Education-Oriented Research Activities Conducted in Second Life - Teaching through Multi-User Virtual Environments - page 327

Table 1. Educational research activities and issues in Second Life

Activities and Issues Illustrations Organizations

SL in higher educational Campus building, courses and office hours NMC (New Media Consortium)

Virtual campus of universities

SL for foreign language Formal and informal learning experience English Village

Chinese and Spanish in SL

Social factors Students' social exploration and

activities

Second Life Bar Association
Second Life Liberation Army

tors can meet and collaborate to work on course
projects and exchange course related information,
seems to fit in the general trend of the develop-
ment of higher education. SL and a few other
online virtual worlds have been identified as
'emerging technologies likely to have a large
impact on teaching, learning, or creative expres-
sion within higher education' (Johnson, Lavine
& Smith, 2007). Apparently, SL has had impact
on teaching and learning in higher education in-
stitutions and the impact is very likely to increase
in the near future.
One of the subjects that have been taught in SL
is foreign languages, though it is still at its early
stage of development. Learning foreign languages
in SL has already generated great interest from
students, teachers and education consultants. SL
residents can study and practice foreign languages
in both a formal and informal way. Some of those
classes are structured lessons. Other activities are
more informal where the residents can meet other
residents from all over the world.
One issue that has been brought to people's
attention with these environments is social interac-
tion. Just like the real world where people interact
with each other socially, residents in Second Life
participate in social activities. Social presence and
the feeling of being surrounded by others is a key
factor to the success of virtual worlds. As students
interact with other students socially during instruc-
tional activities, they might be looking for shared
experiences and a sense of social presence in other
places within SL. Therefore, educators should be

aware of some of social factors while conducting
instructional activities in Virtual worlds.
The purpose of this chapter is to analyze issues
with teaching in SL for higher education, foreign
language, and social factors for teaching and
learning in SL. In addition, we develop a rationale
for the popularity of Second Life, especially in
higher education institutions and foreign language
teaching and provide some guidance for educators
who have already conducted teaching activities
or who want to start using SL.

SeCOND LIFe IN HIgHeR
eDUCATION

As a well-known fact, SL is not the first virtual
community, but it has become a widely known
MUVE, especially in higher education. Recent
statistics show that there are over 100 educational
institutes that have established their virtual cam-
pus in Second Life and are actively working in
the virtual world (Joly, 2007). Besides teaching
activities, SL has also been used to build student
communities, student and faculty communities,
develop self-paced learning and even to promote
the image of universities.

Teaching Classes in SL
in Higher education

Higher education institutions are advancing their
online teaching methods by offering classes in Sec-
ond Life. The basic instructional models offered