Second Life adoption in education: A motivational model based on Uses and Gratifications theory

•An analysis of the motivations of Second Life use in education and training.•A proposal of a model that explains the adoption of Second Life in education.•An identification of the factors that influence successful on continuance intention.•An application of the Uses and Gratifications framework.

Social Virtual Worlds (SVWs) are increasingly being used in education; however, little is known about how personal motivation affects engagement in online learning courses (e-learning). This article focuses on Second Life which is one of the better known SVW platforms and allows relationships to develop amongst people who share similar interests and/or activities The aims of this study are twofold: (1) to analyse the motivation of Second Life users with regard to e-learning; and (2) to propose a model that explains and predicts the adoption of Second Life in this context. This model has been defined under the postulates of the Uses and Gratification theory (Blumler & Katz, 1974; Swanson, 1987) which comprises the seven constructs of convenience, entertainment, socialising, status seeking, information seeking, sharing experience, and continuance intention. A web-based survey is reported. Findings confirm the positive influence of convenience, sharing experiences, and entertainment on the intention to continue to use Second Life e-learning, and the positive impact of status, and information seeking on sharing experiences. Implications of this study are considered under the three categories of academic, managerial, and technological perspectives.