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Chapter X:
Teaching in a virtual setting

Why virtual education? [A]

The possibilities of virtual education are a growing interest among both educators
and students in our society. There are a number of factors driving us towards distance
education; which include the rise in nontraditional students, the increased mobility of our
population, and an increased expectation for education in a context that fits the student
rather than the student fitting the school.
When these factors are combined with rising levels of advancement in computer
technology and the increased affinity which new cohorts of students show for the online
environment, its easy to see where virtual education can fit in. This gives rise to
questions such as: What challenges does a virtual class present? What tools can I use?
What tools work? and What kinds of classes are being presented now? In this chapter
well try to cover some of those questions.

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Challenges in virtual education. [A]

Venues for education and training have their own special challenges and virtual
worlds are no exception to this rule. The greatest of the challenges presented by this
educational format is its sheer novelty. As both educators and students are unfamiliar with
the format, they are likely to use the virtual environment poorly and to compare it
piecemeal to other possible venues without taking a wider view. A good comparison of
virtual environment teaching in general, and the Second Life teaching environment in
specific, can help to focus our attention in the real challenges and opportunities offered
by this environment.
In comparison to browser-based online classes. [B]
Browser based online classes are becoming increasingly popular among
institutions, instructors, and students. It is a venue with a large number of virtues in its
favor. From an institutional point of view, a browser-based Internet class allows an
institution to reach the broadest number of possible students at a lower cost.
In the students favor, the online environment lowers social anxiety by presenting
an environment which lacks the immediacy of a traditional class. Most online browserbased classes are also offered in an asynchronous format which allows nontraditional
students to approach a class in a manner which works with their existing time
commitments.
The advantages of lowered anxiety, access from a distance, and asynchronism
leads to the primary disadvantages of online browser-based classes. These natural

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consequences of the browser-based online environment are lowered bandwidth for
communication and depersonalization.
Virtual world teaching allows for some of the virtues of online education by
allowing students to participate at a distance while lowering social anxiety by providing
the student to be represented by an avatar of their choosing. This presentation via avatar
allows for a larger range of communication bandwidth than the typical online
environment which is to the advantage of a student. The drawback to this presentation is
that virtual world classes will tend towards synchronous classes where a social presence
is required.

In comparison to traditional face to face classes. [B]

Face to face classes are the gold standard by which all other venues of education
need to be compared. Not only does this traditional class form offer the widest bandwidth
for communication, but its also the native environment for both students and teachers. As
our natural environment we need no extra training to operate in a face-to-face educational
environment; this is a significant disadvantage considering the steep learning curve
required by computer-mediated classes of all types.
The disadvantages involved in traditional classes become obvious only in
comparison to other educational forms. One of these problems apparent is anxiety due to
a variety of reasons varying from social roles, training, or even common shyness. This is
notable as the social remove, which a virtual setting or an online environment provides,
tends to make nervous students more willing to participate.

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Traditional classes are both time-bound and location-bound; this observation
amounted to something entirely banal for most of history. To be educated in a subject one
had to be present at a particular location at the right time. This situation became loosened
by the invention of correspondence education and truly opened up when the online
environment became available first through Internet browsers and then through virtual
world experiences.
Communication is the place where traditional, face-to-face, education truly
shines. In our native environment both the student and the instructor have access to the
full range of human communication options. In comparison to this full bandwidth for
communications the browser-based online experience is very limited, while the virtual
world equivalent is limited to a large degree.

Standing on the middle ground. [B]

These comparisons show one major thing, virtual worlds stand at a comfortable
midpoint between traditional face-to-face venues and the browser-based online
environments. The virtual world lessens anxiety at the cost of some communication
bandwidth, but doesnt cause as much loss as a browser based environment. At the same
time classes can be offered at less cost and without the location binding present in
traditional classes, but doesnt offer the freedom from class times which online classes
can offer.
The choice of a virtual venue for a class represents a balance between the
possibilities of different worlds. It can be an excellent environment to provide instruction
in if the advantages and disadvantages are kept in mind and its tools are used properly.

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The tools for virtual education in Second Life. [A]

Virtual worlds present educators with a large body of tools, which they can make
use of. Which tools are available depend on the individual virtual world; the more
flexible and/or advanced the simulation the more tools that are available. While Second
Life is not the most advanced virtual world simulation, it is by far the most flexible.
What follows is a short survey of the tools available for educators in the Second
Life environment and their uses. Well also briefly discuss their availability in the context
of other virtual world formats.

Text [B]
While virtual worlds are visual in their primary presentation, text remains the
dominant form of communication in these environments. This dominance is probably due
to several factors, foremost among these is familiarity; no matter what the virtual venue,
be it on the Internet, Second Life, or another virtual world text works in the same manner.
Another major reason for the prominence of text communication is in all
likelihood permanence; text messages are persistent in a way that most other forms of
communication are not. Not only can a transcript be automatically recorded but also in
most virtual environments (including Second Life) a student or instructor can scroll back
in the record of communication to reread what another participant has entered rather than
asking them to repeat what they just said.
Finally text has the advantage of existing at a remove from the communication
methods used in face-to-face classes. As text isnt the form of communication that were

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socialized with, it is thus less likely to trigger social anxiety. This encourages
participation by students in class discussions.

Voice [B]
Until recently voice communications have been fairly rare in virtual worlds but
with improvements in technology it is rapidly becoming widely available. As a tool for
instruction voice has a number of virtues to recommend it. Much like text, voice is
familiar to us all and is fairly easy to use. Voice preserves a high level of emotional
intimacy and communication bandwidth through tone and inflection.
While its familiarity and bandwidth may incline educators to use voice by
default, there are some reasons to hesitate before assuming the use of voice. The use of
voice functions does require extra hardware on the part of both instructors and students
(i.e. headsets and microphones) that does increase the number of requirements. The use
of voice also requires that students find a place where the use of audio will be acceptable,
thus limiting the number of places and situations where they can participate in a virtual
class.
The sheer familiarity and intimacy of voice can also work against its use.
Increasing bandwidth of communications reveals information about participants such as
their age, gender, native language, race, and socioeconomic status. Broadcasting these
markers effects how students and instructors are responded to and may act to discourage
a student from participating due to anxiety and social training.

Visuals [B]

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Virtual worlds are graphic by their nature so visual aids are a natural extension of
that environment. The use of visual displays can vary from the use of virtual slide show
displays to the presentation of full-scale models.
The use of this technique of presentation comes with one notable caution; all
visual effects in virtual worlds are subjective in nature. This is to say that a slide or model
that is being presented may look clear to the presenter but may not have fully resolved to
the view of the audience. There are two solutions to this problem. First, a presenter
should limit the number of visual displays used to those displays that are necessary and
avoid the temptation to use dozens of slides as in a Powerpoint presentation. The second
solution is simply patience, when presenting a visual display one should have the display
in place in advance of a class session or place them and give them time to resolve on
students displays before expecting them to see and respond to the material. Visual
displays are powerful in effect, but it requires preparation and/or patience to make them
work for you.

Avatar presentation [B]

One of the major advantages of virtual world classes over browser-based online
classes is in the social presence of ones virtual world avatar. This agent for the user
provides the sense of a person being present in ways that a screen name cannot, making
ones peers and instructor memorable.
This social presence is made all the more relevant as ones appearance in a virtual
world is a matter of choice, time, and effort rather than the random action of genetics,
origin, and economics which we see in the day-to-day world. As appearance is a matter of

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choice, the tendency of individuals to made assumptions about others based on
appearance is not necessarily the bad thing, which it normally is.
It is recommended that instructors assemble avatar presentations that are well
composed and thought out to make themselves memorable without detracting from their
class materials. In some cases the chosen appearance of an instructors can be used to
amplify a class; for example, appearing in period costume while discussing historical
events may make a lesson more memorable.

Audio [B]
Using pre-recorded or live streaming audio is an education option especially in
those cases where sound is an important part of the presentation itself. Audio often does
not present the same problems as voice functionality; this is because the communication
is one way (instructor to students). This means that students do not need to have a
microphone and they do not face the social issues which speaking might entail.
The common pitfall of using audio for direct presentation of class materials is part
of the one-way nature of that connection. The instructor may be lecturing and/or
presenting in audio but the communications from the students will probably be in text.
Thus a presenter must keep their attention on text chat while presenting via audio.

Video [B]
The ability to display video in a virtual world is a dicey concept. It means running
a video player inside the virtual world client software. In Second Life this content is

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provided using Quicktime running through the Second Life client. While there may be
promise for this format; many computers struggle with it and the quality is usually low.
Our recommendation would be to avoid using video presentations inside a virtual
world. If a video segment needs to be used, deploying it on an external medium, which
the students can watch in advance, is probably the best strategy.

Handouts [B]
Short handouts to highlight subjects or to provide resources are very viable in
virtual worlds. Almost all virtual worlds (including Second Life) have a functionality that
allows for the creation of note cards. These are virtual objects, which may be opened and
read inside the virtual world simulation. Note cards are persistent so that a user may keep
them and refer back at a later date.
Note cards act as an augmentation of text allowing for longer explanations,
guides, resource lists, and bibliographies which may be hard to present in the normal
course of text or voice discussion. The only thing that needs to be kept in mind when
using note cards is that overuse of this resource may act to overwhelm students.

Environmental immersion [B]

One great advantage to teaching in virtual worlds is the ability of the environment
itself to be used as a teaching tool. There is a large body of research and writing on the
fact that people learn best when immersed in the subject by means of the environment.
What generally prevents this from being used is the large amount of resources or other
practical considerations. For instance, a student can understand a historical building more

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completely by standing in it or a good copy of it. But one often cannot visit even a good
replica in the normal day-to-day world; time and resources prevent this. In a virtual world
good replicas of historic sites (or other educational locales) can be created and presented
to students without the massive outlay of funds required by real-life visits.
The drawback to environmental immersion is the resource load it places on the
institution or individuals providing instruction in this mode. The virtual environment to
be used must be under the full control of the user and/or their institution either in the
form of a plot of virtual land or an entire simulator segment (i.e. a sim or island in Second
Life). Such control requires commitment of financial resources to the upkeep of the
space.
The second load placed upon those who wish to use immersive environments is in
the development of the environment to be used. While virtual worlds are often flexible in
presentation tools, someone must still make use of those tools to build content. The
production of content requires skills in scripting, programming, art, composition, and
creation. Fortunately these skills do not need to be present in a single person and groups
for development can often be formed to allow for the pooling of resources.

Outside resources [B]

In many cases one can augment education in virtual worlds by not using them for
all your purposes. This is to say that the virtual environment isn't ideal for certain kinds
of material and in those cases it is best to augment the virtual environment with some
materials presented using the browser-based Internet.

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One example of this is the fact that virtual worlds are poorly adapted to large
amounts of reading while the browser-based environment excels at this. The solution to
this problem is to use a website, forum, or blog to provide class readings in advance. By
the appropriate application of mediums, we can take full advantage of the virtues of all of
them for our classes.

What kind of educational experiences can be offered in a virtual setting? [A]

Given the potential of virtual world classes and the available tools, at this point it
is fair to ask what kind of classes and educational experiences are being offered in
Second Life. What is offered covers the spectrum from college level classes and
continuing education to public information and casual classes to classes on topics
specialized to the virtual worlds themselves.
College level classes for credit or continuing professional education are becoming
more and more popular as universities and colleges join virtual worlds to provide a more
social venue for distance education students. These not only improve the educational
experience, but they also provide students with opportunities to network with fellow
students and form professional relationships, an opportunity which previous online
venues have lacked. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a good example
of college level education as for the last year they have been offering a growing slate of
continuing education classes for librarians and educators working in virtual worlds.
Education in public information is usually offered as an environmental experience
rather than in a class format in virtual worlds. These presentations vary from museums to
government information presentations intended to inform the interested member of the

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public. An excellent example of both in Second Life is the publicly funded Land of
Lincoln simulation which is currently under development for the anniversary of the
Lincoln/Douglas Debates and will provide information on the great issues of that time as
well as the context which they existed within.
Casual classes are an interesting phenomenon in virtual worlds. These are often
classes or discussions on minor topics on which it might be difficult to support at a
traditional institution. These include classes offered by the Alliance Second Life Library
on specific forms of genealogy which only effect a small demographics or book
discussions on interesting literature which does not enjoy bestseller status.
Virtual world topic classes are typically singular classes or self guided
environmental tutorials to teach skills needed to make the most out of a virtual world. In
Second Life these vary from classes on basic building or scripting to advanced topics
such as producing videos using the virtual world as an animation medium. Perhaps the
most famous example of this kind of classroom is the Ivory Tower of Prim which
provides a self guided class intended to take a user from very basic to advanced building
skills in Second Life.

In conclusion. [A]
Virtual worlds such as Second Life offer us many opportunities, especially in the
presentation of distance education without losing the personal touch and social
opportunities of traditional education. This potential can be realized by understanding the
tools available in a virtual world and making appropriate use of them.