Six 3D Virtual World Facilitation Tips

Here are 6 things to keep in mind when facilitating a 3D virtual world class or discussion.

Preparing for a class discussion in a 3D virtual immersive environment.

Maintain proper social distances between your avatar and others. People treat the 3D virtual space as an actual physical space. In physical space, social norms require distances between people when they are engaged in conversation. In the 3D virtual world maintain those same social distances to make the learners feel comfortable.

Learn to work the various camera views within the virtual world. In a virtual 3D world, one of the most difficult aspects of effective navigation is the use of camera angles. The different viewpoints of the 3D space and avatar can be difficult to control. Often there are several controls for zooming in on an avatar, zooming out to see the entire environment and even controls for switching between first and third person views. One of the most critical technical aspects of instructing within a 3D virtual environment is to learn to effectively control the camera angles.

Develop techniques for frequently navigating between the 2D and 3D aspects of the interface. Virtual worlds have 3D elements such as avatars, objects and classrooms but they also have chat features, classroom control features and communication features that are presented in 2D. An instructor cannot get caught up in the 2D features and ignore the events occurring within the 3D space such an avatar raising their hand. Effective 3D instructors are able to quickly and effectively navigate among the 2D and 3D features. Think of the space as a dashboard and you need to be following all the “gages” on the dashboard at all times.

Memorize a few key gestures to use at appropriate times. To keep the 3D environment spontaneous and interactive have several gestures memorized to use when appropriate in question and answer sessions or when speaking casually before, during or after class. The key gestures to memorize are:
o Pointing
o Hand gestures (raising hands, indicating “I don’t know”)
o Laughing
o Clapping
o Head shaking (yes, no)

Allow time within the curriculum to allow learners to customize their avatars. Avatar customization is a large element in helping learners to feel they are engaged in the instruction. Within DAU curriculum, before a learner is involved with a class to learn content, they need to have time to orient to the environment and learn how to customize their avatar. DAU should recommend that the learner make the avatar as similar to themselves as possible.
 
Have an orientation session before teaching content. Learners cannot focus on learning when they are focused on navigation and learning to control their avatars. Conduct a separate session to teach basic skills prior to teaching content.