A Measurement Model of Students' Behavioral Intentions to Use Second Life Virtual Environments

Applying the Theory of Reasoned Action, this paper presents a survey instrument that measures the correlation between students' attitudes and their behavior intention to use Second Life virtual environments. One hundred and sixty-two library and information science students were introduced to Second Life virtual environments during a face-toface training session and completed a survey instrument afterward. The survey yielded a Cronbach alpha of 0.95, indicating a high reliability test score. Factor loadings for attitude and behavior intention were 76.54% and 56.02%, respectively, suggesting robust construct validity. The correlation coefficient between latent variables attitude and behavior intention was 0.54. This paper suggests approaches to motivate student intentions to use Second Life in higher education. Keywords: attitude, behavior intention, Second Life, structural equation modeling, virtual world Introduction The use of Second Life (SL) in LIS education has been discussed intensively in recent years. A thread of more than 30 postings on this topic appeared in JESSE, the primary listserv for library and information science educators, from October 1 to November 13, 2008. A growing number of SL social events have been posted to jESSE since 2009. Launched in 2003, SL is a virtual environment where more than one million Internet users have created 3D avatars and participated in interactive online communities (Blumenstein & Oder, 2007; Urban, 2007). Such a virtual environment enables multiple simultaneous users to access virtual contexts, interact with digital artifacts, represent themselves through avatars, communicate with other participants and computer-based agents, and engage in collaborative learning activities (Dede, Ketelhut, & Ruess, 2000). 3D computer games have become one of the most prominent entertainment media in recent years. The Entertainment Software Association (2008) reported sixty-five percent of American households play computer or video games, and U.S. computer and video game software sales grew six percent in 2007 to $9.5 billion. Although Second Life shares commonalities with 3D avatar games, it is unique in that the virtual environment is created completely by its users and reflects their real-life experiences. Contrary to the success of 3D games, SL virtual environments have been used infrequently by educators and SL has not been widely adopted by public libraries. Heilesen (2009) reported a Danish virtual library project was not adopted by any of the three user groups, including super user project members, library professionals, and library users in general. This may be due to the attitude of rejection toward SL as a communication technology rather than a rejection of the specific virtual library concept. The success of a virtual learning environment depends on how well we understand users of this system. Hence, to understand the full potential of this market, it is essential to motivate students, faculty, and educational administrators to adopt this computer-mediated communication tool, particularly concerning the hardware required to run the software application. So far, studies on 3D virtual environments have focused on building digital imaging (Hastings, 2002), promoting multimodal reading literacy (Mackey, 2007a, 2007b), and using SL in specific educational settings (Kemp, 2008; Luo & Kemp, 2008). SL is an innovation with potential use for educators and learners. According to Rogers (1995), the innovation-decision process involves five steps: (1) knowledge; (2) persuasion; (3) decision; (4) implementation; and (5) confirmation (p. 21). An attitudinal change toward a new innovation is among the most decisive factors related to its adoption, since individuals are persuaded to use such innovations after forming a favorable attitude. A search against LIS databases found no previous publication describing a means to change a potential user's attitude, particularly behavior intention, toward adopting a SL virtual environment. …