Sixth Learning in 3D Class Summer 2012
We had a great visit last night with Daniel Wilson of AvayaLive Engage. He showed us some great environments and we had a great tour. Here are some images.
Checking out the area for “get-togethers.” A space for people to get to know one another.
The professor’s office in the 3D world of AvayaLive Engage. Not a bad office for me:)
We also had a chance to tour the Designing Digitally virtual campus tour.
Here is a sample of what we saw.
So we had a great evening finishing with a discussion of the teaching and instructional design considerations of virtual 3D worlds.
Question:
What would be the most ideal learning event that could take place in a 3D virtual environment? And describe briefly how you would design it.
In my opinion, the most ideal learning event would be actually learning skills which are needed to deliver a successful virtual event. One of the advantages of a virtual world is that it enables users to reach more people than ever before.
I would design this learning even in a such a way that learners walk away confident to deliver their own event. Making this lesson very intuitive, I will make sure to deliver exceptional experience for the participants and myself. Finally, to get optimal results, students will be required to demonstrate the skills they’ve to ensure transfer of knowledge.
I believe the most ideal learning event that could take place in a 3D virtual environment would be to recreate a traditional classroom (or familiar setting to the learner), but with the ability to quickly maneuver to other virtual settings. For example: if your class were discussing a science topic, your virtual avatar could select a local wetlands or natural area on a computer and the class would all be transported to that desired destination after clicking that computer screen.
In order to design such an environment, I would make sure the desired destinations were available through a program such as Second Life or AvayaLive. I would also make sure my class (and school) had permission to access to these environments via membership for educational purposes. There would also need to be destinations listed in the classroom as we went to them. In our last few classes, my browser would stop working or my computer would overheat. Upon reentering the virtual start point, I would have no idea where the class was transported to. As a result, I would wander around the first chosen environment in an attempt to find the exploring class. This was extremely frustrating. In my classroom, I would have the destination links listed on the blackboard before the class started. I would then have the class come back to the traditional classroom so I could put the link on the board prior to transporting the class. This would ensure there would be no ‘lost students.’
It sounds rather simple but i think the most ideal learning event would be a lesson plan of some sort. The first thing that comes to my mind would be a training session and you would be presented with a case that has happened in past years. Such as an event someone had to deal with being on call. You and the other trainees would then go over the scenario and explain what you would do and how you would react, further increasing everyones knowledge on the appropriate ways to respond to a crisis event.
I think the best way to design this would be to set up something like AvayaLive Engage has. A large meeting room that everyone can be in and would have their mics on all the time. I really enjoyed the use of the 3d sound so it felt pretty real (as far as the sounds went) This would work the best i feel for the lesson i explained earlier because you would want everyones input.
The most ideal learning event in a 3D virtual environment is, in my opinion, an interactive event that allows individuals from all corners of the world to meet and discuss solutions to a problem. A great example of this was in VirtualU where nurses created posters and artwork that were displayed in a conference hall, and nurses from everywhere could meet there and view and discuss them. This is ideal because the cost and difficulty of travel often limits discussions to individuals who come from a very similar perspective. Including people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures will help to promote learning from discussions among themselves. Individuals in the environment would help and teach each other, and show different perspectives.
I would design a lesson like this by ensuring that it is interactive and exploratory. When the learners gather in the virtual world, I would begin the lesson with a brief introduction to the topic, for instance health care. Then I would present them with a problem or task. This task might involve groups building together in SecondLife or creating displays in VirtualU. Teams would work together to discuss issues and solve the problem. Then, each team would present the final product to the class as a whole. The lesson would end in a group discussion about the topic and the various solutions. In this way, the virtual world is used to its fullest capacity in a way that the lesson could not be done using any other medium.
What would be the most ideal learning event that could take place in a 3D virtual environment? And describe briefly how you would design it.
I think the most ideal learning event would be a product proposal meeting.
I would design a building that included a meeting room and a demonstration room. In the meeting room I would create a replica of a meeting room with a VOIP conference phone as well as screens to display videos and presentations.This area would be used as the starting point for the meeting. an overview of the product and a typical presentation would take place. After this part was finished the group would move to the second room; the demonstration room.
In the demonstration room would be the product working as it would in a real life work environment. This area would allow the potential client to see how the product would function and would allow them to interact with the product.
I think this would be beneficial use of the virtual learning world as it would allow the two companies to function as in a typical meeting but allow the added advantage of seeing the product function without having the added expense of travel.
I think an ideal learning event that could take place in a 3D virtual environment would be one that required the learners to find a lost item in a foreign city. The point of this exercise would be to allow the learners to practice their linguistic skills in an environment similar to one they might find themselves in or otherwise intend to explore. Having a lost item be the main directive has been selected to give learners a clear objective and further their use of directional terms. This training should prepare learners to use their linguisitc skills in a city, perhaps one they plan to visit. Should learners ever decide to actually visit this area, they will have, not only a grasp of the layout of the area, but a solid understanding of how to communicate should they become lost.
I would design this environment to look exactly like a foreign city. For instance, Barcelona, Spain could be the city the learning environment is modeled after. Architectural and cultural consultants would be present for the construction of this area so that it would be a near exact fascimile. Cultural landmarks would be included, as would some information on them (via both placards and bots). Bots would be programmed to answer/interact with the learner with directions in the native tongue (Spanish), information about the city or other bits of information related to the lost object. The large number of bots needed for this environment would mean that a lot of dialogue would need to be used. Possibly, certain bots could have specific bits of dialogue pre-programmed to increase ease of learner interaction and allowing them to revisit certain bots for refreshers on certain linguistic or cultural points.
From an educational background, I constantly view the potential of these environments for a classroom situation. However, the course has opened my eyes a bit to the idea that these environments are great for simulations. I think they are an excellent opportunity for situations that are otherwise difficult to address in real-life, unless under extreme conditions. One such example would be surgery. It is important for a new doctor to know how to perform a specific procedure BEFORE it is done. These 3D learning environments provide this for those learners.
As far as the design of a simulation like this, I feel the most important consideration is making the tasks as real-to-life as possible. It is also very important to see that all necessary information is provided to the learner upon arrival in the environment. In other words, always provide the learner with enough information for all levels of expertise. Assume everyone is a beginner in the 3D world. I also feel that the ability to customize avatars is an important feature. The closer the connection between learner and avatar, the more the learner will feel as though it is really them performing the procedure.
I think there are many events that could take place in 3D environment. For example, a teacher can build a class in 3D environment and he/she can make it as real class. As we saw in our last class in AvayaLive, the teacher can build a class and he/she can put slidshow that would help teacher while teaching. Also, in this environment teacher can play video and I think this is one of many advantages of in AvayaLive.
I think that using the Generative Instructional strategy of having students explore a space on their own while discovering their own answers is the most ideal learning event. This event could be like a “honey I shrunk the kids” environment perhaps a medical study of learning how the inside of the body operates with allowing you be a cell in the body traveling through and around organs to find out how they relate to each other and what all functions the body can do. I would design this with a huge body that you enter through the mouth and click a swallow link that takes you down the esophogas into the stomach. There you could click links to go to other areas of the body. This idea could also be used to see how an infection spreads through the body, maybe you enter through the crevasse of a toenail as fungus or a cancerous cell from someone that chews tobacco.
I think a great learning event would be a familiar historical event where not only do they read facts about it during the exploration (or guided tour) but actually can experience it. For example, a great event would be Neil Armstrong’s landing on the moon. First, I would have students start at the Kennedy Space Center where they can put their avatar through basic astronaut training. Next, I would have them board the Apollo and have them take off and complete the flight path to space similar to what was done. Next, I would have the avatar board the Lunar Module and land on the moon. Here they can get out, collect moon rocks, etc. Then they would join the Command module and fly back to earth.
This not only shows a very important event in history, but a little background of how astronauts enter and leave space. This could be an exciting, immersive environment for students to write about their experience afterward – a totally new and 21st century learning idea.
The most ideal learning event that could take place in a 3D virtual environment is one that utilizes that 3D technology in ways that physically completing the activity would not work well. One of these situations could include hosting events where people are located all over the world and can take a few hours a day and a visit virtual conference. Another situation could include having learners practice completing a task that would be costly or dangerous.
One such type of learning activity that could benefit from 3D virtual environments is surveying volcanoes. In this 3D environment, the learners could learn and practice getting taking samples from active and dormant volcanoes. They could begin by being briefed on how to get properly dressed for the event. Then they could ascend up a volcano and learn about ways to keep safe during the trip. Once they get to the summit, they could actually practice taking magma, air, and soil samples. During this portion of the learning activity, they could guided by an NPC instructor taking samples and then practice taking them themselves. This would enable the learners to safely practice this dangerous activity in a virtual environment before they even attempted the activity in a real environment. Once they acquire the samples, they would then travel back down the volcano to their laboratory. During the trip down the mountain, they could practice avoiding magma flows and falling debris. Once they arrive at their lab, they could test the specimens.
I think the most ideal learning event for a 3D environment would be an orientation. This could be a building, or a campus, and can be for work or school. I think this is most ideal because the designer can create an identical environment to the one the learners will be in. It would give learners a chance to explore before they arrive. People may be more likely to look around and ask questions for a tour guide in a 3D environment.
I would allow the learners a chance to customize their own avatar to looks like themselves. People can get familiar with each other in the environment before meeting in person. I would try to replicate the environment as close as possible so learners really get familiar with the space. I would allow for live chat to make it more personal. I would allow each avatar to walk, run, sit, wave, laugh, clap, and make any type of gesture that one would make when meeting in an orientation and speaking with a new group of people. I would have avatars walk using the arrow keys because I personally thought it was cumbersome using the mouse pad to walk in avayalive. I would also only allow one person to speak at one time. All live communication would cease when someone was talking. It is very annoying to hear other people and having more than one person trying to talk at once.
I feel the most ideal learning event that would take advantage of a 3D environment would be something along the lines of a medical procedure. I would design it that you could have one person leading a walk-thru of the procedure, while others followed along with the steps on their own “subject” at the same time. You could split the screen to see the view of what you were working on and the other half could show the instructors view of what they were working on. I think this would be ideal by not allowing a real person to be harmed if there was a misstep in the procedure.
For me, the most ideal learning event:
Would be a web-based virtual classroom in a very simple user interface which lets you focus on your teaching – not the technology.
would easy-to-use tool works on any operating system, requires no installation or changes in the user’s system or training
would have any number of attendees, whether that’s just one student getting one-on-tutoring or 1000 people who want to hear your lecture!
would have facial expressions and hear multiple voices to understand students’ needs just as you would in a face-to-face classroom.
would have Text chat with your students right in the online classroom for effective real-time communication
Phebe