Understanding Learning in Virtual Worlds

Mark Childs
is a Senior Research Fellow for Elearning at Coventry University, UK, as well as working freelance within academia. Since 1997 he has worked on more than 30 projects involving technology-supported learning; as a researcher, consultant, evaluator, manager and principal investigator, at Coventry and in previous posts at the Universities of Wolverhampton and Warwick. Alongside his research he has also supported the delivery of a range of in-service professional development programmes, acting as an instructor, supervisor and evaluator.  He also works as an education consultant and evaluator for a range of private and public sector organisations, including Hewlett Packard, the Field Museum of National History in Chicago, Ravensbourne College and JISC.

Anna Peachey
spent four years (2006-2010) researching identity and community in virtual worlds as a Teaching Fellow with the Centre for Open Learning in Maths, Science, Computing and Technology at The Open University, UK. She has published and presented widely on virtual worlds as sites of learning, and continues to teach and research with The Open University within a portfolio of other projects as an independent consultant.