Towards successful 3D virtual learning - a case study on teaching human computer interaction

This paper presents a case study illustrating successful involvement of a shared online 3D virtual world, for teaching Human Computer Interaction (HCI) as a final year course in an undergraduate curriculum. While there is considerable interest throughout academia in using such multi-user virtual environments (MUVE) for education, academics are experiencing many challenges in exploring various possible use-cases. This study was conducted to identify some of the critical issues such as student perception, privacy, ownership, access to practical work for assessment purposes, maintaining an association between institutional and virtual world identities, and the achievement of learning outcomes through the MUVE approach of teaching.