Situated Learning in Virtual Worlds: The Learning Ecology of Second Life

This research investigated the “learning ecology” of the virtual world, Second Life. Study goals were to: (a) determine how the design and social dynamics of one virtual world support as well as constrain various types of learning, and (b) suggest implications for the use of virtual worlds in adult education. Background A burgeoning body of scholarship addresses adult learning in various web-based contexts, from formal online courses to informal contexts such as chatrooms. One type of online “space” attracting a growing number of adults is the social virtual world (Book, 2004; Castronova, 2005; Hayes, 2005). These worlds are characterized by a shared social space, a graphical user interface, real-time interaction, user-generated content, persistence, and active support for in-world social groups (Book, 2004). Social virtual worlds serve as a place for community development, in which people come together for a variety of self and groupdetermined purposes. Social virtual worlds are being adopted for explicitly educational purposes. For example, the U.S. Army contracted with corporate owners of a high-profile virtual world to create a military training environment; Texas AM women account for about 27% of the total registered population, and the average age is around 32 , with a range from 18 – 72. SL was selected for this study because of its popularity, relative longevity, free access (making it open to a wide audience), and potential for use in adult education.