Comparing Role-playing Activities in Second Life and Face-to-Face Environments

This study compared student performances in role-playing activities in both a face-to-face (FTF) environment and a virtual 3D environment, Second Life (SL). We found that students produced a similar amount of communication in the two environments, but the communication styles were different. In SL role-playing activities, students took more conversational turns, but have shorter exchanges compared to the FTF environment. Students generated an equal amount of topicrelated concepts in the two environments. They also reported role-playing activities in SL as more interesting and less formal. The educational implications for this study are discussed. Introduction In education, role-playing is a learning activity in which students assume certain roles, improvising behaviors or considering a problem in a particular, pre-defined situation (Ladousse, 1987; Ments, 1989). Students are usually asked in role-playing activities to make a decision, resolve a conflict, or act out a conclusion to an unfinished story. For example, Alden (1999) used role-playing activities to help students learn environmental economic concepts. In the activities, students assumed the roles of representatives from the Government, Mining Industry Confederation, Manufacturing Industry Confederation, and National Conservation Foundation, and came up with solutions to a local pollution issue by using the economic concepts they had learned. The purpose of the role-playing activities was to provoke students to reflect effectively on their learning and to use concepts learned to address new problems. In this paper, we built on previous research on face-to-face and online text-based role-playing activities, and explored the potential of having role-playing in a 3D online environment, Second Life. Research on Face-to-Face and Online Text-Based Role-Playing Activities Role-playing is a recognized teaching practice that stimulates reality in the classroom and encourages active experiential learning (Ladousse, 1987; Ments, 1989). The effects of roleplaying activities for facilitating learning and collaboration have been well documented in a number of studies. For example, in Alden’s (1999) role-playing activities, students actively reacted to a real situation and acted out their roles. They participated enthusiastically, reflected effectively on their learning, and used appropriate concepts previously learned in the class. Tyce (2002) argued that role-playing activities are crucial in learning because they promote students’ learning and creativity by providing real or imaginary experiences. A study (Moses, 1995) focusing on how Role-playing in Second Life 2 student teachers related interpersonally to other staff in school or parents found that role-playing activities helped the student teachers build good relationships, interact closely with each other, and cooperate with the supervisor or other school teachers. With the development of online education, online role-playing activities are becoming increasingly popular. Research suggests that text-based role-playing activities in online learning environments offer learners valuable, authentic and collaborative learning experiences (Ingram, Hathorn & Evans, 2000). Lebaron and Miller (2005) studied the role-playing activities in an online course and found that cooperative learning was promoted through online role-playing activities as the participants were able to interact more personally with their peers in the activities. They also concluded that the online role-playing activities provided students an opportunity to apply theories to realistic situations. Wishart, Oades, and Morris (2007) reported the effects of an online role-playing activity, where students were asked to play the role of “net-detectives” and help solve various real life scenarios on internet safety. In addition to facilitating student learning on internet safety procedures, the role-playing activity was also designed to enable students “to empathize with others, to understand their motivation, and to practice behaviors being taught” (p.462). The results showed the activity allowed students to learn about internet safety procedures in a motivating and challenging environment. Arvaja, Rasku-Puttonen, Hakkinen, and Etelapelto (2003) also used role-playing activities to encourage online learners to make contact and collaborate with other participants, which helped create a sense of community in Web-based environments. These studies suggest that role-playing activities, either face-to-face or online, have beneficial effects on student learning when used properly. Role-playing Activities in 3-D Online Environments Online role-playing in a 3-D virtual environment is an activity beyond text-based communication. To date, limited research has addressed role-playing activities in 3-D online environments. Dickey (2003, 2005) explored the role-playing activities in one such online environment called Active Worlds, finding that the activities offered opportunities for experiential learning and situated learning within a collaborative learning environment. Perhaps the 3-D environment with the most potential to explore role-playing activities is Second Life (SL). Second Life (at www. secondlife.com) is a popular online virtual world where players represent themselves as avatars, and interact with each other through text-based conversations, gestures, and so on. Advanced players can construct objects or create various virtual sites for entertainment, business, or education purposes. Second Life has been considered by educators and researchers as offering new possibilities for learning. Oishi (2007) described Second Life as adding “a rich visual aspect to Internet activities such as socializing” (p.54). She argued that SL could be more engaging for students than a classroom because it helps students build their own knowledge through interacting with the world and connect knowledge with personal and social aspects of the world. Czarnecki and Gullett (2007) commented on the importance of social appeal of Second Life, especially for teens who seek out the company of their peers. Role-playing in Second Life 3 Although the potential of Second Life for supporting student learning has been recognized recently by the researchers (Bell, Peters & Pope, 2007; Czarnecki & Gullett, 2007; Oishi, 2007), educational research on Second Life, in general, is rare. Second Life allows learners to play imagined characters in a virtual world. Combined with the interactivity noted by Oshi (2007) and the social presence argued by Czarnecki and Gullet (2007), the basic building blocks of roleplaying activities are present in Second Life. At the time this article is written, we are not aware of any research specifically on the topic of online, educational role-playing activities in Second Life, which is the focus of this study. Context of the Study With new forms of learning emerging in contexts like Second Life and other similar 3D immersive environments, this study focuses on understanding the affordances and constraints of this format compared to the previous forms of learning. To date, no studies have been conducted that contrast how, if any, the interaction and learning afforded by role-playing in 3D online environments differ from that in face-to-face (FTF) environments. Understanding the nature of interactions in the two environments would help educators make a well-informed decision on how to design learning activities. Figure 1. Role-playing in Second Life. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to examine how students interact differently or similarly in SL and FTF environment. Our research questions are: (1) What are the differences and similarities in role-playing in the FTF environment and the SL environment in terms of the nature of interactions? (2) What are the students’ perceptions of their role-playing experiences in the two environments?