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Investing in ephemeral virtual worlds: an educational perspective

Research Output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding Conference contribution Peer-review

Abstract

The increased demand for the use of virtual worlds in higher education has led many educators and researchers in in-depth analysis and evaluation of a number of different virtual environments, aiming to highlight their potentials. Until recently, Second Life was one of the most widely used virtual worlds for educational purposes. However, the decision of Linden Lab to stop offering the educational discount, the rumours around its future and the emergence of a novel technology called OpenSim challenged institutions' decisions to keep using Second Life. In a try to identify the way institutions make their decision to use a virtual world, 34 interviews have been conducted with university educators. The results of this study reveal that both the cost and the persistence of a virtual world play an important role on this decision. However, there are still some unique benefits offered by each world affecting to a great extent the educators' decision. We conclude the paper by advocating the use of a cross-institutional hypergrid.

Publication Information

Output type

Research Output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding Conference contribution Peer-review

Original language

English

Publication milestones

  • Published - 01/01/2014

Publication status

Published - 01/01/2014

Publisher

SciTePress

ISBN (Electronic)

9789897580222

External Publication IDs

  • handle.net: 10547/333419

Host publication title

Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: CSEDU

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