Language-related Study Abroad (SA) experiences can be catalysts for learner transformation in the areas of cognition, socialization, and/or affect by virtue of the location and experience. An Open Architecture Curriculum Design (OACD) framework can support, promote, and enhance such transformation, as evidenced in eight programs for young adults,…

Opening with the history, recent advances, and emerging ways to use avatar-based virtual reality, an instructor who has used virtual environments since 2007 shares how these environments bring more options to community building, teaching, and education. With the open-source movement, where the source code for virtual environments was made…

To determine if and how using immersive virtual platforms might further educational purposes, the report examines three graduate, teacher-education, online courses that were conducted in part in Second Life (SL). By studying students' SL-related debriefings and assignments, by considering the type, format, and scheduling of SL events, and by…