ERIC Number: EJ1154984
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1947-8518
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
"Homo Virtualis": Virtual Worlds, Learning, and an Ecology of Embodied Interaction
Jarmon, Leslie
International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments, v1 n1 Article 4 p38-56 2010
This article previews the emergence of "homo virtualis." Drawing on data from seven research studies, peer-reviewed published research articles, and selected excerpts of 30 months of field notes taken in Second Life [SL], the article examines virtual learning environments and embodiment through the lens of interactions of avatars with other avatars, virtual objects, landscapes, sounds, and spatial constructs. Analysis is grounded in the polyvocal evidence provided by select participants who experienced a sense of embodied co-presence and connection with others across geo-physical distances. The discourse ranges from that of high school girls, professional retirees, toxicology and design undergraduates, interdisciplinary graduate students, to educators and researchers from K-12 through university full professors collaborating in SL. In an ecology of virtual contexts, learners inhabit a broader landscape of their own and others' making that allows them to be teachers, designers, researchers, communicators, and collaborators.
Descriptors: Computer Simulation, High School Students, Females, Design, Undergraduate Students, College Faculty, Educational Researchers, Graduate Students, Intellectual Disciplines, Computer Assisted Instruction, Teaching Methods, Communities of Practice, Oral Language, Nonprofit Organizations, Lifelong Learning, Aging (Individuals), Pharmacology, Experiential Learning, Role Playing, Self Concept, Creative Activities, Interpersonal Communication, Computer Mediated Communication, Program Descriptions, Social Change, Sex Fairness, Older Adults
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative; Information Analyses
Education Level: High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A