Learning, Teaching and Ambiguity in Virtual Worlds

Abstract

What might online communities and informal learning practices teach us about virtual world pedagogy? In this chapter we describe a research project in which learning practices in online worlds such as World of Warcraft and Second Life ({SL}) were investigated. Working within an action research framework, weemployed a range of methods to investigate how members of online communities define the worlds they encounter, negotiate the terms of participation, and manage the incremental complexity of game worlds. The implications of such practices for online pedagogy were then explored through teaching in {SL}. {SL} eludes simple definitions. Users, or “residents”, of {SL} partake of a range of pleasures and activities – socialising, building, creating and exhibiting art, playing games, exploring, shopping, or running a business, for instance. We argue that the variable nature of {SL} gives rise to degrees of ambiguity. This ambiguity impacts on inworld social practices, and has significant implications for online teaching and learning.