The Reality of Virtual Reality: Second Life as a Tool for Online Peer-Teaching Activities

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Author(s): Karen Lybeck (Minnesota State University, Mankato, USA), Dana Bruhn (Century College, USA)and Solen Feyissa (University of Minnesota, USA)
Copyright: 2013
Pages: 20
Source title: Curriculum, Learning, and Teaching Advancements in Online Education
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Mahesh S. Raisinghani (Texas Woman’s University, USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-2949-3.ch006

Keywords: Education / Educational Technologies / Information Science Reference / Web-Based Teaching & Learning

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Abstract

In order to improve teacher preparation courses offered online, a study of the use of Second Life virtual world for peer-teaching activities was conducted. The research period was over one year and the sampling group consisted of 25 Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) students. The methods practiced during the study follow the suggestions and implications given in previous research in hopes that an informed design would be the means to overcome the published limitations of Second Life. Despite this, the authors were not able to overcome previous difficulties, and did not find Second Life to be useful as a tool for classroom role-playing in online teacher-development courses. Virtual reality, however, has promise for facilitating teacher development; thus, further investigation is needed to find an appropriate virtual venue for this purpose.

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The Reality of Virtual Reality: Second Life as a Tool for Online Peer-Teaching Activities

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