Curricular Implications of Virtual World Technology

Abstract

As business organizations grow increasingly virtual, traditional principles of organizational communication require examination and modification. This article considers the curricular implications of the growing business uses of virtual world technology through three different lenses—students as employee-users, students as strategic designers and decision makers, and students as theorists. The instructor’s approach to communication principles relevant to persistent virtual worlds should be grounded in current and anticipated business applications. Emerging business practice provides guidance regarding the communication principles and skills that might be required of students entering careers in a contemporary business world of networked, digitized, and virtually enhanced communication.