Game designers and researchers agree that the main motivation for starting playing a game is challenge. It is only a small step to say that when the game becomes too difficult, players can become frustrated and quit. While extensive work shows that challenge is central in player enjoyment, its influence on player retention has received little…

Research shows that use of high fidelity simulation (HFS) as a teaching strategy requires extensive amounts of faculty time and financial resources for faculty development and equipment. This project study addressed the challenges encountered in the integration of HFS into a Midwestern metropolitan baccalaureate nursing program. The purpose of…

As a subset of distance education, online learning takes place primarily in learning management systems through asynchronous interaction, that can cause transactional distance between instructor and learners. This study investigated how transactional distance may be affected by the use of Second Life, a 3-D virtual world, as a learning environment…

Communication is a key component in learning a second language (L2). As important as the "ability" to communicate in the L2 is the willingness to use the L2 or, what has been identified in the literature as "Willingness to Communicate" (WTC). Language is best learned when situated in, and based on, real-life experiences.…

Creativity is an important criterion for evaluating conceptual and design abilities of architects and their praxis. However, in recent years, the world has grown more complex. New problems have emerged that are often outside the architect's capacity. Given this challenge, architects collaborate with colleagues from architecture and other related…

Use of 3D (three-dimensional) avatars in a synchronous virtual world for educational purposes has only been adopted for about a decade. Universities are offering synchronous, avatar-based virtual courses for credit - within 3D worlds (Luo & Kemp, 2008). Faculty and students immerse themselves, via avatars, in virtual worlds and communicate…

Even as higher education institutions offer more distance education courses, the attrition rate in these courses remains higher than face-to-face courses. One of the most cited reason by students who drop out of distance education classes is the lack of social interaction. Educational technology researchers have studied this problem from a sense…

An avatar is a representation of an identity in an online virtual world. Most virtual environments provide options for avatar customization. This means that a person can either create an avatar from an existing selection of body parts and apparel or design an even more personalized image. Second Life, the investigative site for this study, is a…

This study explores the perceptions of professional counselors who provide avatar-based services in multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) and their descriptions of those services. Using a virtual micro-ethnographic design, the principal investigator interviewed counselors (N=5) licensed or certified to practice in their geographic location about…

Despite the speed at which Second Life has been adopted by universities and schools to teach courses, little educational research and theory addresses this multiplayer online "world." This case study explored undergraduate university instructors' teaching methods and tools within a virtual environment. It also considered whether instructors are…

Current educational initiatives encourage the use of authentic learning environments to realistically prepare students for jobs in a constantly changing world. Many students of the Millennial generation may be social media savvy. However, what can be said about learning conditions and student readiness for active, reflective and collaborative…

This qualitative research study used a phenomenological approach to examine educators' experiences in the virtual world of Second Life[TM]. The rationale for this study's focus on educators using a virtual world stems from an interest in the factors that influence educational practices in virtual worlds. The researcher conducted focus groups…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the influence a simulated virtual team learning experience had on business school students' leadership competencies. The researcher sought to discover the relationship between filling the leadership role in the simulated virtual environment and developing leadership competencies. A…