This article was downloaded by: [The University Of Melbourne Libraries]On: 10 October 2014, At: 08:40Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH,UK

American Journal of DistanceEducationPublication details, including instructions forauthors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/hajd20

Higher Education in VirtualWorlds: Teaching and Learningin Second Life Charles Wankeland Jan Kingsley, EdsSarah Smith-Robbins aa Indiana UniversityPublished online: 13 May 2010.

To cite this article: Sarah Smith-Robbins (2010) Higher Education in Virtual Worlds:Teaching and Learning in Second Life Charles Wankel and Jan Kingsley, Eds, AmericanJournal of Distance Education, 24:2, 115-116, DOI: 10.1080/08923641003704002

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08923641003704002

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all theinformation (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform.However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make norepresentations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness,or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and viewsexpressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, andare not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of theContent should not be relied upon and should be independently verified withprimary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for anylosses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages,and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly orindirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of theContent.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes.Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan,sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone isexpressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found athttp://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

The

Uni

vers

ity O

f M

elbo

urne

Lib

rari

es]

at 0

8:40

10

Oct

ober

201

4

The Amer. Jrnl. of Distance Education, 24:115–116, 2010Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN 0892-3647 print / 1538-9286 onlineDOI: 10.1080/08923641003704002

BOOK REVIEW

Higher Education in Virtual Worlds: Teaching and Learning in SecondLife. Charles Wankel and Jan Kingsley, Eds. Bingley, UK: Emerald GroupPublishing Limited, 2009, 259 pp., $114.95 (hardcover).

Every innovation has its evangelists and its naysayers. The use of Second Lifefor education has certainly had plenty of both. For educators who believe it tobe a revolution in the virtual classroom, Second Life offers invaluable tools forreinventing the way students and faculty engage one another as well as coursematerial, create content, and participate in a global community. For the naysay-ers, Second Life’s steep learning curve, hardware requirements, and expenseoffer all the ammunition necessary to dismiss it as a tool. In the last few years,dozens of articles and books have been published by faculty and researchers tomake the case for Second Life as a useful tool in education. The latest is thisbook edited by Wankel and Kingsley.

The edited collection includes a wide variety of approaches to the issuesrelated to the use of Second Life in the classroom (undergraduate, graduate,and continuing education). Dudeney and Ramsay offer a thorough overviewof the complications and considerations that educators should consider beforeentering Second Life with students. Perhaps the most comprehensive cover-age of the most troublesome issues, this chapter (1) is a must-read for thosewho are new to teaching in Second Life. The articles that follow include casestudies of courses as well as surveys of faculty. Though the examples are dom-inated by courses from business (chapters 4, 5, and 7), there are applications inliterature, professional development, design, and theater as well. The researchincluded in the book is largely qualitative (surveys, interviews, and observa-tions) with fairly small sample sizes but the outcomes are useful, especially forthose in the midst of designing a Second Life project or justifying a ventureinto the world. Kaplan’s chapter on the Institut Européen d’Administration desAffaires (INSEAD) project, for example, includes not only design considera-tions and institutional barriers but also student reactions and outcomes of theinitial project and future plans.

Although Higher Education in Virtual Worlds contains useful informationfor those new to Second Life, seasoned users may not find much new in thecollection. The case studies are fairly well known to those who are active in theSecond Life education community (House of 7, INSEAD, Open University,etc.), and the research chapters largely center on communication (2, 6, and 9),

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

The

Uni

vers

ity O

f M

elbo

urne

Lib

rari

es]

at 0

8:40

10

Oct

ober

201

4

116 BOOK REVIEW

which is a well-explored topic in virtual worlds studies in general. However,for the seasoned Second Life user, these articles are useful ammunition forthe common arguments against its use often proposed by administrators andfunders who request outcomes and proof of concept.

The collection’s weakness is its lack of pedagogical justification. The“why” just isn’t addressed as thoroughly as the “who” and “how.” As is com-mon in Second Life scholarship, more attention is paid to the construction oflearning spaces and the design of experiences than is paid to the question ofwhy Second Life is superior to other worlds or why virtual worlds are effectivelearning spaces at all. The book “preaches to the choir,” which isn’t necessarilya bad thing, but it does leave a large hole in virtual worlds education schol-arship untouched. For example, none of the studies includes a control groupthat participated in a similar learning experience in another virtual world orin the classroom. Many of the articles address the benefits of using a virtualworld (increased creativity, social presence, enriched contact among facultyand learners), but these are elements of quality education in general and arenot limited to the use of virtual worlds. Addressing this would have made thecollection all the more valuable to the conversation as a whole. The exceptionto this weakness is chapter 11, “Using Second Life at the Open University:How the Virtual World Can Facilitate Learning for Staff and Students,” byBroadribb, Peachey, Carter, and Westrap. This chapter, in addition to the prac-ticality offered by Dudeney and Ramsay in chapter 1, makes the collectionworthwhile. Broadribb et al. draw on the Open University’s long history ofinnovation in distance education to offer a well-developed narrative of theuniversity’s use of Second Life as a tool not just for courses, but also for pro-fessional development, a topic often overlooked. As anyone who has been thesole Second Life evangelist on a campus can attest, it takes more than one avidfaculty member to create a successful project. However, nurturing interest oncampus can be a feat in itself. The chapter’s treatment of training is thoughtfuland should be helpful to most readers. Stressing “The 3 Rs: Rigour, Relevance,and Re-iteration,” Broadribb et al. describe a method of faculty/staff train-ing that is not only effective for overcoming Second Life’s learning curve butalso for encouraging creative thinking for additional projects and support forexisting projects.

The collection will be most useful to those who are new to Second Life orare in the midst of planning a project and attempting to anticipate hurdles.The culmination of the pieces included in the book should provide a thor-ough overview of the issues to be considered before embarking on a largeSecond Life project. Seasoned Second Life users may find the collection ahandy resource to provide to potential collaborators or a resource for projectproposals.

Sarah Smith-RobbinsIndiana University

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

The

Uni

vers

ity O

f M

elbo

urne

Lib

rari

es]

at 0

8:40

10

Oct

ober

201

4