Most people have at least secondhand knowledge about Second Life, a virtual-reality world created by Linden Lab, in which avatars (digital characters) lease "islands" for real-life purposes--to sell products, conduct classes, do research, hold conferences, and even recruit for admissions. About nine million avatars reportedly interact on this…

Project-based learning is not a new idea. It has a solid track record of increasing student motivation and improving students' problem-solving and higher-order thinking skills (Stites, 1998; Thomas, 2000). In the traditional model, students work in teams to investigate open-ended questions and apply their knowledge through culminating products or…

The authors present a constructivist approach for teaching game theory, on the basis, in part, of Axelrod's research approach. Using the Axelrod tournament multi-user system (ATMUS) software, students create strategies for a repeated prisoner's dilemma (RPD). Later, these strategies are matched with those of their classmates' in a classroom…

The communication and collaborative interface known as a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE), has existed since as early as the late 1970s. MUVEs refer to programs that have an animated character ("avatar") controlled by a user within a wider environment that can be explored--or built--at will. Second Life, a MUVE created by San Francisco-based…

Teaching the use of models in scientific research requires a description, in general terms, of how scientists actually use models in their research activities. This paper aims to arrive at defining common characteristics of models that are used in present-day scientific research. Initially, a list of common features of models and modelling, based…

In an interview, Dr. Deborah W. Proctor, eCurriculum Director for Academic Innovations/ Minnesota Online and Co-Chair for the MERLOT International Conference, outlines her academic path that led to her current position and interests. As e-Curriculum Director for Academic Innovations in the Office of the Chancellor she works with system…

This study, the purpose of which is to determine an efficient instructional design for different levels of spatial abilities, investigates: (1) the main effects of visual treatments in simulation environments on comprehension and the transfer of chemistry knowledge and (2) the interaction effects of the visual treatments and the learners' spatial…

Educators and education advocates have recently acknowledged that the ability to think systemically is one of the necessary skills for success in the 21st century. Game-making is especially well-suited to encouraging meta-level reflection on the skills and processes that designer-players use in building such systems. Membership in a community of…

The use of virtual environments for special needs is as diverse as the field of Special Education itself and the individuals it serves. Individuals with special needs often face challenges with attention, language, spatial abilities, memory, higher reasoning and knowledge acquisition. Research in the use of Virtual Learning Environments (VLE)…

Purpose: Applications of online Second Life (SL) prevail over the world. The purpose of this paper is to make a review and synthesis of recent research studies on SL. Design/methodology/approach: Documental analysis is employed. Totally, 135 research publications, published in 2006-2008, are reviewed and synthesized. Findings: Findings are as…

This paper reports findings of a pilot study that examined the pedagogical potential of "Second Life" (SL), a popular three-dimensional multi-user virtual environment (3-D MUVE) developed by the Linden Lab. The study is part of a 1-year research and development project titled "Modelling of Secondlife Environments"…

This paper discusses issues of representation in the use of scientific visualizations, specifically those used for biomedical applications, and the implications of those issues to interface design. Topics addressed include the benefits of research into the generation of virtual simulation (virtual reality) and the importance of realism. (Contains…

A probability distribution was developed for the Andrews-Pregibon (AP) statistic. The statistic, developed by D. F. Andrews and D. Pregibon (1978), identifies multivariate outliers. It is a ratio of the determinant of the data matrix with an observation deleted to the determinant of the entire data matrix. Although the AP statistic has been used…

This demonstration of the use of a computer simulation research method based on the System Dynamics modeling technique for studying distance education reviews research methods in distance education, including the broad categories of conceptual and case studies, and presents a rationale for the application of systems research in this area. The…

Original research is reported on image digitizing, robot choreography, movement analysis, databases for dance, computerized dance notation, and computerized lightboards for dance performance. Articles in this publication are as follows: (1) "The Evolution of Dance Technology" (Judith A. Gray); (2) "Toward a Language for Human Movement" (Thomas W.…