A second life by design: exploration of learning theory

Online three-dimensional (3D) worlds are emerging as a new medium that provides both students and faculty unique and diverse learning opportunities. Second Life (SL) is becoming the most widely used virtual world in higher education. The ability to create compelling environments for distance learning, experiential learning, simulation, and scientific visualizations is one of the singular attributes of this fundamentally collaborative environment. This study reviews 67 educational spaces in SL and examines the design of their environments by exploring the influence of both traditional and recent learning theory in this non linear context. The investigation illustrates that the prominent modes of learning in this platform are situated within multiple paradigms of design theory. This contributes to its capabilities of delivering education in a multi-user virtual environment