Share Paper: Fostering Collaboration in a Virtual World: Sustaining Mutual Engagement

  1. Joe Sanchez, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, United States
Tuesday, June 28 4:30 PM-5:00 PM Pavilion Ballroom C

Abstract: This research project explores ways in which a group of educators, researchers, and librarians used a social virtual world to attain their goals of learning how to teach, research, and collaborate in the virtual world of Second Life. Particular attention is paid to the formation of and the use of a virtual world organization called the Educators Coop during a six-month time frame. Through Naturalistic Inquiry the research describes three affinities 1) articulating a group identity, 2) articulating common beliefs and 3) practicing similar behavior patterns, that created a culture of sustained mutual engagement.