A study comparing the pedagogical effectiveness of virtual worlds and of traditional training methods

This experiment tests whether a virtual world is a more suitable alternative to classical paper and pen case studies for teaching people how to disarm improvised explosive devices (IED). Following preliminary training, the subjects are separated into a group of 32 and one of 33. The odd-numbered subjects receive case studies while the even-numbered subjects receive training in the virtual world, Second Life. After their training, each subject is put into a simulated test where they attempt to properly disarm a mock IED attached to a victim played by an actor/actress. The results of the experiment show no significant difference between the two instruction types in terms of the subjects’ ability to perform the correct procedures in a situation with an IED. However, a higher percentage of subjects taking the Second Life training properly disarmed the IED than that of those taking the case studies