A Quick Look at Two 3D Learning Worlds
It is interesting that with all the attention on the Facebook purchase of Oculus Rift, the virtual reality goggles that immerse the learner in a 3D world, people have forgotten about the continued work on building and creating 3D virtual world platforms for learning, collaboration and teamwork.
Well two companies that I have worked with are continuing to be pioneers in the area of virtual 3D worlds. And recently, within two days of one another, I received some great videos from each of the companies.
From Immersive Learning I received a link to this great video about health and safety on an oil rig. I recently wrote a whitepaper for them describing how they are helping people learn new languages through their immersive 3D platform. Enjoyable and practical way to learn a new language. You can download the whitepaper here. Check out the video, I think it is a great example of how 3D virtual worlds can be used for learning.
Health & safety scenario-based training by Immerse Learning from Immerse Learning on Vimeo.
I also received a link from my long time colleague Ron Burns. A few years ago I wrote a whitepaper for ProtonMedia called Collaboration Advantages of 3-D Virtual Immersive Environments and Ron and the folks at ProtonMedia haven’t stopped innovating and have moved the 3D virtual world learning space light years ahead since that whitepaper.
So, here is a sneak peek and tour of the ProtoSphere environment, the new interface, and some of the beautiful spaces being created with the improved dynamic lighting, shadows, and normal mapping that the game engine is capable of. You can also see the 3D object management tools that will provide people with flexibility to create custom spaces and artwork in ProtoSphere. I think the world looks great, what a wonderful learning space.
Check it out.
Posted in: 3D worlds, 3D worlds lrn3d
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Great examples Karl, Like you, I am a strong advocate for these virtual experiences to facilitate a more engaging, immersive experience. But, with all the empirical evidence coming out stating the effectiveness of these type experiences, they still don’t seem to be proliferating in any great number in comparison to the obvious interest in industry publications and the general media. While I understand that the current economy is a factor, and maybe I’m not seeing all that is out there and making a false assumption, but I know at least in my military training environment, there are so many great opportunities being lost due to the hesitancy to use these approaches, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to understand when there is so much evidence that provides ample proof that this technology works, and works well. I know there’s no simple answer, and I’ve decided to make this specific topic the focus of my dissertation. For there must be better ways to convey to leadership and management that are the decision makers that there is more of an ROI on these approaches than they realize, even if the initial costs may be more than the e-learning efforts they may be creating now.