Antonacci+et+al+1

Antonacci, D., DiBartolo, S., Edwards, N., Fritch, K., McMullen, B., & Murch-Shafer, R. (2008). The power of virtual worlds in education: A second life primer and resource for exploring the potential of virtual worlds to impact teaching and learning. //Angel Learning White Paper.

Explains what Second Life is.

Delves into the educational potentials of SL-- //
 * "Virtual worlds' persistence allows for continuing and growing social interactions, which can serve as a basis for collaborative education." (p.1)


 * "Virtual worlds give users the ability to carry out tasks that could be difficult in the real world due to constraints such as cost, scheduling or location." (p.1)


 * "Virtual worlds can adapt and grow to meet different user needs." (p.1)

Sociology students can study the culture of virtual worlds. Economics students can study the business and economy that takes place in virtual worlds.

"Virtual worlds provide a unique environment to study human nature outisde the traditional bounds of reality." (p.2).


 * Learning Activities in Virtual Worlds--


 * Role-play


 * Operating simulated equipment


 * Designing and building things


 * Interactive simulations

"Educational games and simulations in virtual worlds engage students in higher-level cognitive thinking such as interpreting, analyzing, discovering, evaluating, acting and problem solving." (p.3)

Describes how some schools are using SL for virtual internships.

Provides an overview of how to go about gaining access to SL and provides a few resources.