Higher Education and in particular Colleges of Education are viewed as falling behind in the use of technology for teaching and learning (Lederman & Niess, 2000). With today's student population identified as digital natives and the evening news discussing the potential of virtual worlds as new learning environments, an examination of the implications of digital games and virtual worlds by K-12 educators and Colleges of Education is warranted. This paper presents participant experiences in a graduate course in which Second Life was examined as a teaching and learning tool with a variety of educators. Participants in the graduate course ranged from K-12 teachers, state technology agents, higher education faculty and graduate students in instructional technology. The paper uses a case study to give voice to common concerns, unique participant experiences, and the understanding of virtual learning environments that developed from the interaction in a virtual world.
">Higher Education and in particular Colleges of Education are viewed as falling behind in the use of technology for teaching and learning (Lederman & Niess, 2000). With today's student population identified as digital natives and the evening news discussing the potential of virtual worlds as new learning environments, an examination of the implications of digital games and virtual worlds by K-12 educators and Colleges of Education is warranted. This paper presents participant experiences in a graduate course in which Second Life was examined as a teaching and learning tool with a variety of educators. Participants in the graduate course ranged from K-12 teachers, state technology agents, higher education faculty and graduate students in instructional technology. The paper uses a case study to give voice to common concerns, unique participant experiences, and the understanding of virtual learning environments that developed from the interaction in a virtual world.