"Second Life" is a popular example of an immersive, three-dimensional, virtual world. Inhabitants of "Second Life" often describe their experiences in-world as having great social presence. Certainly there is a good deal of potential for education and training to occur in multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs), if designed properly, especially…

Computer and video games have recently attracted significant attention from educators as a medium for learning. Clark's (2007) critique of the "Serious Games" movement provides a set of useful guidelines for moving that particular industry forward. This article argues for another way of framing the emerging field, as "Games, Learning, and…

For those with a vested interest in online technologies for learning, the knowledge and skills that constitute successful participation in massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) places these games squarely among the most promising new digital technologies to date. In this article, the author broadly outlines the qualitative results of a two and…

This article examines the concept of interactivity and discusses human-to-human interactivity versus computer-to-human interaction in education. Levels of communicative interdependence are explained, variables that are important ingredients of interactivity are discussed, learner control is discussed, and two interactive instructional systems are…

Describes the design of "Pharyngitis in Louisiana," a computer-based epidemiologic case study that was created to teach students how to conduct disease outbreak investigations. Topics discussed include realistic content portrayals; graphics; interactive teaching methods; interaction between the instructional designer and the medical…