This special issue will focus on how online simulation and role
playing in virtual worlds may lead to new forms, methods, and modes of
communication, collaboration, and creation that will enhance the
educational process. It is being developed in cooperation with the
organizers of the 5th Annual Colloquium on Online Simulations,
Role-playing, and Virtual Worlds to be held in Hong Kong this coming
October (see
http://www.leagueofworlds.com/).
Hundreds of virtual worlds have been created to serve entertainment,
educational, and corporate markets, yet few offer more than a glimpse
of what technological innovations in these worlds may mean for the
real world. What will the unprecedented growth in virtual worlds mean
for education? This special issue will consider the opportunities and
challenges offered by the proliferation of virtual worlds and online
simulations. In contrast to our forthcoming special issue on Academics
in Virtual Worlds, scheduled for publication in December 2008/January
2009, which focuses on higher education, this issue will look at the
uses of virtual worlds for education across the spectrum, from K-12 to
corporate training to informal learning, thereby reaching beyond the
campus, virtual or actual, to encompass a wide range of contexts.
Submissions for this special issue may address, but are not limited
to, these key areas:
1. Technologies used to create and manage virtual environments
(tools, hardware, software)
2. Vision for what virtual environments could be (architecture,
metaphors)
3. Teaching and learning in virtual environments
4. Role playing and simulations
5. Social constructivism
6. Communication and collaboration in virtual environments
7. Serendipitous interactions and learning
8. Community formation in virtual environments (interaction,
self-presentation, social presence)
9. Administrative or technical support issues in virtual environments
10. Change in virtual environments (advocacy for, dissemination and
sharing of research, how change takes place)
11. Resources for creating or supporting virtual environments
12. Research on virtual environments in general or in support of any
of the above themes
If you would like to submit a manuscript for this issue, please
review our submission guidelines at
http://www.innovateonline.info/?view=contribute and send your
manuscript to the guest editors, Stephen Bronack
(
bronacksc@appstate.edu), Owen Kelly (
owen.kelly@arcada.fi), Roni
Linser (
ronil@simplay.net), and to the editor-in-chief, James Morrison
(
jlm@nova.edu), no later than November 1, 2008.
Thanks!
Jim
----
James L Morrison
Editor-in-Chief, Innovate
http://www.innovateonline.info
Fischler School of Education and Human Services
Nova Southeastern University
http://www.schoolofed.nova.edu/home.ht