Increasing Student Engagement through Virtual Worlds

Abstract

Virtual worlds allow for an immersive 3D experience with rich content and interactive potential for students. Through this richness and interactivity, educators have abundant creative power to design and facilitate meaningful learning experiences and collaboration opportunities. In this chapter, we discuss one such initiative using Second Life as an educational space for a community college course activity as a means to enhance student engagement. A brief literature review on education using virtual worlds will be presented, which underpin our pedagogical methodology for the project framework. Focusing on a community college course titled “Diversity in a Technological Society”, the course goals and project requirements will be discussed. The chapter concludes with a detailed description of the proposed methodology for the next phase, recommendations and future work.