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Second Italy: distance education in a Second‐Life international studies project
Author(s) -
VANNI ILARIA
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
global networks
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.685
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1471-0374
pISSN - 1470-2266
DOI - 10.1111/glob.12027
Subject(s) - tacit knowledge , distance education , process (computing) , mathematics education , sociology , pedagogy , knowledge management , psychology , computer science , operating system
Reflecting on recent literature on digital literacies, I consider the use of the virtual world Second Life in distance education. To do so, I draw on theories of learning that accommodate elements of instability and uncertainty. Tacit learning is the process of acquiring knowledge from interaction and experience, or mess and play growing out of interactive and networked processes, as opposed to understanding teaching as passing knowledge down. I explore these points through a case study, Isola del Giglio, which is a learning site built in Second Life as part of a double degree in international studies at the University of Technology, Sydney. In the article, I describe the students' learning experiences during their exchange year in Italy and the in‐world learning experience in Second Life.