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      Spontaneous Communities of Learning: Cooperative Learning Ecosystems Surrounding Virtual Worlds

      Galarneau, Lisa L.
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      Galarneau, L. L. (2010). Spontaneous Communities of Learning: Cooperative Learning Ecosystems Surrounding Virtual Worlds (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)). The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10289/3963
      Permanent Research Commons link: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/3963
      Abstract
      This thesis is the culmination of a five year research project exploring online gamers

      and the cultures they engage with, both virtually in the many massively multiplayer

      games and virtual worlds online, and in the physical spaces they inhabit in various

      play spaces around the world. The primary research questions concerned social

      learning in such spaces, i.e. how do players learn from one another what they need

      to be successful, and what are the associated norms and practices for doing so?

      What sorts of peripheral skills are gained, and are they applicable to physical world

      contexts? Finally, what does participation in such spaces mean for individuals who

      may have lacked other mechanisms for social learning, and what impacts might such

      findings have on existing educational structures?

      I anticipate that this thesis will generate as many questions as it will answer, and I

      hope, that as a snapshot of a gaming culture in time, will be looked upon as a

      monograph in the classic ethnographic tradition.
      Date
      2010
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Name
      Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
      Publisher
      The University of Waikato
      Rights
      All items in Research Commons are provided for private study and research purposes and are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
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      • Higher Degree Theses [1543]
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