McKerlich, R., Riis, M., Anderson, T., & Eastman, B. (2011). Students Perceptions of Teaching Presence,
Social Presence, and Cognitive Presence in a Virtual World. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning
and Teaching , 7 (2), 379.
I chose this article because it is important to have a presence as a teacher, whether in the classroom or online. The study conducted research on classrooms that used VW as a platform and then interviewed the students afterwards. The study wanted to find out if the VW provided a teaching presence, social presence and a cognitive presence. Surprisingly the research found that a VW can produce presence. In one class the students and teacher meet in a VW that has an opinionator (a tool that can be used in a VW) The students are presented with a theoretical statement and then the students can position themselves with a theoretical position by asking questions. Students then can exchange ideas and present their opinions. What happens is a real life exchange of ideas in a VW. During the discussion students can change their positions based on another students argument.
What I found most interesting about this article is that VW is producing cognitive learning the same as if those students were in the classroom. This is a great tool to use in a distance learning classroom.