While there is some overlap in the uses and structures of virtual worlds, games, and simulations and the three often look similar, their differences are profound. Clark Aldrich presents a taxonomy of virtual environments that recognizes both the distinctions and the similarities among virtual environments for learning. All three, he suggests, are points along a continuum, all instances of highly interactive virtual environments (HIVEs). The HIVE framework recognizes the various relationships among virtual worlds, games, and simulations that can help educators, researchers, and builders of virtual environments think more clearly about the usefulness of virtual environments.

Catheryn Cheal describes student reactions to a course she and Vagner Whitehead taught in Second Life. The course required students to research a topic about virtual worlds, write a paper, and illustrate their findings by building an environment in Second Life. Negative student responses to the course coupled with the observation that students tended dismiss work in Second Life as "play" led Cheal to consider why and how student perceptions influence learning in virtual worlds. Cheal discusses how Second Life's resemblance to a game may shape student perceptions and explores how the course could be better designed to help students see the educational value of Second Life.