Share Paper: The Influence of Teacher Avatar Gender and Ethnicity on Student Expectations and Evaluations in a Virtual World Environment

  1. Dennis Beck, University of Arkansas, United States
  2. Cheryl Murphy, University of Arkansas, United States
Monday, March 5 4:00-4:30 PM Terrace South

Abstract: The gender and ethnicity of teachers have been shown to affect student expectations and evaluations. In Multi User Virtual Environments (MUVE), people socially interact via avatars that have the capability to be customized to minute details of ethnicity and gender. This study’s purpose was to examine the influence of teacher avatar choice of gender and ethnicity on students’ expectations and evaluations. Students were asked to review a vita, image and video of a teacher avatar and then respond about their abilities. Results indicate that avatar gender and ethnicity does influence students’ expectations and evaluations. Results may aid students to discover ...