Avatars Talking: The Use of Virtual Worlds within Communication Courses

Virtual worlds have become an invaluable space for online learning and the exploration of digital cultures. Communication departments can benefit from using these spaces to educate their students in the logistics of virtual worlds and as a way to better understand how the process of interpersonal and global communication functions in both online and face-to-face environments. These case studies offer details on how the communication departments of four universities implemented Second Life into their curriculum. The discussion includes how to introduce virtual worlds to students and create environments for collaborative work and artistic creation, along with addressing issues of identity and conducting interpersonal communication in a virtual space. (Contains 2 footnotes.)