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Two British researchers have just completed a study of undergraduate students that found "many young students are far from being the epitomic global, connected, socially-networked technologically-fluent digital native who has little patience for passive and linear forms of learning."

Instead, the study found that students use a limited range of technologies for both formal and informal learning and that there is a "very low level of use and familiarity with collaborative knowledge creation tools such as wikis, virtual worlds, personal web publishing, and other emergent social technologies."

The study included a questionnaire survey of 160 students, followed up by in-depth interviews with 8 students and 8 staff members at both institutions. The findings show that many young students are far from being the epitomic global, connected, socially-networked technologically-fluent digital native who has little patience for passive and linear forms of learning. Students use a limited range of technologies for formal and informal learning. These are mainly established ICTs - institutional VLE, Google and Wikipedia and mobile phones. Students make limited, recreational use of social technologies such as media sharing tools and social networking. Findings point to a very low level of use and familiarity with collaborative knowledge creation tools such as wikis, virtual worlds, personal web publishing, and other emergent social technologies.

Second Life and other virtual worlds can never fully replace in-class learning, but that virtual learning is reshaping what happens in the classroom and will be a valuable add-on learning tool in the future.

There are benefits in face–to–face education and in real physical presence that are difficult to achieve in other learning environments.

Education in Second Life is closer to face–to–face education than traditional methods in distance education that are based on asynchronous communication and two–dimensional media. Second Life provides options for multi-modality in communication (voice, chat, gestures, space) that make learning fun — always a desired outcome.