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A specific comment that is frequently repeated is that these reports have provided the only authoritative, reliable or comprehensive source of information on: The extent of virtual world use in UK universities. Which academics and institutions are using virtual worlds. What, exactly, virtual worlds are being used for. The reports have also been used by academics as proof or evidence that virtual worlds should at least be investigated more thoroughly as teaching and learning technologies.

Finally, as students become active participants in virtual world classes, the student who is on “cruise control” is at risk. Students shift from being passive listeners to engaging in group interaction and activities and demonstrating that they understand the course content via the completion of projects, papers, labs, and case studies. Many classes that include case studies use role-play, putting learners in roles and contexts in which they explore the content and make decisions based on the forces and constraints placed on them. One example of a class role-play is shown in Figure 2, which depicts Ramapo’s immersive literature activity in which Suffern Middle School students enact the courtroom scene from John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. The students’ exploration of the content benefits from this social learning environment.

In their “lessons learned” papers, the students noted that the virtual world classes enhanced their learning experience and their perceptions of self and gave them new skills to demonstrate their mastery of the course content. The sense of presence and the customization of their avatars were high on their list of priorities for learning and participating in virtual world classes.

Classes in virtual worlds offer opportunities for visualization, simulation, enhanced social networks, and shared learning experiences. Some people learn best by listening to the course content, others by seeing and visualizing the content in context, and the rest by using a hands-on approach to demonstrate course competencies. In virtual worlds, we can leverage a mix of content and activity to support all learners: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Virtual worlds support these different learning styles and give students opportunities to explore, discover, and express their understanding of the subject. Naturally, the tool’s capabilities do not guarantee a great learning experience. The success of a course depends on effective course design, delivery, and assessment. Course designers, instructors, and IT professionals are challenged to create stimulating content, deliver it reliably, and ensure a stable virtual world learning environment. Do the benefits outweigh the risks associated with venturing into a virtual world educational platform? For me, the virtual world is my preferred learning and teaching environment. And I am not alone. Over 400 universities and 4,500 educators participate on the Second Life Educators List (SLED).1 All of us are studying how to leverage the benefits of learning in a virtual world in order to assist our students in today’s educational frontiers.

The difference, though, is that as a digital immigrant, my mind has baseline skills in concentration, contemplation and knowledge construction. My fear - and the reason why I wrested my son's laptop away from him - is that the acquisition of those skills is being lost in the twitch-speed of our new Web 2.0 world.

I can see that that broadens his knowledge, but does it deepen it? “Education has always been about absorbing the facts first and reflecting on them second. Technology is not hampering that, but take away his laptop and you are just setting him up for a rebellion,” Kelly says. “The technology tide is unstoppable.”

“Because they have been using digital technology all their lives, our children feel they have authority over it,” says Rose Luckin. “But technology cannot teach them to reflect upon and evaluate the information they are gathering online. For that, the role of teachers and parents remains fundamentally important. You are in the hot seat. They still need you to open that conversation.”

NATIVES v IMMIGRANTS Digital natives Like receiving information quickly from multiple media sources. Like parallel processing and multi-tasking. Like processing pictures, sounds and video before text. Like random access to hyperlinked multimedia information. Like to network with others. Like to learn “just in time”. Digital immigrants Like slow and controlled release of information from limited sources. Like singular processing and single or limited tasking. Like processing text before pictures, sounds and video. Like to receive information linearly, logically and sequentially. Like to work independently. Like to learn “just in case”.