Teaching Role-Playing Instruction in Second Life: An Exploratory Study

Web-based and Internet technologies are constantly being developed, evolving new ways of working, teaching, and learning for a broader range of professional and social groups. In a landscape of technology innovations, teacher professional development should try to capitalize on modern internet-based tools and services, better known as Web 2.0 and virtual worlds, in an effort to meet the increasing lifelong learning needs of preand in-service teachers. In this paper we suggest using the Second Life MUVE for teaching role-playing instruction to practitioners. After designing and implementing a 3D virtual learning environment in Second Life according to cognitive apprenticeship methods, we taught role-playing instruction to fifteen primary and secondary school teacher educators, using as a case scenario a rhapsody from Homer’s Odyssey. We applied qualitative research methods to investigate the effect of role-playing on affective, behavioral and cognitive engagement of our participants. Our exploratory study indicated that learning role-playing instruction in a virtual learning environment has positive impact on learning engagement.