When the game becomes serious; what are the rights and responsibilities for and of the learner’s avatar?

Abstract

There is an ever-increasing use of virtual worlds where learners explore, experience, communicate and act. In these 3D immersive (3Di) environments the learner adopts an avatar and becomes the new persona they devise. The immersive element results directly from the cognitive, dextrous, social and emotional aspects of the experience. Virtual worlds, such as Second Life™, are becoming the home for serious learning as well as still retaining their more vicarious activities. This paper examines the issues relating to social justice and inclusion with respect to the safety, well-being, freedom and rights of avatars within a virtual world. It considers what responsibilities exist or should be made explicit when using virtual worlds as the vehicle for learning. It concludes that those responsible for training teachers need to raise awareness of the e-safety issues and provide strategies for dealing with them