By Karl M. Kapp
If you want to gen up on virtual worlds and their possible applications to learning this article is good starting point.
Second Life of course gets a mention together with some examples. IBM for instance use it for mentoring and orientating new employees. IBM have more than one island and am currently having a look at some). Also here’s some screenshots of the GreaterIBMbloc party. Interesting – they have main presentations with break out areas.
Another example is Cisco Systems. They have training island with classrooms, areas for students to mingle, and a teleportation system. “Learners move around the large virtual campus, by sitting on a teleporter and magically appearing at a desired location. ”I haven’t looked at this yet though, here’s the link if someone would like to volunteer…
Another example I’d like to check but haven’t the time is the VITAL Laboratory at Ohio University, (National Science Foundation). “These online learning environments are filled with avatars roaming around the classroom conducting virtual experiments and applying real world principles to online objects.”
The article goes on to define the variety of virtual worlds in terms of 3 categories:
*Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG)
Obviously game based with levels and tasks. Interaction comes through working together with other users to achieve goals. The most famous MMORPG is World of Warcraft. “MMORPGs are used to teach concepts related to the real world through examples. It is possible to completely corner a market in an MMORPG and then observe the repercussions where that is not possible in real life. One can also observe interactions between and among players to understand teamwork, group goals, and other social interactions. However, the fantasy aspects of most MMORPGs make it difficult to apply the use of these games within a work setting.”
* Metaverses (Second Life is one of these)
Metaverse as a term represents the possible future of the internet (“The term has come to represent the idea of an online 3D world inhabited by avatars controlled by their real-life counterparts.”).
“A metaverse is similar to an MMORPG but with some vital differences. First, in a metaverse, players are not playing a defined role such as a hunter or mage, they are playing a character they have created. In addition, the metaverse typically does not have specific goals or objectives created by the metaverse itself. Players can create their own goals or objectives, but they are not an inherent part of the world. Finally, the environment of a metaverse typically allows the player to create his or her own digital items, such as houses and clothes, using a scripting language or by dragging and dropping items.” There are more details including the role of avatars.
In addition to Second Life other metaverses also get a mention including: Actvie Worlds, (see the YouTube video trailer) and There.
* Massively Multilearner Online Learning Environments (MMOLE).
As the title suggest specifically created for e-learning. “The MMOLE is a genre of a computer generated learning environment in which large numbers of learners interact with each other in a virtual 3D world with the specific goal of learning. The learning can occur formally through a class-like environment or through a scripted scenario (like a role play). In that way it is like a MMORPG since it has specific goals. However, learning also can occur informally through chats and discussions among learners in a fashion similar to a metaverse. So, the MMOLE is a combination of a metaverse and a MMORPG designed for learning.”.
Interestingly they come with student and instructor modes: “The instructor mode allows someone to facilitate a learning event and manage the interactions within the environment. This prevents everyone from chatting at once, and it provides a formal environment in which to learn.” I can see the value but not sure whether ‘formal environment’ is counter to the philosophy of the MMOLE.
A MMOLE example is provided. ProtoSphere developed by ProtonMedia is apparently capable of tracking learner outcomes on specific events. Not only that it has a profiling system which matches learners to each other based on their interests and knowledge.
Of course the above is only a summary. Further reading of the article is recommended. Web Link