Education in Virtuatl Worlds

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Comment by Myron Curtis on August 18, 2008 at 9:15am

Leandro, you can go to http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Download, and get either the source code, or a ready to run version of ht Open Life Sim. It comes with one region, but you can add to it. Mine now has 71 regions. If you need help getting it set up, contact me at curtismy@butte.edu.

Comment by Leandro Balladares on August 6, 2008 at 1:35am

Hi everyone

I want to ask you if you know of some open source tools to create virtual worlds or 3D games for educational purposes that requires minimmum knowledge of programming.

My best

Comment by Bettina Cutler on August 5, 2008 at 10:40pm

I've just attended a university class in SL. It is amazing how the dynamics of the class is enhanced in SL. I think there was more participation from students through the chat facility than there would have been in a real-life classroom situation. Everyone could enter their thoughts on various topics at once and a log of responses was visible to all.

I think one of the advantages of learning in virtual worlds is that anyone can enter the world as an avatar and there are no preconceived ideas of anyone's ability. This has implications for kids in school who do not normally perform well. By taking on a different role, they can enter the virtual class with possibly higher self- (or avatar) confidence.

Comment by Myron Curtis on July 23, 2008 at 3:08pm

The 3D worlds not only give us a chance to expand and enhance traditional teaching methods, but they also present us with the chance to create new techniques for sharing knowledge. We can reach more people, and we can be enriched in the process.
There are problems to solve, but there always are. The biggest challenge we may face will be from Real Life. Soaring energy costs will take its bite out of every budget, and new, non-traditional projects may be the first to get the axe even though, like virtual worlds, they might be a solution to the energy crunch.
Each of us should take proactive measures to make sure that this infant opportunity isn’t prematurely lost. Oh, and when you do, make sure to toss in a few phrases about sustain ability, because that is the new budget language. 

Comment by Ken Rigby (MellaniuM, Tele3DWorld) on May 28, 2008 at 8:55pm

Tele3DWorld and Educational Experience.

Shared Virtual Real Worlds (VRWs) are innovative applications where several users, represented by Avatars, simultaneously network in a 3D first-person viewpoint environment. Users co-operate through interaction within the 3D environment and with each other, manipulating objects and speaking as they go. Apart from in the well-documented online gaming industry, now played out in real-time over the Internet, the success stories of virtual worlds and shared 3D environments have been mixed. Interest wanes from an enthusiastic beginning: the 3D world looks both enticing and promising, but the attention curve drops sharply as the users find the space either too difficult to navigate or not satisfyingly engaging. The key to the success or failure of these environments relates directly to the content offered and the ability of the environment to hold a critical mass of users in real time. This is the desperately sought after magic social glue that determines the experience to be meaningful and actively keeps the users under its virtual spell.

Tele3DWorld presents a new and innovative method, a shared virtual real world geared to information in an educational, hyper-resolution, and highly structured environment. 'Tele3DWorlds Educational Experience,' is a co-operative project offering a pioneering edutainment environment based on shared 3D virtual real worlds, where groups from all over the world can meet in order to learn and discuss issues related to the virtually created famous events and interesting places.

MellaniuM Design and Tele3DWorld have pioneered a patented process and developed a huge database of artefacts and textures that will allow for easy and economical VRWs to be designed, developed, and tested for any subject and/or domain.

Virtual real worlds can serve different purposes, such as entertainment, education, design, architecture, interior design, maintenance, communication, e-commerce, GIS, networking, etc. They have the ability to recreate an infinite variety of 3D environments or landscapes ranging from virtual museums, art galleries, shops, offices, and hotels to fantasy worlds and objects created by the human imagination. The applications of virtual real worlds are numerous for virtual offices, online classrooms, virtual factories, virtual museums/art galleries, re-creations, etc. The majority of currently existing virtual worlds are still focused on the gaming, game-play, and entertainment sector with lo-res structures and textures with hi-activity emphasis. However they are starting to switch to various business initiatives to establish a VRW web (teleporting from a 3D VRW to a 3D VRW via cyberspace; rather than from 2D web page to 2D web page).

Advantages:

* Amazing and 'hyper-realistic' user experience;

* Worldwide connectivity, communication, and implementation;

* Possibility to create or recreate any desired 3D environment;

* Simultaneous multi-user collaboration for separate groups;

* Simultaneously running processes and actions that affect the virtual real world but will not affect other system users.

Greater understanding of the real world will enable a higher truth to be established; not based on the assumptions of history.

In short:

Virtual Real Worlds provide the path for your imagination to embark on the strangest journey it will ever take; a journey which will help you develop your insight, expand your understanding, unlock the genius, and enable you to focus on your destiny.

See http://mellanium.com/ for detailed information and supporting articles for additional anecdotes. Skype: id joe133952 for live demonstration.

Copyright © Ken Rigby for Tele3DWorld and MellaniuM Design.

All Rights Reserved.

2007

Comment by Arteer on May 25, 2008 at 12:42pm

Please correct spelling in header for this group.

;=)

Comment by ina centaur on May 5, 2008 at 9:50pm

SL Shakespeare Company miniseason ends this week. Check out the playbill for showtimes, and visit the SL Globe Theatre