Virtual Worlds: Multiple Perspectives
Nadia's presentation about virtual worlds was very informative. I learned more about virtual worlds from different perspectives, including how they are used in education, businesses and their sociological effects.
In education, faculty members from various educational facilities use virtual worlds to hold lectures with students and meetings with fellow faculty members. Different universities offer online courses and even degrees to offer full-time employees to obtain their Degrees without leaving from home. Computer tutorials also use virtual worlds for demonstration purposes specifically for modern medicine. Also, virtual libraries, museums and galleries are resources for educators and students so that they can easily spot in what section of the library they can find the book that they are looking for. The military also uses virtual worlds for training purposes (e.g. learning how to use a weapon and proper sights for targets).
Virtual worlds are also used in business from marketing to recruiting. They also use them for internal collaboration where employees from various countries can conduct meetings and meet in virtual worlds.
Lastly, Virtual worlds are analyzed on the sociological perspective. Virtual worlds have been communities for online users. They have provided new opportunities for interpersonal relationships increasing social awareness for both individuals and the society. We have seen one video during one of our discussions that some disabled people feel a sense of belonging in virtual worlds because they can be the online character that they want to be. They can create an avatar online and they are not limited on what they can do, compared to what they can't do in the real world. This is sad in a way because virtual worlds cannot replace the real world.
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