Virtual worlds in Australian and New Zealand higher education: remembering the past, understanding the present and imagining the future

Sue Gregory, University of New England
Ali Fardinpour, Curtin University
Lisa Jacka, Southern Cross University
Scott Grant, Monash University
Jay Jay Jegathesan, University of Western Australia
Frederick Stokes-Thompson, University of South Australia
Chris Campbell, University of Queensland
Swee-Kin Loke, University of Otago
Ning Gu, University of Newcastle
Anton Bogdanovych, Western Sydney University
Caroline H. Steel, University of Queensland
Lindy Mckeown Orwin, University of Southern Queensland
B Gregory, University of New England
Mathew Hiller, University of Queensland
Des Butler, Queensland University of Technology
Merle Hearns, Manukau Institute Of Technology
Dave Ellis, Southern Cross University
Belma Gaukrodger, Nelson Marlborough Institute Of Technology
Xiangyu Wang, China University of Mining and Technology
Sheila Scutter, James Cook University
Stefan Schutt, Victoria University
Tomas Trescak, Western Sydney University
Penny Neuendorf, Canberra Institute of Technology
Tom Kerr, Macquarie University
Torsten Reiners, Curtin University
Mark JW Lee, Charles Sturt University
David Holloway, University of WollongongFollow
Kim Flintoff, Curtin University
Marcus Mcdonald, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
Jason Zagami, Griffith University
Jamie Garcia Salinas, University of Queensland
Christine Newman, Queensland University of Technology
Helen Farley, University of Southern Queensland
Simeon J. Simoff, Universty of Western Sydney
Matt Bower, University of Wollongong, Macquarie University
Ian Warren, Deakin University
Denise Wood, University of South Australia
Dale Linegar, Oztron
Ross Brown, Queensland University of Technology
Angela Giovanangeli, University of Technology SydneyFollow
Eimear Muir-Cochrane, Flinders University
Ian Larson, Monash University
Charlynn Miller, University of Ballarat
Vicki Knox, University of New England
Grant Meredith, University of Ballarat
Karen Le Rossignol, Deakin University
Arin Basu, University of Cantebury
Shane Mathews, Queensland Unversity of Technology
Yvonne Masters, University of New England
Clare Aitkins, Nelson Marlborough Institute Of Technology
Andrew Cram, Navitas Professional
Michael Jacobson, University of Sydney

RIS ID

96534

Publication Details

Gregory, S., Fardinpour, A., Jacka, L., Grant, S., Jegathesan, J., Stokes-Thompson, F., Campbell, C., Loke, S., Gu, N., Bogdanovych, A., Steel, C., Mckeown Orwin, L., Gregory, B., Hiller, M., Butler, D., Hearns, M., Ellis, D., Gaukrodger, B., Wang, X., Scutter, S., Schutt, S., Trescak, T., Neuendorf, P., Kerr, T., Reiners, T., Lee, M. JW., Holloway, D., Flintoff, K., Mcdonald, M., Zagami, J., Garcia Salinas, J., Newman, C., Farley, H., Simoff, S., Bower, M., Warren, I., Wood, D., Linegar, D., Brown, R., Giovanangeli, A., Muir-Cochrane, E., Larson, I., Miller, C., Knox, V., Meredith, G., Le Rossignol, K., Basu, A., Mathews, S., Masters, Y., Aitkins, C., Cram, A. & Jacobson, M. (2013). Virtual worlds in Australian and New Zealand higher education: remembering the past, understanding the present and imagining the future. Electric Dreams: Proceedings of the 30th ascilite Conference (pp. 312-324). Sydney: Macquarie University.

Abstract

3D virtual reality, including the current generation of multiuser virtual worlds, has had a long history of use in education and training, and it experienced a surge of renewed interest with the advent of Second Life in 2003. What followed shortly after were several years marked by considerable hype around the use of virtual worlds for teaching, learning and research in higher education. For the moment, uptake of the technology seems to have plateaued, with academics either maintaining the status quo and continuing to use virtual worlds as they have previously done or choosing to opt out altogether. This paper presents a brief review of the use of virtual worlds in the Australian and New Zealand higher education sector in the past and reports on its use in the sector at the present time, based on input from members of the Australian and New Zealand Virtual Worlds Working Group. It then adopts a forward looking perspective amid the current climate of uncertainty, musing on future directions and offering suggestions for potential new applications in light of recent technological developments and innovations in the area

Please refer to publisher version or contact your library.

Share

COinS