Do You Know Who I Am? Avatars & Identities
Assumptions and biases towards the person behind the avatar may be based on the experience or lack of experience a person has with avatars in virtual spaces. While those of us who have been in virtual worlds for a long time tend to have fewer assumptions about avatars in general, a recent experience with university administration resulted in a total shutdown of a space dedicated to student mental wellness. This demonstrates that avatar bias has consequences in the physical world. We will present our plans for a research survey designed to elicit information about assumptions and biases based on experience with virtual worlds and games. This survey will be embedded in a Hubs VR room and plans to analyze that data in spring 2024 will be discussed. Finally, we will gage audience interest by handing out the URL for the Hubs VR room and asking for participation.
Speakers
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Marie Vans / Amvans Lapis (Poster Booth #10)Marie Vans is an Associate Professor in the Department of Systems Engineering at Colorado State University, specializing in augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) applications for education and training. With over 20 years of experience, including roles as Senior Research Scientist at HP Labs, she has contributed to research in immersive technologies, digital literacy, and human-computer interaction.
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Bethany Winslow (Poster Booth #10)Bethany is the director of online learning for the School of Information at San Jose State University. Her areas of interest include virtual world building and virtual reality exploration, instructional design, and all forms of virtual collaborations that sustain communities of practice and expand access to information.
