Providing timely support to students in educational virtual worlds

Educational virtual worlds (EVWs) are immersive educational tools that have the potential to engage students using interactive virtual avatars in the simulated multi-media environments. As with any learning approach, EVWs should have the capacity to adapt according to individual student needs and differences such as their personality characteristics, engagement levels, navigational behaviour, and emotional level. Based on such factors, the EVWs should be capable of providing tailored support and feedback when required. This experimental study conducted with 144 undergraduate students investigates the relationship between individual learner factors, including personality, cognitive and affective engagement, and the value of providing either tailored, generic or no hints on academic performance in an EVW. Results suggest that extravert and agreeable personality traits are positively linked to academic performance and affective and cognitive engagement levels. Contrary to our hypothesis, participants who were provided with hints did not perform better than the control group in performance. Further studies are needed to gain deeper insights to design appropriate support strategies within EVW.