scholarly journals Disruption from the Virtual World

2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (11) ◽  
pp. 22-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed K. Noor
Keyword(s):  
New Product Development ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Workforce Training ◽  
Production Cycle ◽  
User Input ◽  
Engineering Teams ◽  
Simulated Environments ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Globally Distributed

This review discusses the concept of virtual world and its increasing implementation in the engineering domain. Current virtual worlds are computer-based simulated environments accessed by numerous users through an online interface. Virtual world applications cover a broad spectrum of activities. Globally distributed engineering teams can use virtual worlds as immersive and interactive platforms for concurrent product design, for virtual prototyping and manufacturing, and for workforce training. Virtual worlds are making a paradigm shift in new product development and are becoming an integral part of computer-aided engineering. Virtual worlds provide an opportunity for businesses to reduce production cycle time and increase user input earlier in the development process. NASA is using simulations of remote landscapes in virtual worlds to evaluate extra-terrestrial transportation options and operators. The review also highlights that virtual worlds have the potential of transforming the 2D Internet into a 360° multisensory 3D immersive experience, with all the richness, depth, and extendibility that it implies.

Pre-Service Teachers Designing Virtual World Learning Environments

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 16-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Jacka ◽  
Kate Booth
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning Environment ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Pre Service Teacher Education ◽  
The Voice ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

Integrating Information Technology Communications in the classroom has been an important part of pre-service teacher education for over a decade. The advent of virtual worlds provides the pre-service teacher with an opportunity to study teaching and learning in a highly immersive 3D computer based environment. Virtual worlds also provide a place in which pre-service teachers can design teaching and learning environments for their future students. The virtual world teaching and learning environments that pre-service teachers design can, in turn, inform established educators about how virtual world spaces can be well designed and contribute to research in the field of education in virtual worlds. The voice of one pre-service teacher and her tutor is presented as they discuss the design of a virtual world maths teaching and learning environment.

Students as Designers of Virtual World Learning Environments

2015 ◽  
pp. 46-65
Author(s):  
Lisa Jacka ◽  
Kate Booth
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
School Of Education ◽  
Design Project ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

Virtual worlds provide pre-service teachers with the opportunity to study teaching and learning in an immersive 3D computer based environment. The pre-service teacher is able to become a designer of learning environments in ways that were previously impossible in a traditional bricks and mortar classroom. The learning environment that pre-service teachers create can, in turn, inform established educators about the usefulness of virtual worlds for education. In the School of Education at Southern Cross University, Australia, pre-service teachers have been given the opportunity to design and build virtual world learning environments. This chapter presents the story of one pre-service teacher and her tutor as they discuss the design of a virtual world learning environment for maths. This particular design project resulted in virtual worlds being integrated across a number of pre-service teacher courses and extended into the K-6 classroom. An overview of these other projects is also presented.

Engaging Classes in a Virtual World

2013 ◽  
pp. 126-144
Author(s):  
Sue Gregory
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Educational Resource ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Simulated Environments ◽  
Observable Actions ◽  
Performance Perceptions

Virtual worlds, such as Second Life, are multi-user, interactive computer-simulated environments created for users to inhabit and interact via avatars, which are graphical representations of a person that can be personalised and used in the virtual world. In this research, 239 off-campus (distance) education students chose to attend weekly sessions in Second Life from 2008 to 2011. These sessions catered for a diverse group of students. It is internationally claimed that virtual worlds are engaging for distance education students. Engagement is the combination of student’s feelings, observable actions or performance, perceptions, and beliefs. This mixed-methods research sought to investigate whether virtual worlds were engaging for adult student learners. Recorded in-world (in the virtual world) conversations and the completion of a survey by university students provide data from which the findings are made. In-world discussion found that the virtual world, in this case Second Life, is an engaging environment in which to learn. These findings indicate the need for further research in using a virtual world as an educational resource.

Virtual Worlds and the 3-D Internet

2011 ◽  
pp. 1855-1879
Author(s):  
Carolyn McKinnell Jacobson
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
Educational Organizations ◽  
Immersive Environments ◽  
Simulated Environment ◽  
The Future ◽  
Computer Based

A virtual world is a computer-based simulated environment, usually modeled after the real world, accessed through an online interface, and inhabited by users in the form of avatars. The purpose of this chapter is to explore how these interactive, immersive environments are being used by a variety of organizations. Although various kinds of virtual worlds are introduced, this chapter focuses on the interactive 3-D virtual world of Second Life, describing its demographics and its features. Ways in which Second Life has been used by businesses, educational organizations, and political entities are then discussed. Legal issues associated with virtual worlds in general and Second Life in particular are raised. The chapter concludes with some ways this technology is expected to evolve in the future.

Virtual Worlds and the 3-D Internet

2010 ◽  
pp. 80-104
Author(s):  
Carolyn McKinnell Jacobson
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
Educational Organizations ◽  
Immersive Environments ◽  
Simulated Environment ◽  
The Future ◽  
Computer Based

A virtual world is a computer-based simulated environment, usually modeled after the real world, accessed through an online interface, and inhabited by users in the form of avatars. The purpose of this chapter is to explore how these interactive, immersive environments are being used by a variety of organizations. Although various kinds of virtual worlds are introduced, this chapter focuses on the interactive 3-D virtual world of Second Life, describing its demographics and its features. Ways in which Second Life has been used by businesses, educational organizations, and political entities are then discussed. Legal issues associated with virtual worlds in general and Second Life in particular are raised. The chapter concludes with some ways this technology is expected to evolve in the future.

Students as Designers of Virtual World Learning Environments

2018 ◽  
pp. 1697-1712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Jacka ◽  
Kate Booth
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
School Of Education ◽  
Design Project ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

Virtual worlds provide pre-service teachers with the opportunity to study teaching and learning in an immersive 3D computer based environment. The pre-service teacher is able to become a designer of learning environments in ways that were previously impossible in a traditional bricks and mortar classroom. The learning environment that pre-service teachers create can, in turn, inform established educators about the usefulness of virtual worlds for education. In the School of Education at Southern Cross University, Australia, pre-service teachers have been given the opportunity to design and build virtual world learning environments. This chapter presents the story of one pre-service teacher and her tutor as they discuss the design of a virtual world learning environment for maths. This particular design project resulted in virtual worlds being integrated across a number of pre-service teacher courses and extended into the K-6 classroom. An overview of these other projects is also presented.

scholarly journals Virtual World – Physical World: What is the Real World?

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 43-57
Author(s):  
Andries Du Plessis ◽  
Bernhardett Theron
Keyword(s):  
New Product Development ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
New Product ◽  
Physical World ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Potential Growth ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
Data Collection Approach

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential growth and use of Virtual World Technology. It is also concerned with the prospects for the routine use of Virtual Worlds in the workplace, the key aspects being the areas in which businesses are using Virtual World. The research design of this paper is descriptive. This research employs the multi-method data collection approach using surveys, where participants answered questions executed through interviews and questionnaires. The study is built on the combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis. All the respondents were familiar with the term Virtual World; and some with long tenures at their organisations, varying from 5 months to more than 22 years in the same field, provided valuable information. Virtual Worlds have created a new social and creative environment where new product development and virtual brands may be created. This paper points out directions, trends and provides indications that would form a sound basis for the necessary future research in Virtual Worlds. The findings of the study affirm that educational systems need to further progress and advance. Further value is that technologies that facilitate resources can be used effectively to promote lifelong learning, and support learner-centred approaches by being vastly available.

Facilitating 3D Virtual World Learning Environments Creation by Non-Technical End Users through Template-Based Virtual World Instantiation

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang Liu ◽  
Ying Zhong ◽  
Sertac Ozercan ◽  
Qing Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environments ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
End Users ◽  
Preliminary Evaluation ◽  
3D Design ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Functional Learning ◽  
Preliminary Experimental Data

This paper presents a template-based solution to overcome technical barriers non-technical computer end users face when developing functional learning environments in three-dimensional virtual worlds (3DVW). iVirtualWorld, a prototype of a platform-independent 3DVW creation tool that implements the proposed solution, facilitates 3DVW learning environment creation through semantics-based abstract 3DVW representation and template-based 3DVW instantiation. iVirtualWorld provides a wizard to guide the 3DVW creation process, and hide low-level programming and 3D design details through higher-level abstracts supported by pre-defined templates. Preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness of iVirtualWorld showed positive results. The contribution of this study is threefold: 1) It provides a paradigm for investigating and developing 3DVW building tools from end users’ perspective; 2) It develops a prototype of a 3DVW building tool, which gives educators a framework to easily create educational virtual worlds using domain-specific concepts; 3) It conducts empirical research and collected preliminary experimental data for evaluation.

Virtual Reality (VR) in Pediatrics: Innovative Perspectives With Special Reference To Clinical Applications and Pediatric Rehabilitation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Bittmann
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Mixed Reality ◽  
Clinical Applications ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Data Glove ◽  
Input Devices ◽  
Head Mounted Displays

Virtual reality (VR) is the term used to describe representation and perception in a computer-generated, virtual environment. The term was coined by author Damien Broderick in his 1982 novel “The Judas Mandala". The term "Mixed Reality" describes the mixing of virtual reality with pure reality. The term "hyper-reality" is also used. Immersion plays a major role here. Immersion describes the embedding of the user in the virtual world. A virtual world is considered plausible if the interaction is logical in itself. This interactivity creates the illusion that what seems to be happening is actually happening. A common problem with VR is "motion sickness." To create a sense of immersion, special output devices are needed to display virtual worlds. Here, "head-mounted displays", CAVE and shutter glasses are mainly used. Input devices are needed for interaction: 3D mouse, data glove, flystick as well as the omnidirectional treadmill, with which walking in virtual space is controlled by real walking movements, play a role here.

Live-action mass-casualty training and virtual world training

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 2103-2107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith T. Shubeck ◽  
Scotty D. Craig ◽  
Xiangen Hu
Keyword(s):  
Virtual World ◽  
Domain Knowledge ◽  
Mass Casualty ◽  
Learning Technologies ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Tutoring Systems ◽  
Aeromedical Evacuation ◽  
User Input ◽  
Live Action

Live-action training simulations with expert facilitators are considered by many to be the gold-standard in training environments. However, these training environments are expensive, provide many logistical challenges, and may not address the individual’s learning needs. Fortunately, advances in distance-based learning technologies have provided the foundation for inexpensive and effective learning environments that can simultaneously train and educate students on a much broader scale than live-action training environments. Specifically, intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) have been proven to be very effective in improving learning outcomes. The Virtual Civilian Aeromedical Evacuation Sustainment Training (VCAEST) interface takes advantage of both of these technologies by enhancing a virtual world with a web-based ITS, AutoTutor LITE (Learning in Interactive Training Environments). AutoTutor LITE acts as a facilitator in the virtual world by providing just-in-time feedback, presenting essential domain knowledge, and by utilizing tutoring dialogues that automatically assess user input. This paper will discuss the results of an experimental evaluation of the VCAEST environment compared to an expert-led live-action training simulation.

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