1. The Context

1.1 Why multi-user worlds ?

• Collaboration is good for learning
  (and such environments are collaborative)

• New ways of teaching:
  • Distance teaching,

  • "just in time", "on the spot", ... learning

  • "resource-based combined with "mentor-based" learning

• Virtual environments foster a sense of community
  • users develop an "electronic identify" and form on-line communities

• Virtual environments are immersive
  (either sensory or social, sometimes both)
  • knowledge is experience (immersion)

  • social interactivity is a key to learning (apprenticeship)

• Multi-user worlds have potential for being "cyberspace integrators"
  • multiple media support

  • applications "within", e.g. WWW pages with people, shared editing of text, etc.

  • persistent objects in cyberspace that can be accessed anywhere

• ......

A: Collaboration is good for learning !

B: (Semi)Distance teaching, tutoring, mentoring, etc.

Communication is about half of "the story" !

So why not use an integrated environment that has additional benefits (community building, interactive objects, etc.) ?

Even combined with traditional teaching:
such environments (as well as most CMC tools) enhance collaboration and learning

A: - Collaboration is good for learning !

B: - (Semi)Distance teaching, tutoring, mentoring, etc.

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