International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments, 5(4), 17-27, October-December 2014 17 Copyright © 2014, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. ABSTRACT Educational virtual worlds can give students opportunities that would not otherwise be possible in face-to-face settings. The SciEthics Interactive simulations allow learners to conduct scientiic research and practice ethi- cal decision-making within a virtual world. This study examined the in-world behaviors that identify students who perceive learning in virtual worlds as effective. Participants include 53 students in higher education coursework. This study indicated that there is a positive relationship between learning and a feeling of pres- ence, speciically with avatar identiication. Movement in-world that is explorative and open is also correlated to presence. These indings indicate if learning in virtual worlds is to be perceived as a worthwhile activity by students, then learners require support to develop identiication with their avatar and to build a sense of immersion within the virtual world. In-World Behaviors and Learning in a Virtual World Larysa Nadolny, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA Mark Childs, Faculty of Engineering and Computing, Coventry University, Coventry, UK Keywords: Cross-Cultural Projects, Interdisciplinary Projects, Pedagogical Issues, Simulations, Virtual Reality INTRODUCTION Three-dimensional, virtual worlds can provide students with opportunities for exploration and learning that would not otherwise be possible in traditional classroom settings. They are computer-generated environments in which participants adopt an avatar, i.e. “a graphical representation of a user within the environ- ment which is under his or her direct control” (Allbeck & Badler, 2002, p. 313) and employ this avatar as a point of reference by moving through a three-dimensional, navigable and persistent space (Bell, 2008). Virtual worlds made their mark in the public realm, as indicated by their location on Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Emerging Technolo- gies (2007). Gartner routinely evaluates tech- nologies from an IT research perspective and virtual worlds were at the peak of the chart in 2007. At this time in the popular virtual world Second Life, students were able to experience a tsunami (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization, 2009), train as a paramedic (Conradi et al., 2009), learn how to stay healthy (Boulos, Hetherington, & Wheeler, 2007), and reenact characters within an ancient civilization (Bogdanovych, Rodriguez-Aguilar, Simoff, & Cohen, 2010). DOI: 10.4018/IJVPLE.2014100102