Virtual Worlds in the Context of Competence Development and Learning

Abstract

Recently, different researchers and practitioners provided new evidence for successful implementation of Virtual Worlds (VW) in educational context. Virtual worlds propose an immersive environment and sophisticated technology infrastructure and stimulate active learning and complex learning scenarios. At the same time, many educators and learning institutions are still hesitating to adopt VW in their educational models. Statistics show that the public interest in VW is declining and users spend less time in-world. VW is still a highly dynamic market, and many of them close operations. Should educational institutions join VW? What will be the future of VW in education? The present chapter aims to discuss the challenges behind VW implementation in the educational process from three main perspectives. First, how virtual worlds can enhance knowledge acquisition and development of key competences, increasingly needed by new generations, is analyzed. The second perspective discovers if and how virtual worlds can be used to practically transform the educational process, developing a new set of learning and training experiences. Finally, virtual worlds will be discussed from a disruptive technology point of view, discovering its strengths and limitations for education. At the end, the discussion will provide a general framework for assessing the VW benefits for education and its expected further development.