Using massively multi-member online worlds for work and education

Abstract

Massively Multi-Member Online Worlds (MMOWs) are graphically-rich, three-dimensional (3D), electronic environments where members assume an embodied persona (i.e., avatars) and engage in socializing, competitive quests, and economic transactions with globally-distributed others. Frequently categorized as technologies of play, MMOWs range from massively multi-player online games (MMOGs) such as World of Warcraft, to virtual reality environments such as Second Life. Increasingly, educators, researchers and corporations are recognizing these 3D online spaces as legitimate communication media, thereby blurring the lines between work and play, and between reality and virtuality. Thus, a new communicative space, one of "mixed reality," is emerging. In this panel, we explore how the fluid workplay and reality-virtuality boundaries are negotiated and managed in practice. The panelists will rely on their research, conducted in educational, corporate and game environments, to address questions about learning, working and playing in these new mixed reality spaces.