Collaboration in Virtual Worlds

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 60-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah ◽  
Shu Z. Schiller ◽  
Brian E. Mennecke ◽  
Keng Siau ◽  
Brenda Eschenbrenner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Team Process ◽  
Team Collaboration ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Team Trust ◽  
And Task

Virtual worlds are three-dimensional, computer-generated worlds in which team collaboration can be facilitated through the use of shared virtual space and mediated using avatars. This article examines the effect of task complexity on team collaboration. A puzzle game in Second Life was used as the collaborative task and task complexity was manipulated by varying the number of pieces in the puzzle. The hypotheses are that task complexity influences team trust, and team trust influences team process satisfaction in virtual team collaboration. The experimental results indicate that task complexity has significant effects on team trust and team process satisfaction, and team trust fully mediates the relationship between task complexity and team process satisfaction.

scholarly journals Learning spaces in virtual worlds: bringing our distance students home

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mari Carmen Gil Ortega ◽  
Liz Falconer
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
Pedagogical Innovation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Postgraduate Students

Purpose – Distance learning (DL) programmes are becoming increasingly popular in higher education. Overcoming feelings of isolation that may occur due to the reduced support available, the few possibilities of social interaction and the non-existent campus atmosphere in online courses, have become one of the major challenges of designers and instructors of DL programmes. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This paper provides an example of how the authors can create and use virtual world (VW) learning spaces that not only match the face-to-face learning experience, but also enhance it. Innovation@UWE Island in Second Life, home of the MA education in virtual worlds, is an example of pedagogical innovation that capitalises on what VWs have to offer to social aspects of teaching and learning. In this programme the authors use a three-dimensional virtual space to provide postgraduate students – physically located in diverse geographical areas of the world – with a sense of community and connectedness that matches the sense of belonging that often accompanies the on-campus learning experience. Findings – The paper provides examples of students engaging in an environment where traditional conceptions of both “teaching” and “learning” do not apply, where the four-walled classroom is not the only setting where learning happens, where everyone in the group can potentially be an instructor or a peer, an expert or a novice, and learn from each other in a meaningful way. Originality/value – This paper introduces the rationale behind the choice of architecture of the learning environment as well as the instructional design of the programme to enhance co-presence and place presence, to build a true community of practice and to foster collaboration for reflective learning.

Evolution of Business in Virtual Environments

2011 ◽  
pp. 90-102
Author(s):  
Rita King
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual Work ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Early Adopters ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Virtual Business

Virtual business as defined in this chapter is any business interaction that takes place in an immersive digital space in which individuals are represented by “avatars” in three-dimensional, user-created environments. While there are hundreds of virtual worlds and hundreds of millions of people globally participating in them, this chapter focuses on Second Life®, owned by Linden Lab. At the time of this writing, eighteen million Second Life® accounts have been registered and participants have spent a billion hours in-world. US $1 billion has changed hands in Second Life® between people in more than 100 countries representing hundreds of cultures. Thousands of universities, companies, institutions and organizations have Second Life® bureaus. This chapter will examine the evolution of some of the most remarkable projects taking place within this virtual world, featuring the passion of early adopters, the role of the media, current examples of virtual work, the evolution of the virtual workforce, the shift in the role of managers toward a collaborative virtual model, the relationship between education and virtual work, and virtual goods and services.

scholarly journals Second Life as a research environment: avatar-based focus groups (AFG)

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eman Gadalla ◽  
Ibrahim Abosag ◽  
Kathy Keeling
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Data Quality ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Marketing Research ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages

Purpose – This study aims to examine the nature and the potential use of avatar-based focus groups (AFGs) (i.e. focus groups conducted in three-dimensional [3D] virtual worlds [VWs]) as compared to face-to-face and online focus groups (OFGs), motivated by the ability of VWs to stimulate the realism of physical places. Over the past decade, there has been a rapid increase in using 3D VWs as a research tool. Design/methodology/approach – Using a two-phase reflective approach, data were collected first by using traditional face-to-face focus groups, followed by AFGs. In Phase 2, an online, semi-structured survey provided comparison data and experiences in AFGs, two-dimensional OFGs and traditional face-to-face focus groups. Findings – The findings identify the advantages and disadvantages of AFGs for marketing research. There is no evident difference in data quality between the results of AFGs and face-to-face focus groups. AFG compensates for some of the serious limitations associated with OFGs. Practical implications – The paper reflects on three issues, data quality, conduct of AFGs (including the moderator reflection) and participant experience, that together inform one’s understanding of the characteristics, advantages and limitations of AFG. Originality/value – This is the first paper to compare between AFGs, traditional face-to-face focus groups and OFGs. AFG holds many advantages over OFGs and even, sometimes, over face-to-face focus groups, providing a suitable environment for researchers to collect data.

Applied Areas of Three Dimensional Virtual Worlds in Learning and Teaching

2019 ◽  
pp. 172-192
Author(s):  
Reza Ghanbarzadeh ◽  
Amir Hossein Ghapanchi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Educational Goals ◽  
Learning And Teaching

Three Dimensional Virtual Worlds (3DVW) have been substantially adopted in educational and pedagogical fields worldwide. The current study conducted a systematic literature review of the published research relevant to the application of 3DVWs in higher education. A literature search was performed in eight high-ranking databases, and following scrutiny according to inclusion criteria, 164 papers were selected for review. The systematic literature review process was summarized, reviews undertaken by the authors, and results about the applicability of 3DVWs in higher education were extracted. A wide variety of application areas for the 3DVWs in higher education were found, and were classified into five main categories. Various 3DVW platforms and virtual environments used for educational goals were also identified. The results revealed Second Life as the most popular 3DVW platform in higher education. This study also found that by using 3DVW technology a wide range of virtual environments and virtual tools have been designed and applied in teaching and learning for higher education.

In a Virtual Classroom, Who has a "Voice"? A Discourse Analysis of Student-Instructor Interactions in Two Second Life-based Courses

2010 ◽  
pp. 237-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Stoerger
Keyword(s):  
Deep Learning ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Virtual Classroom ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Student Centered Learning ◽  
Social Exchanges ◽  
Text Chat ◽  
Student Instructor

Much of the literature argues that educational initiatives that take place in three-dimensional virtual worlds such as Second Life (SL) enable students to construct their knowledge and take ownership for their learning. The notion of a more student-centered learning environment is not new; in fact, similar claims were made about text-based MUD environments and to some extent, educational chat spaces. This study is an attempt to more rigorously examine some of the claims made about the democratic nature of communication in virtual worlds such as SL and the potential for these electronic spaces beyond social exchanges. The findings support the notion that deep learning is possible in virtual worlds using synchronous text chat. However, evidence to suggest that the structure of the educational activities is student-centered is lacking. Contrary to the claims, instructional activities used in the SL courses under investigation relied heavily on a teacher-centered model.

The Current State and Future Potential of Virtual Worlds

2011 ◽  
pp. 2535-2543
Author(s):  
John M. Artz
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Application Technology ◽  
Current State ◽  
Future Potential

Virtual worlds, while not a new phenomenon, have come to the foreground of information technology in the past few years largely due to the growth of Second Life, a three dimensional, global virtual world that has captured the imagination of millions. This article provides some background on this virtual world phenomenon providing both a history and a classification of virtual world technology. It then focuses on Second Life discussing the application, technology, and social implications. Included in the discussion are some current initiatives such as the open source client and server projects and the implications of those initiatives. Finally, we provide some speculation on the future potential of virtual world technology as an extrapolation of the current trajectory.

Non-Verbal Communication Language in Virtual Worlds

2021 ◽  
pp. 394-415
Author(s):  
Ivonne Citarella
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Verbal Communication ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Communication Process ◽  
Conscious Choice

Over the years, the virtual space has been changing, and the skills acquired by users have been improved, and the avatars, as well as the settings, have graphically become more and more sophisticated. In virtual reality, the avatar without an appropriate animation would move in jerks in a disharmonious way similar to a robot, but endowing it with a particular postural animation, you make a conscious choice of what information you want to transfer with its appearance and its posture. In recent years, research has focused on the study of communication and its importance. The purpose of this contribution is to analyze the animations present in Second Life trying to trace a socio-psychological picture of the non-verbal communication process in a virtual environment.

scholarly journals Exploring Intrinsic Gender Identity Using Second Life

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Maria Mitra ◽  
Paul Golz
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Novice Users ◽  
Gender Specific

Virtual worlds (VWs) provide an environment to understand and explore notions of gender and identity, particularly given the ability for users to experiment with gender in online worlds. Our study analyses gender identity using the virtual space of Second Life (SL) to explore experiences and responses to gender in an avatar. We introduced 46 novice users to the VW of SL in order to see if real life gender influenced their choices of avatar. Participants selected the gender of their original avatar and once they were used to SL, they were then asked to change the gender of that avatar. We used mixed methods research consisting of paper based questionnaires (n=34) and focus groups (n=46) conducted in SL. Nearly all participants chose an initial avatar that reflected their real-life gender with females (n=22) reporting higher levels of identification with this initial avatar. Females were significantly more concerned with the gender-specific appearance of their initial avatar. On swapping gender, females reported higher levels of discomfort and many changed back before 7 minutes. Males (n=24) did not report significant discomfort with their changed-gender avatar and did not revert back to their original avatar as quickly. Our findings suggest that female participants in this study tended to reinforce gender binaries through such things as clothing, hairstyles and behaviors of their avatars. Male participants were less likely to experience discomfort through changing the gender of their avatar (with the males noting they still perceived an avatar with a female appearance as male).

The Use of Virtual Worlds in Management Education: An Investigation of Current Practices in Second Life

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amarolinda Zanela Klein ◽  
Angilberto Freitas ◽  
Lisiane Machado ◽  
José Carlos da Silva Freitas Junior ◽  
Paulo Gaspar Graziola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Role Of Information

Frequently, research on management education does not take into account the role of Information Technology as a key resource to support teaching and learning processes. In this article, the authors explore the current applications of Three Dimensional Virtual Worlds (3DVW) for Management education. The authors researched the educational institutions subscribed to Second Life (SL) (http://secondlife.com/), as it is one of the most popular open 3DVW available worldwide. The results reveal that only 31% of the institutions that answered the authors’ questionnaire actually use SL in Management education. Regarding the acceptance of SL in Management education, one third of the 15 institutions using it claim that it has been well received and accepted both by students and lecturers/professors. These results lead to several questions for further research and development of practices concerning the use of 3DVW for Management education.

Exploring the Link Between Task Complexity and Students’ Affective States During Engineering Laboratory Activities

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qianyu Hu ◽  
Shruthi Bezawada ◽  
Allison Gray ◽  
Conrad Tucker ◽  
Timothy Brick
Keyword(s):  
Task Complexity ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Weak Correlation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Fundamental Understanding ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
And Task

Assessment and feedback play an instrumental role in an individual’s learning process. Continued assistance is required to help students learn better and faster. This need is especially prominent in engineering laboratories where students must perform a wide range of tasks using different machines. One approach to understanding how students feel towards using certain machines is to assess their affective states while they use these machines. Affective state can be defined as the state of feeling an emotion. The authors of this work hypothesize that there is a correlation between students’ perceived affective states and task complexity. By adopting the Wood’s complexity model, the authors propose to assess how the correlations of perceived affective states of students change while they perform tasks of different complexity. In this study, each student performs a “hard” and an “easy” task on the same machine. Each student is given the same tasks using the same materials. Knowledge gained from testing this hypothesis will provide a fundamental understanding of the tasks that negatively impact students’ affective states and risk them potentially dropping out of STEM tracks, and the tasks that positively impact students’ affective states and encourage them to engage in more STEM-related activities. A case study involving 22 students using a power saw machine is conducted. Perceived affective states and completion time were collected. It was found that task complexity has an effect on subjects’ affective states. In addition, we observed some weak correlation between some of the perceived affective states and laboratory task performance. The distribution of correlation between affective states may change as the tasks change. With the knowledge of the relationship between task complexity and affective states, there is the potential to predict students’ affective states before starting a given engineering task.

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