There is growing interest in the use of virtual gaming worlds in education, supported by the increased use of multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) and massively multi-player online role-playing games (MMORPGs) for collaborative learning. However, this paper argues that collaborative gaming worlds have been in use much longer and are much wider…

Learning in immersive virtual worlds (simulations and virtual worlds such as Second Life) could become a central learning approach in many curricula, but the socio-political impact of virtual world learning on higher education remains under-researched. Much of the recent research into learning in immersive virtual worlds centres around games and…

While digital virtual worlds have been used in education for a number of years, advances in the capabilities and spread of technology have fed a recent boom in interest in massively multi-user 3D virtual worlds for entertainment, and this in turn has led to a surge of interest in their educational applications. In this paper we briefly review the…

The paper reports the theoretical underpinnings for the pedagogical role and rationale for adopting 3D virtual worlds for socialisation and knowledge creation in distance education. Socialisation or "knowing one another" in remote distributed environments can be achieved through synchronous technologies such as instant messaging, audio and…

The educational value of Immersive Virtual Worlds (IVWs) seems to be in their social immersive qualities and as an accessible simulation technology. In contrast to these synchronous applications this paper discusses the use of educational machinima developed in IVW virtual film sets. It also introduces the concept of media intervention, proposing…

With the increased interest in using Immersive Virtual Worlds (IVWs) such as Second Life to augment and amplify teaching or to develop communities of practice, the author engaged graduate students, all current K-12 teachers, in a qualitative study to examine their attitudes about communicating for the first time in a virtual setting represented by…

There is a growing use of immersive virtual environments for educational purposes. However, much of this activity is not yet documented in the public domain, or is descriptive rather than analytical. This paper presents a case study in which university students were tasked with building an interactive learning experience using Second Life as a…

This paper brings together the theory of the uncanny as it emerges in cultural theory, with an understanding of the uncanniness and troublesomeness seen to be inherent in certain understandings of teaching and learning in higher education. Drawing on research into students' experiences of learning in virtual worlds, it explores the sense in which…

We detail the research, development and initial outcomes of an intervention process to promote capability building in designing for e-learning at a dual mode university in the UK. The process, called CARPE DIEM, was built on a pilot study and became a Higher Education Academy "Pathfinder" project named ADELIE. We report on the model workshop, its…

Introducing technology in higher education raises questions about staff roles and the organisation of development practices. This article presents the findings from a case study that was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of introducing three centrally supported e-developers to work with academic teams to provide specialist support. The…

This paper investigates the potential for simple open learner models for highly motivated, independent learners, using the example of trainee pilots. In particular we consider whether such users access their learner model to help them identify their current knowledge level, areas of difficulty and specific misconceptions, to help them plan their…

Although mobile learning is a popular topic in current research, it is not well conceptualized. Many researchers rely on under-theorized conceptions of the topic, and those who have tried to refine the ideas involved have found this to be complex and difficult. In this paper a new interpretation of the concept "mobile learning" is offered, drawing…

This paper presents an investigation into how students studying at university engage actively with learning technology in their self-directed study time. The case study surveyed 250 students studying at undergraduate and postgraduate level from a purposive sample of departments within one institution. The study has also conducted focus groups and…

This paper explores the concept of pragmatic meta-analytic studies in eLearning. Much educational technology literature focuses on developers and teachers describing and reflecting on their experiences. Few connections are made between these experiential "stories". The data set is fragmented and offers few generalisable lessons. The field needs…

The London Pedagogy Planner (LPP) is a prototype for a collaborative online planning and design tool that supports lecturers in developing, analysing and sharing learning designs. The tool is based on a developing model of the components involved in learning design and the critical relationships between them. As a decision tool it makes the…