Share Paper: Embodiment of the Communicative “Other”: Mode of Communication and Social Presence in Educational Virtual Environments

  1. Nikiforos Papachristos, The Educational Approaches to Virtual Reality Technologies Lab, The University of Ioannina, Greece
  2. Ioanna Bellou, The Educational Approaches to Virtual Reality Technologies Lab, The University of Ioannina, Greece
  3. Tassos Mikropoulos, The Educational Approaches to Virtual Reality Technologies Lab, The University of Ioannina, Greece
Thursday, June 26 10:00-10:30 AM B3118

Abstract: Embodiment of the communicative “other” and. mode of communication seem to be important factors for social presence. This study investigates the impact of these factors on social presence in an Educational Virtual Environment. Eighty two students participated in a 2x2 experiment (embodiment vs. non-embodiment x voice-chat vs. text chat), which was designed as a guided-teaching activity in Second Life. Results show that embodiment of the communicative other does not affect social presence and other presence dimensions, while communicating via voice elicits higher levels of social presence than communicating via text. More research is needed in order to identify the role ...