Virtual Reality and Teaching Paradigms

Nowadays, virtual world technologies have been incorporated into various types of higher educational programs, which are frequently accompanied by enthusiastic claims that students improve their ability to experience learning problems and tasks in the computer-mediated virtual reality (VR) using computer-generated agents or virtual avatars. Because avatar interactions are the most important learning experiences, the possibility of unstable avatar identities, as well as the ambiguous relationship between avatars and the learners who control avatars have caused serious problems. Furthermore, considering the unknown transfer of experiential learning from the virtual world to the real world, the final question is the possibility of avatars engaging in unethical behavior. Reflecting on such concerns, this study attempts to connect the use of virtual avatars with five main experiential learning paradigms: constructivism, psychoanalytic interference, situative learning, critical cultural liberation, and co-emergence complexity. The results shows that the application of virtual world technologies for educational purposes is still in its infancy, and it is also at a stage full of expectations and enthusiasm.