The combination of features in virtual worlds provides an opportunity to implement and research unique learning experiences. With increasing interest and activity from the educational research community, exploring virtual worlds for teaching and learning, there is a need to identify and understand the ethical implications of conducting research in…

Game technology has been widely used for educational applications, however, despite the common use of background music in games, its effect on learning has been largely unexplored. This paper discusses how music played in the background of a computer-animated history lesson affected participants' memory for facts. A virtual history lesson was…

Technological advances on the Internet now enable students to develop participation skills in virtual worlds. Similar to controlling a character in a video game, multi-user virtual environments, or MUVEs, allow participants to interact with others in synchronous, online settings. The authors of this study created a link between MUVEs and…

The integration of emerging technologies in higher education presents a new set of challenges and opportunities for educators. With a growing need for customized lesson plans in online education, educators are rethinking the design and development of their learning environments. "Utilizing Virtual and Personal Learning Environments for…

Leveraged by federal support to address the critical crisis in science education, scientists, science education researchers, and school teachers have started to join efforts to explore how to maximize the use of emerging technologies to improve science teaching and learning. There has been a surge of interest in the use of emerging 3 dimensional…

A major challenge faced by teachers nowadays relates to the usage of proper educational technology to achieve a true and meaningful learning experience involving time for reflection. Teachers constantly seek new ways to improve instruction, but in virtual learning environments they often find themselves in a new role, interacting in a dynamic…

Open and distance learning (ODL) has created room for the emergence of virtual education. Not only are students found everywhere and anywhere undertaking their studies and earning their degrees, but geographical boundaries between nations no longer appear to have much relevance. As the new education paradigm irretrievably alters the way teaching…

This document sets out a novel teaching methodology as used in subjects with statistical content, traditionally regarded by students as "difficult". In a virtual learning environment, instructional techniques little used in mathematical courses were employed, such as the Jigsaw cooperative learning method, which had to be adapted to the…

This study used a desktop virtual environment (VE) of 15 large-scale residential streets to test the effects of environmental mystery and surprise on response. In theory, mystery and surprise should increase interest and visual appeal. For each VE, participants walked through an approach street and turned right onto a post-turn street. We designed…

This paper reports findings from a project implementing the VL (virtual labs) site featuring flash-based animations developed at Stanford University. The main conclusion in this paper stresses the need to design for flexibility and adaptability of interactive media to better suit the specific situation teachers encounter in their everyday work, in…

Online-learning advocates are calling a new report that recommends ten major policy steps states and districts need to take to use digital technologies to improve schools. With two former governors leading the promotion of "Digital Learning Now"--the first document released by the Digital Learning Council since former state chief…

The use of reflective pedagogies has long been considered critical to facilitating meaningful learning through experientially based curricula; however, the use of such methods has not been extensively explored as implemented in virtual environments. The study reviewed utilizes a combination of survey research and individual interviews to examine…

Education in virtual worlds has the potential, it seems, for engaging students in innovative ways and for enabling new discourses on a host of issues. Virtual locations like "Second Life," "Kaneva," or "World of Warcraft," among other multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs), also come with unique challenges for educators as they consider the…

While many students and instructors are transitioning from the brick-and-mortar classrooms to virtual classrooms, labs, and simulations, this requires a higher-level of expertise, control, and perseverance by the instructor. Traditional methods of teaching, leading, managing, and organizing learn activities has changed in terms of the virtual…

The level of satisfaction and effectiveness of 3D virtual learning environments were examined. Additionally, 3D virtual learning environments were compared with face-to-face learning environments. Students that experienced higher levels of flow and presence also experienced more satisfaction but not necessarily more effectiveness with 3D virtual…