Higher education students' behaviors as Avatars in a web based course in second life

Applications of virtual learning environments in higher education have gained particular attention both from educators and higher education institutions in recent years. In this respect, Second Life (SL) environments are the prime example of three dimensional multi-user environments which are low in cost and which offer a high value in terms of learning. In this study, a group of seventeen students from the faculty of education participated in a course, in which a part of their class activity was carried out in a SL environment. This paper describes the construction of a SL course environment that students enrolled in and summarizes the results of observations in this virtual classroom such as students' behavior and interaction.