EDUCAUSE Review Articles, Virtual Worlds, and Social Computing

Virtual worlds can become an important tool in an educator’s arsenal. But using this tool requires a shift in thinking and an adjustment in pedagogical methods that will embrace the community, the fluid identity, and the participation—indeed, the increased conversation—that virtual spaces can provide.

Four factors of the Internet—technology, the market, the law, and social norms—offer a means to analyze the legal, policy, and educational considerations associated with the use of social networking technologies by today's college and university students.