What Makes Students to Participate in Online Collaborative Settings Through Second Life?: Students' Views and Perspectives Based on Adult Participation Theories

Motivational factors that may affect adult participation in educational activities have attracted educators’ interests and probably are one of the most discussed topics in the field of adult education. The current study seeks to investigate the students’ participation in collaborative online activities based on the interpretive framework of adult participation theories stapling to interpret motivational factors, and recommended by McGivney (1993). A qualitative (comprehensive) research was conducted and a voluntary sample of Higher education by eighty students (n=80) who participated in online collaborative settings through the virtual world of Second Life and wanted to share experiences from their participation. The added value of this effort is to understand the educational community theoretically based on the utilization of adult theories that might motivate adult participation in different aspects and more practically to enunciate the key factors influencing their decisions to participate in team-based activities held in Second Life.