Avatar-based virtual reality (VR) is becoming more prevalent in industry and educational settings. There is, however, limited research on the extent to which gender stereotypes are present in this environment. The university laboratory study presented in this paper was conducted in a VR environment with participants who were randomly assigned to…

This exploratory study adopted immersive virtual reality (VR) technology to develop a task assessing college students' intercultural competence, specifically their ability to mediate an intercultural conflict. Participants were 22 students enrolled in the intercultural communication class in a U.S. university. They first completed a pre-conflict…

Poverty is a pervasive issue impacting many areas of human sciences and Extension. Individuals living in the United States may have varying attitudes toward poverty. Research has shown that poverty simulations are effective in modifying attitudes toward poverty. The Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS) program is one such example that…

Video games have become an important element of contemporary life. The need to use them in the field of education has given rise to the appearance of serious video games, which have been specially designed to achieve objectives at different educational levels and generate spaces for educational innovation. The purpose of this work is to…

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Extended Reality (XR) have been employed in several foreign language education applications to increase the availability of experiential learning methods akin to international immersion programs. However, research in multi-modal spoken dialogue in L2 combined with immersive technologies and collaborative learning…

This article presents an innovative teaching and learning method based on three different simulations of multi-level governance settings. Public management at the local level is recreated using the SimCity computer game; the decision-making process at the national level is simulated through a national parliament simulation; and the intervention of…

Public administrators are deeply affected by the global crisis in public finances. As public sector revenues remain weak and demand increases for spending and debt reduction, as well as tax reform, the newest cadre of public administration students must learn how to face the challenge of substantial uncertainty in public finances, regardless of…

The authors' research work deals with the development of new game-based learning (gbl) environments. They think that the way of acquiring knowledge during a learning session is similar to following an adventure in a role-playing game and they apply the metaphor of exploring a virtual world, where each student embarks on a quest in order to collect…

Veterans and military service members enter the classroom with valuable life and leadership experience; however, transitioning to student life represents unique challenges. Like the larger veteran population, student veterans may bring to campus the negative aftereffects of their combat experiences in the form of post-traumatic stress, substance…

This article presents findings from a research project that uses an interactive simulator of an imaginary fishing dispute. Subjects operating the simulator play the role of a state leader, while the computer program controls the behavior of a contending state as well as provides all the environmental data associated with the conflict. The…

The purpose of this paper is to present selected literature on learners and collaborative learning in virtual worlds. Research in virtual worlds on collaborative learners is gradually emerging and will gain in significance, particularly in online and distance education environments. It will be argued that the design and functionality of virtual…

With over 800 million users worldwide, the global importance of Facebook as a social-networking platform is beyond doubt. This popularity, particularly among university-students, has encouraged research to explore ways in which social networking can be adapted into virtual learning environments. In particular, this study uses the think-aloud…

A 3D multi-user virtual environment holds promise to support and enhance student online learning communities due to its ability to promote global synchronous interaction and collaboration, rich multisensory experience and expression, and elaborate design capabilities. Second Life[R], a multi-user virtual environment intended for adult users 18 and…

A growing literature exploring large-scale, identity-based political violence, including mass killing and genocide, debates the plausibility of, and prospects for, early warning and prevention. An extension of the debate involves the prospects for creating educational experiences that result in more sophisticated analytical products that enhance…

Interest in the instructional application of virtual worlds, such as "Second Life" (SL), has grown substantially. However, little information is available about effective instructional activities using virtual worlds. This case study illustrates lessons learned from a pilot integrating SL into a two-semester English course at a large…