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Virtual worlds have been found to engage many learners and have great potential to be powerful educational tools. However, for their potential to be realised, they need to be well understood from pedagological and psychological perspectives.
Given their potential, it is important to understand how and why virtual worlds are so engaging – and also cause for some caution.
This section discusses the educational significance of virtual worlds under the following headings:
Enhanced learning
Self-identity
Reflection
Considerations – multiplicity of roles, care and risks, teen vs adult worlds and the role of debriefing
Pedagogy – a downloadable report
Psychology – a downloadable report.
As one immerses oneself in virtual worlds, the ‘real’ and the ‘virtual’ can tend to become blurred. One can find oneself speaking about one’s avatar with affection and conviction. When speaking about the real people one meets in Second Life®, one can find oneself switching between calling them by their avatar name and their real name. This demonstrates both the potential educational power and potential hazard of virtual worlds.
Australian Flexible Learning Framework