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Virilio for Architects (Thinkers for Architects)
by John ArmitagePaul Virilio is an innovative figure in the study of architecture, space, and the city. Virilio for Architects primes readers for their first encounter with his crucial texts on some of the vital theoretical debates of the twenty-first century, including: Oblique Architecture and Bunker Archeology Critical Space and the Overexposed City The Ultracity and Very High Buildings Grey Ecology and Global Hypermovement In exploring Virilio’s most important architectural ideas and their impact, John Armitage traces his engagement with other key architectural and scientific thinkers such as Claude Parent, Benoit B. Mandelbrot, and Bernard Tschumi. Virilio for Architects allows students, researchers, and non-academic readers to connect with Virilio’s distinctive architectural theories, critical studies, and fresh ideas.
Virilio for Architects (Thinkers for Architects)
by John ArmitagePaul Virilio is an innovative figure in the study of architecture, space, and the city. Virilio for Architects primes readers for their first encounter with his crucial texts on some of the vital theoretical debates of the twenty-first century, including: Oblique Architecture and Bunker Archeology Critical Space and the Overexposed City The Ultracity and Very High Buildings Grey Ecology and Global Hypermovement In exploring Virilio’s most important architectural ideas and their impact, John Armitage traces his engagement with other key architectural and scientific thinkers such as Claude Parent, Benoit B. Mandelbrot, and Bernard Tschumi. Virilio for Architects allows students, researchers, and non-academic readers to connect with Virilio’s distinctive architectural theories, critical studies, and fresh ideas.
Virtual and Augmented Reality, Simulation and Serious Games for Education (Gaming Media and Social Effects)
by Yiyu Cai Wouter Van Joolingen Koen VeermansThis book introduces state-of-the-art research on virtual reality, simulation and serious games for education and its chapters presented the best papers from the 4th Asia-Europe Symposium on Simulation and Serious Games (4th AESSSG) held in Turku, Finland, December 2018. The chapters of the book present a multi-facet view on different approaches to deal with challenges that surround the uptake of educational applications of virtual reality, simulations and serious games in school practices. The different approaches highlight challenges and potential solutions and provide future directions for virtual reality, simulation and serious games research, for the design of learning material and for implementation in classrooms. By doing so, the book is a useful resource for both students and scholars interested in research in this field, for designers of learning material, and for practitioners that want to embrace virtual reality, simulation and/or serious games in their education.
Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Realities in Education (Smart Computing and Intelligence)
by Dejian Liu Chris Dede Ronghuai Huang John RichardsThis book describes the current state of the art of various types of immersive learning: in research, in practice, and in the marketplace. It discusses advanced approaches in the design and development for various forms of immersive learning environments, and also the emerging innovations in assessment and research in the field. In addition, it demonstrates the opportunities and challenges in implementing advances in VR and immersion at scale in formal and informal learning.We are living in a time of rapid advances in terms of both the capabilities and the cost of virtual reality, multi-user virtual environments, and various forms of mixed reality. These new media potentially offer extraordinary opportunities for enhancing both motivation and learning across a range of subject areas, student developmental levels, and educational settings. With the development of practical and affordable virtual reality and mixed reality, people now have the chance to experience immersive learning both in classrooms and informally in homes, libraries, and community centers. The book appeals to a broad readership including teachers, administrators, scholars, policy makers, instructional designers, evaluators and industry leaders.
Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality: 5th International Conference, VAMR 2013, Held as Part of HCI International 2013, Las Vegas, NV, USA, July 21-26, 2013, Proceedings, Part II (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #8022)
by Randall ShumakerHere is the second of a two-volume set (LNCS 8021 and 8022) that constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality, VAMR 2013, held as part of the 15th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCII 2013, held in Las Vegas, USA in July 2013, jointly with 12 other thematically similar conferences. The total of 1666 papers and 303 posters presented at the HCII 2013 conferences was carefully reviewed and selected from 5210 submissions. These papers address the latest research and development efforts and highlight the human aspects of design and use of computing systems. The papers accepted for presentation thoroughly cover the entire field of human-computer interaction, addressing major advances in knowledge and effective use of computers in a variety of application areas. The total of 88 contributions included in the VAMR proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in this two-volume set. The papers included in this volume are organized in the following topical sections: healthcare and medical applications; virtual and augmented environments for learning and education; business, industrial and military applications; culture and entertainment applications.
The Virtual Campus: Trends for higher education and training (IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology)
by GordonDavies FelisaVerdejoThe virtual campus: Trends for higher education and trainingwas the theme of the IFIP Working Conference on which this book is based. lt was a joint event of Working Groups 3.3 and 3.6, Research and distance Education respectively, of IFIP Technical Committee 3 for Education. International dissemination and promotion of cooperation are IFIP aims that we particularly wanted to address. This is why we opened the event to non WG members and have established a virtual forum on the WEB that has been widely visited. The programme for the 27 to 29 November 97 in Madrid included invited speakers from leading institutions in the field, reviewed and selected contributions from an open call for papers, on-site demonstrations of !arge European projects and discussion sessions involving distant and present participants. The event attracted experts from 23 countries. About a hundred persons were involved, from all over the world. The spread and accessibility of information and communication technologies are rapidly changing p!"actices in learning and research activities, both in professional and academic settings. The number, variety and scale of experiences reported in recent publications shows a growing international involvement concerning not only small groups of researchers but also institutions fully committed in that direction.
Virtual Corporate Universities: A Matrix of Knowledge and Learning for the New Digital Dawn (Integrated Series in Information Systems #2)
by Walter R.J. Baets Gert van der LindenOver the past years, business schools have been experimenting with distance learning and online education. In many cases this new technology has not brought the anticipated results. Questions raised by online education can be linked to the fundamental problem of education and teaching, and more specifically to the models and philosophy of education and teaching. Virtual Corporate Universities: A Matrix of Knowledge and Learning for the New Digital Dawn offers a source for new thoughts about those processes in view of the use of new technologies. Learning is considered as a key-strategic tool for new strategies, innovation, and significantly improving organizational effectiveness. The book blends the elements of knowledge management, as well as organizational and individual learning. The book is not just a treatment of technology, but a fusion of a novel dynamic learner (student)-driven learning concept, the management and creation of dynamic knowledge, and next-generation technologies to generic business, organizational and managerial processes, and the development of human capital. Obviously, the implications of online learning go far beyond the field of business as presented in this book.
Virtual Decisions: Digital Simulations for Teaching Reasoning in the Social Sciences and Humanities
by Steve Cohen Kent E. Portney Dean Rehberger Carolyn ThorsenDevelopments in digital technologies--and in understandings of how best to use them--have altered teaching and learning environments, and stand to do so even more rapidly in the future. Virtual Decisions: Digital Simulations for Teaching Reasoning in the Social Sciences and Humanities focuses on the special issues related to the use of digital technologies in teaching the complex nature of social decisions, with particular attention to the use of digital role-play simulations as a means to accomplish this. With the advent of new technologies for delivering multimedia simulations to students, and advanced graphics capabilities to create life-like decision environments, digital role-play simulations are increasingly available for K-12 and higher education teachers to use in the classroom. This book helps both users and developers make intelligent choices about the value added by using simulations, technology, and media to teach reasoning in social sciences and humanities classrooms.The book relies on a four-part framework for developing a digital multimedia-based simulation approach, which represents: a cross-disciplinary method to describing simulations; the students who are using them; the educational setting in which they are used; and a rubric for assessing learning. The volume is divided into two parts. The first part presents a review of the theory and research detailing why didactic approaches do not or cannot address specific learning goals, as well as a description of the theoretical framework for using and developing simulations. The second part includes chapters on specific digital simulations and how they fit with the theoretical framework.Virtual Decisions fills a significant gap in the existing literature of instructional technology and is of interest to instructors, primarily in the social sciences and humanities, who are potential users of the simulations. It is also a resource for graduate students and pre-service teachers studying simulation design.
Virtual Decisions: Digital Simulations for Teaching Reasoning in the Social Sciences and Humanities
by Steve Cohen Kent E. Portney Dean Rehberger Carolyn ThorsenDevelopments in digital technologies--and in understandings of how best to use them--have altered teaching and learning environments, and stand to do so even more rapidly in the future. Virtual Decisions: Digital Simulations for Teaching Reasoning in the Social Sciences and Humanities focuses on the special issues related to the use of digital technologies in teaching the complex nature of social decisions, with particular attention to the use of digital role-play simulations as a means to accomplish this. With the advent of new technologies for delivering multimedia simulations to students, and advanced graphics capabilities to create life-like decision environments, digital role-play simulations are increasingly available for K-12 and higher education teachers to use in the classroom. This book helps both users and developers make intelligent choices about the value added by using simulations, technology, and media to teach reasoning in social sciences and humanities classrooms.The book relies on a four-part framework for developing a digital multimedia-based simulation approach, which represents: a cross-disciplinary method to describing simulations; the students who are using them; the educational setting in which they are used; and a rubric for assessing learning. The volume is divided into two parts. The first part presents a review of the theory and research detailing why didactic approaches do not or cannot address specific learning goals, as well as a description of the theoretical framework for using and developing simulations. The second part includes chapters on specific digital simulations and how they fit with the theoretical framework.Virtual Decisions fills a significant gap in the existing literature of instructional technology and is of interest to instructors, primarily in the social sciences and humanities, who are potential users of the simulations. It is also a resource for graduate students and pre-service teachers studying simulation design.
Virtual Educational Therapy: A Case Study of Clinical Supports and Advocacy
by Marion E. MarshallVirtual Educational Therapy presents a board-certified educational therapist’s year-long case study of clinical supports and advocacy for a student with learning disabilities who is attending school remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. With online and blended learning, now the norm in K–12 education, educational therapists need new models of intervention, treatment, and relationship-building for their child-age clients. This book offers detailed single-case research focused on a middle-school student who is learning virtually while challenged with ADHD as well as visual and verbal memory issues, but who is nonetheless found ineligible for special education services. Across eight chapters, author and renowned educational therapist Marion E. Marshall describes the neuropsychological principles, research-based techniques, personal interactions, clinical approaches, and advocacy efforts that led to a vulnerable student’s significant gains in academic skills and outcomes.
Virtual Educational Therapy: A Case Study of Clinical Supports and Advocacy
by Marion E. MarshallVirtual Educational Therapy presents a board-certified educational therapist’s year-long case study of clinical supports and advocacy for a student with learning disabilities who is attending school remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. With online and blended learning, now the norm in K–12 education, educational therapists need new models of intervention, treatment, and relationship-building for their child-age clients. This book offers detailed single-case research focused on a middle-school student who is learning virtually while challenged with ADHD as well as visual and verbal memory issues, but who is nonetheless found ineligible for special education services. Across eight chapters, author and renowned educational therapist Marion E. Marshall describes the neuropsychological principles, research-based techniques, personal interactions, clinical approaches, and advocacy efforts that led to a vulnerable student’s significant gains in academic skills and outcomes.
Virtual Exchange for Intercultural Language Learning and Teaching: Fostering Communication for the Digital Age (Routledge Research in Language Education)
by Anthippi Potolia Martine Derivry-PlardThis book illustrates new virtual intercultural practices for language learning from primary to tertiary education and highlights the transversality of these practices throughout the language curriculum. The current English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) perspective sets the framework as a possible vector of cultural exchanges in a variety of contexts, and from which the different authors coming from Europe and all over the world present their studies. The book deploys diverse educational exchanges within a wide range of technological tools and with varied approaches to the intercultural dimension in language learning. Through these virtual exchanges, different languages and educational cultures come together to create emerging communities of practice co-constructed for the limited time-space of the collaborative projects. This volume opens a dialogue with researchers from different backgrounds and theoretical and methodological perspectives as technology can no longer be apprehended without its purposeful human and semiotic meanings and, conversely, human and semiotic meanings can no longer be apprehended without Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Going beyond strict polarised views on the technology or humanistic approaches, this book presents a more nuanced, interrelated stance and will appeal to researchers, scholars, post graduate students, and teachers in applied linguistics, language learning and teaching, education, information studies, cultural studies, and intercultural communication.
Virtual Exchange for Intercultural Language Learning and Teaching: Fostering Communication for the Digital Age (Routledge Research in Language Education)
by Anthippi Potolia Martine Derivry-PlardThis book illustrates new virtual intercultural practices for language learning from primary to tertiary education and highlights the transversality of these practices throughout the language curriculum. The current English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) perspective sets the framework as a possible vector of cultural exchanges in a variety of contexts, and from which the different authors coming from Europe and all over the world present their studies. The book deploys diverse educational exchanges within a wide range of technological tools and with varied approaches to the intercultural dimension in language learning. Through these virtual exchanges, different languages and educational cultures come together to create emerging communities of practice co-constructed for the limited time-space of the collaborative projects. This volume opens a dialogue with researchers from different backgrounds and theoretical and methodological perspectives as technology can no longer be apprehended without its purposeful human and semiotic meanings and, conversely, human and semiotic meanings can no longer be apprehended without Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Going beyond strict polarised views on the technology or humanistic approaches, this book presents a more nuanced, interrelated stance and will appeal to researchers, scholars, post graduate students, and teachers in applied linguistics, language learning and teaching, education, information studies, cultural studies, and intercultural communication.
Virtual Facilitation: Create More Engagement and Impact
by Henrik Horn Andersen Iben Nelson Kare RonexThe covid-19 crisis accelerated virtual collaboration exponentially, creating an instant need for virtual facilitation skills. People and organizations have started on this journey, but do not yet have the experience and competencies to use this medium for effective and energetic collaboration.Virtual Facilitation will show you how to have successful virtual events, virtual meetings, virtual workshops and training. Packed full of tips, insights and real case studies, the author's practical approach to virtual facilitation will show you how to effectively learn the skills needed to suceed. This book will also cover: The role of the facilitator, and what is expected The design of the process How to avoid common mistakes Implementation and influencing behaviour Virtual Facilitation will show you how to plan for virtual events, how to develop skills to be able to host virtual meetings, virtual courses, virtual training, virtual workshops, and virtual larger events to meet 21st century needs.
Virtual Facilitation: Create More Engagement and Impact
by Henrik Horn Andersen Iben Nelson Kare RonexThe covid-19 crisis accelerated virtual collaboration exponentially, creating an instant need for virtual facilitation skills. People and organizations have started on this journey, but do not yet have the experience and competencies to use this medium for effective and energetic collaboration.Virtual Facilitation will show you how to have successful virtual events, virtual meetings, virtual workshops and training. Packed full of tips, insights and real case studies, the author's practical approach to virtual facilitation will show you how to effectively learn the skills needed to suceed. This book will also cover: The role of the facilitator, and what is expected The design of the process How to avoid common mistakes Implementation and influencing behaviour Virtual Facilitation will show you how to plan for virtual events, how to develop skills to be able to host virtual meetings, virtual courses, virtual training, virtual workshops, and virtual larger events to meet 21st century needs.
The Virtual Future (Springer Series in Immersive Environments)
by William Sims BainbridgeThe newest communication technologies are profoundly changing the world's politics, economies, and cultures, but the specific implications of online game worlds remain mysterious. The Virtual Future employs theories and methods from social science to explore nine very different virtual futures: The Matrix Online, Tabula Rasa, Anarchy Online, Entropia Universe, Star Trek Online, EVE Online, Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade, and The Chronicles of Riddick. Each presents a different picture of how technology and society could evolve in coming centuries, but one theme runs through all of them, the attempt to escape the Earth and seek new destinies among the stars. Four decades after the last trip to the moon, a new conception of spaceflight is emerging. Rather than rockets shooting humans across vast physical distances to sterile rocks that lack the resources to sustain life, perhaps robot space probes and orbiting telescopes will glean information about the universe, that humans can then experience inside computer-generated environments much closer to home. All nine of these fantastically rich multiplayer masterpieces have shown myriads of people that really radical alternatives to contemporary society could exist, and has served as a laboratory for examining the consequences. Each is a prototype of new social forms, a utopian subculture, and a simulation of technologies that have yet to be invented. They draw upon several different traditions of science fiction and academic philosophy, and they were created in several nations. By comparing these nine role-playing fantasies, we can better consider what kind of world we want to inhabit in the real future.
Virtual Human-Animal Interactions: Supporting Learning, Social Connections and Well-being
by Christine Yvette Tardif-Williams John-Tyler BinfetInterest in the field of human-animal interactions is burgeoning, and researchers and educators are keen to understand the science undergirding research that helps us understand interactions between people and animals. Recently, exciting and innovative research is focusing on how people’s virtual interactions with animals can enhance their learning, social interactions, and well-being. This research aims to answer questions such as, "What types of interactions do people have with animals in a virtual context? How do people access and experience their virtual interactions with animals? Do virtual interactions with animals hold potential to enhance people’s well-being and learning in the same way that in-person interactions with animals have been documented? What educational strategies could be employed to enhance people’s virtual interactions with animals? How can we respect animals as research participants within a virtual context?" Drawing from seminal and cutting-edge research in the field of human-animal interactions, these questions and others are answered in Virtual Human-Animal Interactions. Research-informed and grounded in critical discussions of theory and practice, this book challenges readers to reconceptualize their understanding of research and practice exploring the complexities inherent in, and arising from, people’s virtual interactions with animals. Further, with an eye to the future, this book illuminates readers’ thinking around the empirical and practical implications of facilitating interactions between people and animals within virtual contexts. Researchers and educators from across disciplines will find Virtual Human-Animal Interactions both scientifically savvy and practical.
Virtual Human-Animal Interactions: Supporting Learning, Social Connections and Well-being
by Christine Yvette Tardif-Williams John-Tyler BinfetInterest in the field of human-animal interactions is burgeoning, and researchers and educators are keen to understand the science undergirding research that helps us understand interactions between people and animals. Recently, exciting and innovative research is focusing on how people’s virtual interactions with animals can enhance their learning, social interactions, and well-being. This research aims to answer questions such as, "What types of interactions do people have with animals in a virtual context? How do people access and experience their virtual interactions with animals? Do virtual interactions with animals hold potential to enhance people’s well-being and learning in the same way that in-person interactions with animals have been documented? What educational strategies could be employed to enhance people’s virtual interactions with animals? How can we respect animals as research participants within a virtual context?" Drawing from seminal and cutting-edge research in the field of human-animal interactions, these questions and others are answered in Virtual Human-Animal Interactions. Research-informed and grounded in critical discussions of theory and practice, this book challenges readers to reconceptualize their understanding of research and practice exploring the complexities inherent in, and arising from, people’s virtual interactions with animals. Further, with an eye to the future, this book illuminates readers’ thinking around the empirical and practical implications of facilitating interactions between people and animals within virtual contexts. Researchers and educators from across disciplines will find Virtual Human-Animal Interactions both scientifically savvy and practical.
Virtual Instruction: Issues and Insights from an International Perspective (Non-ser.)
by Carine M. Feyten Joyce NuttaThroughout the world, schools, universities, and industry have begun to use virtual instruction to expand their outreach to learners and to promote collaboration and exchange among educators. As these virtual communities encompass the globe, questions regarding the nature of teaching learning, and communicating in a technology-embedded, multicultural, and border-free environment have arisen. The essays in this book clarify predominant theoretical issues that pertain to this new form of computer-mediated, interactive distance learning and offer practical suggestions for implementing virtual instruction programs. Addressing a variety of instructional technologies (e.g., web-based instruction, videoconferencing), the book examines virtual instruction from different perspectives, including economics, sociology, communication, and learning theory. Invaluable to educators and students of teacher education, instructional design, technology, and communication, the book will appeal to anyone involved in or w
Virtual Learning: Insights and Perspectives
by Ravi Inder Singh Pooja SikkaThis book brings together the research work conducted by renowned academics and practitioners on critical and immensely important issues of virtual learning. It provides innovative ideas and empirical findings on the subject. The sixteen chapters by established and young scholars from all over the country offer strong theoretical and analytical discussion, and examine a wide range of issues confronting the education sector in India in general and the higher education sector in particular. The book seeks to address pertinent issues relating to virtual learning like emerging scenario with respect to required changes in pedagogy used in higher education learning, perceptions of learners about online mode of learning, problems and challenges in virtual learning, paradigm shifts in higher education, designing of new learning strategies for online mode of learning and about the role virtual learning plays in inclusive growth. The scholarly discussion of the book will serve as an excellent vade mecum for readers who want to understand the various dimensions of virtual learning, specifically those that emerged during the Covid-19 Pandemic period, and will provide opportunities to researchers to use it as reference to pursue research in the field of virtual learning.
Virtual Learning: Insights and Perspectives
by Ravi Inder Singh Pooja SikkaThis book brings together the research work conducted by renowned academics and practitioners on critical and immensely important issues of virtual learning. It provides innovative ideas and empirical findings on the subject. The sixteen chapters by established and young scholars from all over the country offer strong theoretical and analytical discussion, and examine a wide range of issues confronting the education sector in India in general and the higher education sector in particular. The book seeks to address pertinent issues relating to virtual learning like emerging scenario with respect to required changes in pedagogy used in higher education learning, perceptions of learners about online mode of learning, problems and challenges in virtual learning, paradigm shifts in higher education, designing of new learning strategies for online mode of learning and about the role virtual learning plays in inclusive growth. The scholarly discussion of the book will serve as an excellent vade mecum for readers who want to understand the various dimensions of virtual learning, specifically those that emerged during the Covid-19 Pandemic period, and will provide opportunities to researchers to use it as reference to pursue research in the field of virtual learning.
Virtual Learning Communities (UK Higher Education OUP Humanities & Social Sciences Higher Education OUP)
by Dina Lewis Barbara Allan·What are the characteristics of a successful learning community? ·How are successful communities facilitated and maintained?·What lessons can be learnt from existing learning communities?·What type of learning community will suit your organisation or situation?This user-friendly guide is written to help managers, professionals and learners, planning, facilitating or participating in online learning communities, as part of a structured learning programme, as an approach to continuous professional development, as a means of improving performance at work or as a dynamic approach to innovation and collaborative working.The book is relevant to senior mangers with a responsibility for strategic planning and change management. This can include new work practices involving working in multi-professional teams across traditional boundaries. It aims to engage readers in identifying key issues in relation to their own work situation and prompts readers to find their own solutions.Virtual Learning Communities provides practical guidance and includes extensive examples, case studies and activities. It is key reading for those involved in e-learning courses, professional trainers and staff developers with a responsibility for CPD, and professionals involved in facilitating new approaches to group work.
Virtual Learning Environments: Using, Choosing and Developing your VLE
by Martin WellerVirtual learning environments are widely spread in higher education, yet they are often under utilised by the institutions that employ them. This book addresses the need to move beyond thinking about the VLE simply in terms of the particular package that an institution has adopted, and viewing it as a significant educational technology that will shape much of the teaching and learning process in the coming years. Considering how virtual learning environments can be successfully deployed and used for effective teaching, it sets out a model for effective use, focussing on pedagogic application rather than a specific technology, and seeks to provide a bridge between pedagogical approaches and the tools educators have at their disposal. It contains essential advice for those choosing a VLE and encourages all those involved in the deployment of a VLEs to use them more productively in order to create engaging learning experiences.
Virtual Learning Environments: Using, Choosing and Developing your VLE
by Martin WellerVirtual learning environments are widely spread in higher education, yet they are often under utilised by the institutions that employ them. This book addresses the need to move beyond thinking about the VLE simply in terms of the particular package that an institution has adopted, and viewing it as a significant educational technology that will shape much of the teaching and learning process in the coming years. Considering how virtual learning environments can be successfully deployed and used for effective teaching, it sets out a model for effective use, focussing on pedagogic application rather than a specific technology, and seeks to provide a bridge between pedagogical approaches and the tools educators have at their disposal. It contains essential advice for those choosing a VLE and encourages all those involved in the deployment of a VLEs to use them more productively in order to create engaging learning experiences.
Virtual Literacies: Interactive Spaces For Children And Young People (Routledge Research In Education Ser. (PDF) #84)
by Guy Merchant Julia Gillen Jackie Marsh Julia DaviesThe growth of interest in virtual worlds and other online spaces for children and young people raises important issues for literacy educators and researchers. This book is a timely and much-needed collection of current research in the area. It provides a synthesis of knowledge and understanding and will be a key resource for scholars, students and teachers, particularly those interested in digital literacies. The work presents a coherent vision of current knowledge, and some of the most engaging, empirical research being undertaken on virtual worlds and online spaces in and beyond educational institutions. It contains international studies from the UK, North America and Australasia. This is an important time for those researching virtual worlds, videogaming and Web 2.0 technologies, since there is growing professional interest in their significance in the education and development of children and young people. Whether these technologies are solely associated with informal learning or whether they should be incorporated into classroom contexts is hotly debated. This book provides a principled evaluation and appreciation of the learning, teaching and instruction that can occur in digital environments, showing children, young people and those who work with them as active agents with possibilities to navigate new paths.