Document Type

Conference Paper

Disciplines

6. HUMANITIES

Publication Details

https://www.vwbpe.org/

Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education: Mythic Origins March 14-16, 2024

doi:10.21427/ygr5-v988

Abstract

We don’t often think of identity as a choice, but rather something we are born into by circumstance of birth and inheritance. This paper addresses identity by assertion. Virtual worlds afford the opportunity for a more fluid concept of self: identity with intent. Understanding this approach can empower our actions and results in the virtual and natural worlds. The authors draw on fifteen years teaching this topic in the virtual world of Second Life as part of a class on collaborative online engagement. The term avatar, representing the concrete embodiment of something abstract, originated in Hinduism in the 6th century and entered English usage in the 1800s. In the 1980s it was extended to include “player in a computer game.” The use of avatar as a complex multimedia representation of self for online interaction with others began especially with the availability of Second Life in 2003 and games such as World of Warcraft in 2004. Avatars are complex multimedia expressions of self-identity that impact work and learning.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21427/ygr5-v988

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

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