This paper outlines an action research project involving the development of an educational online role-playing website, known as Lake Devo. Designed in keeping with constructivist principles, the website is used in select post-secondary courses at Ryerson University and allows learners to work synchronously, using visual, audio, and text elements…

We have developed a tool called Secure WEb dEvelopment Teaching (SWEET) to introduce security concepts and practices for web application development. This tool provides introductory tutorials, teaching modules utilizing virtualized hands-on exercises, and project ideas in web application security. In addition, the tool provides pre-configured…

Traditionally, at least according to popular wisdom, learning took place in venues that were custom-designed for the purpose. The purpose, given the evidence of the artefacts with which we are confronted, seems to have been the educational equivalent of the production line that so succinctly characterised the industrialisation of society. One…

The goal of this study is to develop a virtual farm for educational applications. Users can play the role of a farmer by planting vegetables and raising poultry on the virtual farm to observe their growth through online learning activities. The virtual farm possesses educational and entertaining functions, and it is designed by simulating the real…

In this paper we examine the transferability of the Jigsaw and Fishbowl collaborative learning techniques to the Second Life platform. Our aim is to assess the applicability of Second Life for collaborative learning by developing virtual tools and metaphors and exploiting the representational richness of this novel medium. In order to enhance the…

Second Life has become increasingly popular with educators and educational institutions, because of the educational possibilities it seems to offer. While there has been a lot of hype and academic publications about educational design or the theoretical framing of teaching in virtual environments, there have been few publications focusing on…

Imaginary worlds have been devised by artists and commentators for centuries to focus satirical attention on society's problems. The increasing sophistication of three-dimensional graphics software is generating comparable "virtual worlds" for educational usage. Can such worlds play a satirical role suggesting developments in distance…

Virtual worlds have been linked with e-learning applications to create virtual learning environments (VLEs) for the past decade. However, while they can support many educational activities that extend both traditional on-campus teaching and distance learning, they are used primarily for learning content generated and managed by instructors. With…

In this paper we will focus on a specific category of Collaborative Virtual Environments that aims to support Collaborative Learning. We call these environments Collaborative Educational Virtual Environments. Our aim is to analyze the evaluation process through the study of relevant bibliography and by doing so reveal the existing research gap…

Researchers in information systems and technology-mediated learning have begun to examine how virtual world environments can be used in learning and how they enable learning processes and enhance learning outcomes. This research examined learning processes in a virtual world learning environment (VWLE). A research model of VWLE effects on learning…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on a study into how a three-dimensional (3D) virtual world (Second Life) can facilitate socialisation and team working among students working on a team project at a distance. This models the situation in many commercial sectors where work is increasingly being conducted across time zones and between…

In this paper the online construction of disability is investigated and the implications for educators working in virtual worlds are considered. Based on the analysis of data collected through interviews with deaf residents of "Second Life", it is argued that research into online identity, disability and education needs to allow room for…

This paper presents a study that used narrative inquiry to explore staff experiences of learning and teaching in immersive worlds. The findings introduced issues relating to identity play, the relationship between pedagogy and play and the ways in which learning, play and fun were managed (or not). At the same time there was a sense of imposed or…

This article describes three connected projects in physics: (1) a very successful course at the university level; (2) a collection of several thousand multimedia materials, its status and evaluation, and its dissemination; and (3) Web experiments--experiments that can be operated remotely from a distance via the Internet. (Contains 4 tables and 10…

Today's young people--the Net Generation--have grown up with technology all around them. However, teachers cannot assume that students' familiarity with technology in general transfers successfully to pedagogical settings. This volume examines various technologies and offers concrete advice on how each can be successfully implemented in the second…