Building community in 21st century graduate classes through synchronous online research presentations: a case for three-dimensional learning environments

Exploring the power of virtual worlds for uses beyond the capabilities of traditional online environments is a lofty endeavour but a necessary one in the 21st century. Through qualitative measures, this study compared graduate student perceptions of using two synchronous online learning platforms for presenting research results in a virtual poster format. Throughout a semester long course that introduced educational research methodologies, students were subjected to Elluminate™ and a secure three-dimensional virtual environment through the Activeworlds™ platform called Wolfden. A description of the activities and a synopsis of student-perceptions begin to shed light on the potential of building community through presenting research results online.