Virtual Campus in the Context of an Educational Virtual City

This paper is focused on virtual campuses, i.e. virtual worlds representing real educational institutions that are based on the metaphor of a university and provide users with different learning tools. More specifically, the idea of integrating a virtual campus into the context of a virtual city is suggested. Such a virtual city, where students live and work, can extend the possibilities of a virtual campus in supporting learning and socializing. This paper provides a description and analysis of an empirical case study that was performed to test and develop these ideas. Based on the results of the study, a set of guidelines for designing a virtual campus in a city context is presented.