Legal and Ethical Aspects of Teaching in Selected Social Virtual Worlds: A Review of the Literature

Topics discussed in this chapter include Generations Y and Z and their acceptance of virtual reality, the increase in the number of virtual worlds, gaming virtual worlds, and the social virtual worlds for educators selected for inclusion in this discussion. Open source virtual world platform portability issues are discussed in connection with the acquisition, development, and control of virtual property. The line between “play spaces” and real life is discussed in terms of the application of the “magic circle” test to teaching in virtual worlds with a real-money based virtual currency system, as well as how faculty can reduce student legal and ethical problems. Virtual world law is examined in light of the terms of service (TOS) and end-user license agreements (EULAs), the concept of virtual property, community standards/behavioral guidelines, safety/privacy statements, intellectual property and copyright. Ethical aspects of teaching in virtual worlds include a definition and analysis of griefing/abuse, harassment, false identity, and ways that each world handles these problems. Whyville, SmallWorlds, and Second Life are examined in terms of legal and ethical aspects Research findings and legal and ethical teaching guidelines are presented for those teaching courses using virtual worlds, with special considerations for teaching in Second Life. These topics are for informational purposes, only. Instructors should seek competent legal counsel. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61692-825-4.ch009

[1]  T. Bell.  Virtual Trade Dress: A Very Real Problem , 1997 .

[2]  Crystal L. Hoyt,et al.  Immersive Virtual Environment Technology as a Methodological Tool for Social Psychology , 2002 .

[3]  D. Fink.  Method Over Mayhem in Managing E-Commerce Risk. , 2002 .

[4]  Randall Reid,et al.  Strategic and Ethical Issues in Outsourcing Information Technologies , 2002 .

[5]  James Paul Gee,et al.  What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy , 2007, CIE.

[6]  M. Scanlan.  Locke and Intellectual Property Rights , 2005 .

[7]  Stuart Hannabuss.  Intellectual Property Rights in a Networked World: Theory and Practice , 2006 .

[8]  Woodrow Barfield,et al.  Intellectual Property Rights in Virtual Environments: Considering the Rights of Owners, Programmers and Virtual Avatars , 2006 .

[9]  J. Gee,et al.  How Computer Games Help Children Learn , 2006 .

[10]  Barbara Paterson,et al.  We Cannot Eat Data: The Need for Computer Ethics to Address the Cultural and Ecological Impacts of Computing , 2007 .

[11]  Michael J. Bugeja.  Second Thoughts about Second Life. , 2007 .

[12]  Yasmin B. Kafai,et al.  Mixed methods for mixed reality: understanding users’ avatar activities in virtual worlds , 2008 .

[13]  Karl Reiner Lang,et al.  Avatar Business Value Analysis: A Method for the Evaluation of Business Value Creation in Virtual Commerce , 2008 .

[14]  C. Collins,et al.  Looking to the Future: Higher Education in the Metaverse. , 2008 .

[15]  Ned Kock,et al.  E-Collaboration and E-Commerce In Virtual Worlds: The Potential of Second Life and World of Warcraft , 2008, Int. J. e Collab..

[16]  Tuukka Lehtiniemi.  Measuring Aggregate Production in a Virtual Economy Using Log Data , 2009 .

[17]  Justin B. Hollander,et al.  Commentary: Virtual Planning , 2009 .

[18]  Shu Z. Schiller.  Practicing Learner-Centered Teaching: Pedagogical Design and Assessment of a Second Life Project , 2009, J. Inf. Syst. Educ..

[19]  Jia Shen,et al.  Intentions to use Virtual Worlds for Education , 2009, J. Inf. Syst. Educ..

[20]  Jeremy N. Bailenson,et al.  The Evolution of Social Behavior over Time in Second Life , 2009, PRESENCE: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments.

[21]  Torsten Reiners,et al.  Virtual Worlds as a Context Suited for Information Systems Education: Discussion of Pedagogical Experience and Curriculum Design with Reference to Second Life , 2009, J. Inf. Syst. Educ..

[22]  Christian Wagner,et al.  Action Learning with Second Life: A Pilot Study , 2009, J. Inf. Syst. Educ..

[23]  Jinchang Wang,et al.  An Exploratory Study of the Cyberbullying and Cyberstalking Experiences and Factors Related to Victimization of Students at a Public Liberal Arts College , 2010, Int. J. Technoethics.

[24]  Rocci Luppicini.  Technoethics and the Evolving Knowledge Society: Ethical Issues in Technological Design, Research, Development, and Innovation , 2010 .

[25]  Jonathan Reed,et al.  An Evaluation of Neurogames®: A Collection of Computer Games Designed to Improve Literacy and Numeracy , 2011, Int. J. Virtual Pers. Learn. Environ..

[26]  Rocci Luppicini,et al.  The Humanity of the Human Body: Is Homo Cybersapien a New Species? , 2012, Int. J. Technoethics.

[27]  A. Chein.  A Practical Look at Virtual Property , 2012 .

[28]  Rocci Luppicini.  Ethical Impact of Technological Advancements and Applications in Society , 2012 .

[29]  Christian Sebastian Loh.  Improving the Impact and Return of Investment of Game-Based Learning , 2013, Int. J. Virtual Pers. Learn. Environ..

[30]  Jacqueline F. Beauchere.  Preventing Online Bullying: What Companies and Others Can Do , 2014, Int. J. Technoethics.

[31]  Jim Vander Putten,et al.  Communication between Higher Education and Social Networking Sites , 2014 .

[32]  C. Stevenson,et al.  Building Online Communities in Higher Education Institutions: Creating Collaborative Experience , 2014 .

[33]  International Journal of Technoethics , .