Virtual worlds in distance education: challenges and opportunities

Virtual worlds are providing opportunities for the development of innovative curricula to enhance distance education. In these environments, students can participate in authentic learning activities that resembles real life tasks and scenarios. In addition, virtual worlds provide the platform for students to perform tasks that are too expensive or dangerous to undertake in real life. Well-designed simulations deployed in these virtual environments can provide risk-free and cost-effective simulations of those authentic contexts that facilitate optimal learning, especially when coupled with the capability for tactile precision and haptic feedback. This paper will explore what a virtual world is before investigating the uses of these environments for learning. The challenges and opportunities for educators and learners using virtual worlds for distance education will be examined. The paper concludes with a brief look at the potential for future development of how users interact with virtual worlds in distance learning.