Virtual Possibilities: A Constructivist
Examination of the Educational
Applications of Second Life
Jeff Neely
West Bowers
Matt Ragas
University of
Florida
August 6, 2009

This study surveyed post-secondary instructors (n =
162) in 20 countries regarding their experiences using
the virtual world Second Life as a teaching tool.

Specifically, the purpose of this study was to
comprehensively examine Second Life’s positive and
negative attributes as identified by instructors who had
already used the technology in their curricula.

Study findings were based on a qualitative analysis of
free-text responses to five open-ended questions from
an online survey conducted between May-August 2008.

This study was guided by the educational theory of
constructivism, which is based on the idea that
experiences provide the best mode of learning.

In particular, this study was guided by Grabinger,
Dunlap and Duffield’s (1997) five critical principles
of a “rich environment for active learning” that
support a constructivist educational view:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Student responsibility and initiative
Generative learning
Authentic learning context
Authentic assessment
Co-operative support
250
200
150
100
50
0
Authentic
Assessment
Student
Responsibility
Generative
Learning
Authentic
Learning
Co-operative
Support

Authentic Assessment
-
Least prominent theme: Appeared 7 times
-
Limited discussion of how students were assessed
-
an instructor who planned to have business students set up a real
business as a form of assessment, “dynamic interactive quizzes”

Student Responsibility and Inititave
-
Appeared 92 times
-
Puts the learning process in the students’ hands
-
“development of decision-making skills”, “role-play”,
“engagement”, “new way of thinking”, and “creative thinking”

Generative Learning Strategies
-
Appeared 49 times
-
Referenced creation of a virtual artifact
-
“build”, “create”, “designing ‘thematic’ environments”, “we will
make movies inworld”, and “exhibition of art”

Authentic Learning Contexts
-
Appeared 234 times
-
Mostly referenced simulation of real environment
-
“the tool that mostly is near a Real Life experience”, “visually
engaging, far more than a text-based distance learning
class/environment”

Co-operative Support
-
Appeared 48 times
-
Opportunities for collaboration
-
“team building exercises”, “group projects”, “co-creation”,
“collaborative enterprises”, and “students helping each other”
250
200
150
100
50
0
Technology

-
Most prominent theme: Appeared 243 times
-
#1 obstacle to implementing in education
-
“steep learning curve,” “technical instability,” “service outages,”
“constant updates.”
Professional support

-
Appeared 45 times
-
Professional networking, in-world resources for students &
teachers, support from fellow faculty & administrators
-
“SL Educators list is invaluable,” “meeting like-minded people,”
VS. “ongoing ridicule from colleagues,” “bureaucratic hurdles”
Cost

-
Second least prevalent theme: Appeared 25 times
Mostly negative – “ridiculously expensive land costs,” cost for
students to upload work product, lack of funding from department
-
-
Positive points: “the fact that it can be explored for free,” ability to
do/create things that would be cost prohibitive in real life ,”
Hyperreality/fantasy

-
Appeared 38 times
-
Ability to do things physically impossible in real world: fly,
teleport, “visualise imagined places”
-
“build larger than life items to teach complex topics,” “create an
environment without typical real world boundaries like gravity.”
Convenience and Control

-
Appeared 154 times
Ability to control online learning environment and pedagogical
flexibility
-
-
Virtual guest speakers, save discussion logs, “build what you
need,” VS. “griefing,” “nudity,” “Linden Lab seeks to impose its
definitions of education and student life on our virtual campus”
Fun and Attractiveness

-
Appeared 78 times
“novelty,” “informal atmosphere,” “student enthusiasm,” “creative
interest” VS. “not compelling,” “lame,” “won’t be impressed unless
our builds can come closer to the quality they experience in WOW
[World of Warcraft] or Grand Theft Auto.”

Diversity
-
Appeared 58 times
-
Mostly positive: human diversity and diversity of concepts
-
“global exposure,” “international perspective,” “transcending
prejudices based on appearance.”

Results suggest a great deal of promise in realizing the
constructivist potential of Second Life as a teaching tool.

Second Life presents some novel and useful technological
opportunities for teachers, but these opportunities will not
be fully realized until the technology becomes more stable
and schools provide the necessary resources and support.

Future research should use other qualitative tools, such as
depth-interviews and focus groups, to probe educator
perceptions about virtual worlds in more detail.