method to promote health among some seniors. Future research on virtual worlds with older populations should consider using state-of-the art technology including large monitors, providing a minimum of one trainer for every two to three participants, and distributing a comprehensive training manual at the start of the training to support organization and recall.

Communicative Language Learning and Curriculum Development in the Digital Environment

Many schools in non-native English speaking countries are making efforts to implement English ImmersedEducation (EIE) in order to teach students English in context. Concurrently, the field of education is changingwith the rapid evolution of technology, and with teachers and students becoming more technologically adept,ways of teaching and learning are advancing. Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is readilybeing applied to second language learning, as technologically rooted activities can provide many benefits toEnglish Language Learners (ELLs). The aim of this study was to explore how the design of collaborative taskswithin a virtual environment can enhance ELLs interactive communication, in terms of quality and quantity.First, literature on pedagogical applications of virtual worlds, in a general context and in a language learningcontext, is explored, as is the notion of cultural relevance and its impact on learning. Design-based methodologywas employed, as five different virtual tasks were designed and implemented at Chungwhang Middle School andIndam High School in Seoul, South Korea. Results showed that the amount of interactivity among students andthe nature of that interactivity were positively affected through the use of task-based virtual activities. Higherlevels of conversation, in terms of quality and quantity, were developed when tasks focused on culture. Thus,further research is suggested on designing culturally relevant quests based on academic content.

Rhetoric and reality

The emergence of any new educational technology is often accompanied by inflated expectations about its potential for transforming pedagogical practice and improving student learning outcomes. A critique of the rhetoric accompanying the evolution of 3D virtual world education reveals a similar pattern, with the initial hype based more on rhetoric than research demonstrating the extent to which rhetoric matches reality. Addressed are the perceived gaps in the literature through a critique of the rhetoric evident throughout the evolution of the application of virtual worlds in education and the reality based on the reported experiences of experts in the field of educational technology, who are all members of the Australian and New Zealand Virtual Worlds Working Group. The experiences reported highlight a range of effective virtual world collaborative and communicative teaching experiences conducted in members’ institutions. Perspectives vary from those whose reality is the actuation of the initial rhetoric in the early years of virtual world education, to those whose reality is fraught with challenges that belie the rhetoric. Although there are concerns over institutional resistance, restrictions, and outdated processes on the one-hand, and excitement over the rapid emergence of innovation on the other, the prevailing reality seems to be that virtual world education is both persistent and sustainable. Explored are critical perspectives on the rhetoric and reality on the educational uptake and use of virtual worlds in higher education, providing an overview of the current and future directions for learning in virtual worlds.

Application areas of multi-user virtual environments in the healthcare context.

This study conducts a systematic literature review on the application of the three-dimensional virtual worlds (3DVW) in healthcare context. During the past decade, 3DVWs have emerged as a cutting edge technology that has much to offer to the healthcare sector. Our systematic review began with an initial set of 1088 studies published from 1990 to 2013 which have used 3DVWs for the healthcare specific purposes. We found a variety of areas of application for the 3DVWs in healthcare, and categorised them into the following categories: education, treatment, evaluation, lifestyle and simulation. The presented big picture of application areas of 3DVWs in this study can be very valuable and insightful for the researchers and healthcare community.

Virtual Worlds in Nursing Education: A Synthesis of the Literature

Although the literature has highlighted the use of virtual worlds in teaching-learning, little is known about the concepts associated with this technology in nursing education. Moreover, the application of virtual worlds to education has been underdeveloped theoretically, with much of the work being exploratory. Thus, the aim of this integrative review was to identify the current evidence on the use of virtual worlds in the education of nursing and other health professional students and to describe emerging themes surrounding this phenomenon. We searched seven electronic databases for relevant articles and used Whittemore's and Knafl's integrative review method to synthesize the literature. Twelve articles met the selection criteria for this review, from which three overarching themes emerged: (a) critical reasoning skills, (b) student-centered learning, and (c) instructional design considerations. This integrative review extends our understanding of virtual worlds in nursing education and the potential barriers and facilitators of their use.

Between Purpose and Method: A Review of Educational Research on 3D Virtual Worlds

This study aims to enhance our holistic understanding of 3D virtual worlds by providing a detailed analysis of the research methods and research trends related to the research of 3D virtual worlds for educational environments. Data was collected by searching for the ubiquitous term, "virtual world," from databases. Snowball sampling was also employed. The researchers critically analyzed the literature as data focusing on how virtual worlds were applied in individual studies, what research methods were used, and what disciplines were examined in the studies. The results indicate that virtual worlds are mainly used for the simulation of space, and they are used in different ways depending on discipline and descriptive research methods were most used in research studies on the educational applications of virtual worlds, experimental approaches are increasingly being used by researchers. Based on these results, this study suggests an appropriate research direction for the application of virtual worlds in educational contexts in the future.

Design and implementation of a virtual world training simulation of ICU first hour handover processes

Nursing training for an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is a resource intensive process. High demands are made on staff, students and physical resources. Interactive, 3D computer simulations, known as virtual worlds, are increasingly being used to supplement training regimes in the health sciences; especially in areas such as complex hospital ward processes. Such worlds have been found to be very useful in maximising the utilisation of training resources. Our aim is to design and develop a novel virtual world application for teaching and training Intensive Care nurses in the approach and method for shift handover, to provide an independent, but rigorous approach to teaching these important skills. In this paper we present a virtual world simulator for students to practice key steps in handing over the 24/7 care requirements of intensive care patients during the commencing first hour of a shift. We describe the modelling process to provide a convincing interactive simulation of the handover steps involved. The virtual world provides a practice tool for students to test their analytical skills with scenarios previously provided by simple physical simulations, and live on the job training. Additional educational benefits include facilitation of remote learning, high flexibility in study hours and the automatic recording of a reviewable log from the session. To the best of our knowledge, we believe this is a novel and original application of virtual worlds to an ICU handover process. The major outcome of the work was a virtual world environment for training nurses in the shift handover process, designed and developed for use by postgraduate nurses in training.

A Design Science Approach to Virtual World Implementation of Trade Fairs

Virtual world technology platforms, which allow users from distant places to congregate virtually for entertainment or other purposes, are growing into useful tools for businesses and consumers. Besides other applications, the concept of same-time, different-place gatherings can also be used to organize virtual trade fairs that are complements or extensions of physical tradeshows. This paper describes a design-science approach to the development of a virtual world technolo-gy platform specifically aimed at creating virtual tradeshow events that bring show attendees and exhibitors together. After describing the design and development of the virtual world tech-nology platform and some of its applications, we report its implementation in a career fair setting organized to facilitate interaction between would-be employers and students at a university.. We also conducted a preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of this virtual event by surveying employers and attendees. Although the event effectiveness is rated average, this exploratory analysis reveals that the virtual events are quite efficient in terms of use of resources. The overall effort to develop the virtual events is minimal as compared to the number of additional attendees that can participate in the event, reducing the cost per new lead gener-ated. As the technology evolves further to enhance richness of the interactions, these virtual events will become major applications of virtual worlds.

An Australian and New Zealand scoping study on the use of 3D immersive virtual worlds in higher education

<blockquote>This article describes the research design of, and reports selected findings from, a scoping study aimed at examining current and planned applications of 3D immersive virtual worlds at higher education institutions across Australia and New Zealand. The scoping study is the first of its kind in the region, intended to parallel and complement a number of studies conducted in other parts of the world. Results from a sector-wide questionnaire administered as part of the scoping study, portions of which are presented in this article, appear consistent with international trends, especially in terms of the platforms chosen and the dramatic increase in usage seen in recent years. Higher education teaching staff in Australia and New Zealand are using 3D immersive virtual worlds with their students in a variety of ways, for both assessable and non-assessable tasks and in face to face, fully online/distance as well as blended-mode subjects, although use in face to face and blended contexts appears to be most common. The results also provide some insight into the demographics (e.g. age) of staff who have adopted 3D immersive virtual worlds in their teaching, as well as into the academic disciplines in which the technology is being employed.</blockquote>

Instructional design best practices for Second Life: a case study from a college-level English course

Interest in the instructional application of virtual worlds, such as Second Life (SL), has grown substantially. However, little information is available about effective instructional activities using virtual worlds. This case study illustrates lessons learned from a pilot integrating SL into a two-semester English course at a large southwestern US university. A building activity was implemented in the first semester, and based on qualitative and quantitative formative evaluation results and additional planning, the instructional activity for the second semester was modified. These changes substantially enhanced students' learning experiences. Eight general and five discussion/debate-specific best practices discussed for implementing SL in college-level courses include capitalising on social interactions and establishing a clear connection of activities with learning objectives. This study demonstrates the importance of combining careful instructional design with ongoing assessment when implementing emerging technologies. It also indicates that course learning goals and students' needs should be considered first and foremost when adopting new technologies for instruction.

Teaching with Virtual Worlds: Factors to Consider for Instructional Use of Second Life

Substantial evidence now supports pedagogical applications of virtual worlds; however, most research supporting virtual worlds for education has been conducted using researcher-developed Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVE). Second Life (SL) is a MUVE that has been adopted by a large number of academic institutions; however, little research has systematically investigated the potential of using SL for higher education. A 2–year pilot study was conducted that included seven SL activities and a mixed-methods evaluation of the SL's affordances, challenges, and limitations. Three SL integration factors emerged, each with sub-factors: pedagogical (relevance, complexity of required SL skills, use of SL affordances); contextual (student prior gaming experience, activity duration, frequency of events); and logistical (SL usability, training, technical support, computer issues). A framework for creating SL instructional activities is presented using the factors.

A Second Life First Year Experience

Learning experiences within Multi User Virtual Environments (MUVE’s) focus on discovery and active experiences and provide many opportunities to support multicultural learners. Virtual worlds have the potential to become meaningful, highly sophisticated tools for educators and students, and it is timely to consider how educators can move from the hype to the how and why? Consideration needs to be given to the characteristics of meaningful pedagogical activities that move learners from playing to an enhanced learning experience? This paper presents a case study in which the MUVE Second Life was used to support a First Life (Real-World) orientation programme for students within the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Presented is an overview of the approach, rationale for the use of Second Life as well as lessons learned in relation to the application of virtual worlds for learners within the Hong Kong context. The study concludes that the Second Life orientation programme was not as successful as envisioned. However, the specific lessons learned, and ‘moments’ of intervention and further assistance identified have provided rich material and an emerging interest’ in relation to the incorporation of Second Life into meaningful educational activities in the university.

Trucking Towards a Virtual World: The Development and Implementation of FMCSA’s Transportation Nation Second Life Island

The U.S. Department of Transportation continues to explore the use of Web 2.0 technologies, including the business-level application of virtual worlds for gathering organizational information, simulating program processes, and supporting new training and instructional initiatives. One such example is Transportation Nation, a Second Life based virtual island created by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), an Operating Administration within the Department of Transportation. FMCSA’s Transportation Nation island expertly draws upon functionality unique to virtual worlds for government application, including virtual motor carrier vehicles for simulated safety inspections, a multi-floored replica of DOT Headquarters for web-based conferencing and instruction, and consolidated access to federal and state office-based organizational information. FMCSA’s efforts to develop Transportation Nation drew on necessary contemporary techniques vital for government agencies seeking to utilize electronic government (e-government), including contract administration, resource management, and collaborative governance. FMCSA continues to explore innovative ways to utilize Transportation Nation, particularly as a smaller operating agency with a limited, safety-based budget and differentiated access to sophisticated hardware across the FMCSA workforce. The successes and ongoing challenges of utilizing Transportation Nation by FMCSA are an important model for state and federal government agencies seeking to integrate virtual worlds in their day-to-day program activities.

Potential of virtual worlds for remote space exploration

A brief description is given for the potential of virtual worlds to remote space exploration and other space-related activities. The major characteristics of current virtual worlds are identified. Recent commercial and open source virtual worlds are listed. Some of the current NASA and other space-related applications of virtual worlds are described, along with some of the tools for virtual space exploration. The technologies and facilities needed to transform the 2D flat internet into a 360^o multi-sensory immersive virtual world experience are identified. A vision is described for a remote space exploration ecosystem (RSEE), which incorporate a massively multi-participant immersive synthetic environment and other advanced facilities, for inspiring and motivating the international community about space activities. High-fidelity visual simulations of future space missions in the immersive synthetic environment and virtual world facilities can engage the public and give them the sense of being there. The future of virtual worlds is bright. Its transformative power is likely to impact many facets of future space programs and missions, and support the concept of collaborative participatory virtual space exploration.

Editorial: Crossing boundaries: Learning and teaching in virtual worlds

The January 2010 special issue of the British Journal of Educational Technology presents papers on virtual-world environments into teaching and learning practices. A theme that is present in all papers in this special issue is that of sociability and the capabilities of VirtualWorlds to support groups or communities of learners. Dalgarno and Lee review the unique characteristics of virtual worlds, identifying opportunities for researchers and practitioners to use virtual worlds in education in relation to the potential learning benefits they provide. Bellotti and colleagues in this issue focus on describing the development of tools and processes that allow for the development of re-usable learning tasks that can be embedded across virtual worlds. Veletsianos and colleagues focus on intelligent and conversational pedagogical agents/avatars. The issue ranges from the directions of research and practice in the use and application of virtual worlds for learning and training.

Virtual Worlds in Health Care Higher Education

Advances in information technology bring progress in distance education. Online education programs are pervasive, however, only recently has the Web 2.0 brought about interactive, dynamic distance based health care education in virtual worlds (VWs). VWs allow for real time representations of environments, manipulable objects and interactions between avatars or bots, creating a sense of realism and presence that is absent in traditional, flat online education. Presence has been linked to knowledge transfer and better learning. Second Life®, currently the largest virtual world, has been used in higher education, including health care education at the Duke University School of Nursing. Students have indicated higher levels of satisfaction with the learning environment and quality of instruction in this VW compared to other online learning systems. There is a need for further research in online education in VWs, and room for growth in applications of VWs in education.

MEETING IN THE ETHER: A BRIEF HISTORY OF VIRTUAL WORLDS AS A MEDIUM FOR USER-CREATED EVENTS

Enterprises, including corporations, use virtual worlds for such purposes as marketing, training, and recruitment and, increasingly, meetings. As researchers whose primary focus has been on the nature of “work” and the sites and institutions that mediate contemporary experiences of work, the authors reflect on the implications of play as a constitutive feature of virtual worlds through consideration of institutional uses of virtual worlds. Evidence for the claim that play has emerged as the paradigmatic metaphor for interpreting and designing virtual worlds is presented. A case from the authors’ company’s application of virtual worlds to work and learning environments is unpacked to explore how notions of play and game drove particular ways of proceeding and not others and the implications of this thinking for the resulting solution. Questions are raised concerning what such a rethinking may entail and the opportunities it may hold for opening up new opportunities and understandings of virtual worlds.