This study is based on survey research conducted between 2010 and 2017, involving 1053 graduate students using immersive online learning environments for their coursework. Investigators used course structural factors and student engagement factors to predict students’ perceptions of community and presence in the online immersive space. Utilizing the Sense of Community II index (SCI-2) and the Community of Inquiry survey (COI) median scores as cut scores for predicted outcomes, researchers demonstrated that purely online environments which encouraged student engagement in the online immersive space can enhance sense of presence and sense of community.  In addition, students in graduate programs that used online immersive delivery methods longer developed a stronger sense of community. Both dependent measures proved to have stable subscale structures for this inquiry based on a cursory confirmatory factor analysis

This study is based on survey research conducted in 2010 and 2011, involving graduate students using a 3D immersive environment for their coursework. Investigators examined students’ perceptions of community and presence via coursework offered in the immersive world. Utilizing the Sense of Community II index and the Communities of Inquiry survey, variables examined include students’ time within their graduate programs, time spent in the 3D environment, and their levels of immersion, as well as the relationship between the two instruments. Analysis showed significant results for each of the research questions for both instruments.

The development of learning communities has become an acknowledged goal of educators at all levels. As education continues to move into online environments, virtual learning communities develop for several reasons, including social networking, small group task completions, and authentic discussions for topics of mutual professional interest. The sense of presence and copresence with others is also found to be significant in developing Internet-based learning communities. This chapter illustrates the experiences with current learning communities that form in a 3D immersive world designed for education. Faculty at Appalachian State University (ASU) have developed and taught the graduate instructional technology program in an award-winning 3D world setting for several years. Additional ASU faculty and program areas are currently transitioning into this environment. Further, colleagues from major universities in other countries are using this environment for their students to work and to collaborate across time and distance. Telecommunications technologies in education (exposing the graduate students to the breadth of IT experiences and knowledge required), hypermedia, and advanced Web design are examples of ITrelated courses offered in the graduate program. The results of these experiences highlight the efficacy of this tool toward the formation of authentic communities within 3D Internet-based worlds as online distance education environments continue to evolve.

The development of learning communities has become an acknowledged goal of educators at all levels. As education continues to move into online environments, virtual learning communities develop for several reasons, including social networking, small group task completions, and authentic discussions for topics of mutual professional interest. The sense of presence and copresence with others is also found to be significant in developing Internet-based learning communities. This chapter illustrates the experiences with current learning communities that form in a 3D immersive world designed for education. Faculty at Appalachian State University (ASU) have developed and taught the graduate instructional technology program in an award-winning 3D world setting for several years. Additional ASU faculty and program areas are currently transitioning into this environment. Further, colleagues from major universities in other countries are using this environment for their students to work and to collaborate across time and distance. Telecommunications technologies in education (exposing the graduate students to the breadth of IT experiences and knowledge required), hypermedia, and advanced Web design are examples of ITrelated courses offered in the graduate program. The results of these experiences highlight the efficacy of this tool toward the formation of authentic communities within 3D Internet-based worlds as online distance education environments continue to evolve.

This exploratory study is based on survey research involving graduate students using this 3D immersive environment for their coursework. Investigators examined students' perceptions of community and presence via coursework offered in the immersive world. Utilizing the Sense of Community II index and the Communities of Inquiry survey, variables examined include students' time within their graduate programs, time spent in the 3D environment, and their levels of immersion, as well as the relationship between the two instruments. Analysis showed significant results for each of the research questions for both instruments, and allowed for a number of new research directions including that of the correlation of community and presence, along with the potential for design based research informed by systems thinking as a potential new area of interest.