The Use of Second Life® to Teach Physical Security across Different Teaching Modes

Teaching physical security can be difficult since classes generally do not have access to physical structures to assess. The purpose of this study was to investigate a new way of teaching physical security using Second Life and to see if there is a difference in performance related to mode of instruction. The research question sought to determine whether there was a significant difference in student performance based on differences in modes of instruction for students evaluating physical security in virtual world environments. Three groups of participants situated in three geographic locations in the United States and belonging to three different modes of instruction – traditional, online, and hybrid were taught using Second Life. The results were inconclusive in determining the best mode of instruction. However, the research suggested that Second Life can be used as a teaching platform to teach physical security.