3D Virtual Learning Environments Research Articles

Lessons learned from a pandemic influenza triage exercise in a 3D interactive multiuser virtual learning environment—Play2Train

Practicing drills and exercises to improve individual and team performance in real physical hospital settings often requires lockdown of the healthcare center, and effects on real patients are unpredictable. A virtual triage exercise was developed around a pandemic influenza scenario and was carried out in a 3D interactive virtual environment. Without putting real patients or participants at risk, the environment allowed geographically dispersed first responders and hospital staff to practice their roles in a common setting. The results showed that the exercise produced perceived improvements in preparedness competencies and team interactions.

A working successor of learning management systems: SLOODLE

Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) have been used in education for a number of years to deliver and manage electronic learning sources. Learning Management systems (LMS), also known as VLE, have lots of functions in the process of learning activities as well as the course administration and tracking, but they still have some limitations which decrease the effectiveness of learning. With their functions of giving the opportunity of involving in the process of constructing meaning from experiences to students, 3D virtual environments have emerged to remediate such LMS problems. SLOODLE is a dynamic learning environment which links 3D virtual environment, Second Life, to an open source LMS, MOODLE(). The aim of this study is to outline weaknesses of traditional LMSs and explore the features of 3D virtual learning environment, SLOODLE, as a potential solution.

Addressing Animal Health Knowledge Gaps in Southern Countries: The Creation of a 2D Animal Health Resource Room

AbstractLivestock are a key asset for the global poor. However, access to relevant information is a critical issue for both livestock development practitioners and the poor themselves. Therefore, the following paper details the creation of an on‐line Animal Health Resource Room. The aim was to create an immersive environment, which mimics the benefits of a 3D Virtual Learning Environment without the constraints on download times. Therefore, in the following paper key issues in the dissemination of such a platform such as connectivity and speed are explored within the wider context of the development of the tool itself.

3D virtual learning in counselor education: Using Second Life in counselor skill development

This article will present the process and the curricular and pedagogical lessons learned from adding a 3D virtual learning environment to an online course in a distance and hybrid education master’s degree program. Based on student surveys, course evaluations, and faculty interviews, the author will summarize attitudes and expectations from the varied stakeholders and offer practical recommendations on the design and delivery of an effective virtual world learning environment in an online course.
 
 The author is involved in developing 3D virtual learning environments and integrating their use in graduate level counseling courses in traditional, blended, and online master’s programs. In the fall of 2007, the author began the process of incorporating the virtual world Second Life into an online counseling skills and techniques course in the Human Services Counseling Program at Regent University. The course objectives consisted of teaching graduate level students expertise such as clinical counseling skills and techniques. One of the critical competencies, the student’s ability to demonstrate the basic counseling skills needed to be an effective counselor including attending, listening, empathy, warmth, and respect, was very difficult to teach and evaluate from a distance. In the past, program instructors have taught online and blended courses with the asynchronous learning environment Blackboard and the synchronous technologies, Skype and Instant Messenger. With the use of new learning environments, such as 3D virtual learning environments, the author hoped to provide the instructors and students with an environment more conducive to developing effective counseling skills. The author implemented the virtual learning environment – a simulated counseling facility and tested the virtual counseling facility’s use as an innovative learning environment for simulation of student counseling sessions. This article will discuss the author’s personal experiences as well as the empirical research collected during this case study. Given the potential for significant growth in the use of virtual learning objects, this article should provide useful information for instructors and administrators considering virtual environments as a means of teaching practical skills at a distance in online programs.

A Art Café: A 3D Virtual Learning Environment for Art Education

(2008). A Art Cafe: A 3D Virtual Learning Environment for Art Education. Art Education: Vol. 61, No. 6, pp. 48-54.

From Multi-User Virtual Environment to 3D Virtual Learning Environment

While digital virtual worlds have been used in education for a number of years, advances in the capabilities and spread of technology have fed a recent boom in interest in massively multi-user 3D virtual worlds for entertainment, and this in turn has led to a surge of interest in their educational applications. In this paper we briefly review the use of virtual worlds for education, from informal learning to formal instruction, and consider what is required to turn a virtual world from a Multi-User Virtual Environment into a fully fledged 3D Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). In this we focus on the development of Sloodle – a system which integrates the popular 3D virtual world of Second Life with the open-source VLE Moodle. Our intent is not simply to provide additional learning support features for Second Life, but to study more generally the ways in which integrated virtual environments can benefit teaching and learning, and this is the focus of our closing discussion. Keywords: Multi-User Virtual Environments; Virtual Learning Environments; gamebased learning; Second Life; Immersive Virtual Worlds DOI: 10.1080/09687760802526707

From Multi-User Virtual Environment to 3D Virtual Learning Environment

While digital virtual worlds have been used in education for a number of years, advances in the capabilities and spread of technology have fed a recent boom in interest in massively multi-user 3D virtual worlds for entertainment, and this in turn has led to a surge of interest in their educational applications. In this paper we briefly review the use of virtual worlds for education, from informal learning to formal instruction, and consider what is required to turn a virtual world from a Multi-User Virtual Environment into a fully fledged 3D Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). In this we focus on the development of Sloodle – a system which integrates the popular 3D virtual world of Second Life with the open-source VLE Moodle. Our intent is not simply to provide additional learning support features for Second Life, but to study more generally the ways in which integrated virtual environments can benefit teaching and learning, and this is the focus of our closing discussion.Keywords: Multi-User Virtual Environments; Virtual Learning Environments; gamebased learning; Second Life; Immersive Virtual WorldsDOI: 10.1080/09687760802526707

COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IN A 3D VIRTUAL PLACE: INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF PLACE IN A VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

This paper reports on an exploratory study of the role of placeand evidence of its effect on the activities, discourse, and learningof design students in a 3D virtual learning environment thatencourages collaboration and constructivism.

Web3D technologies in learning, education and training: Motivations, issues, opportunities

Web3D open standards allow the delivery of interactive 3D virtual learning environments through the Internet, reaching potentially large numbers of learners worldwide, at any time. This paper introduces the educational use of virtual reality based on Web3D technologies. After briefly presenting the main Web3D technologies, we summarize the pedagogical basis that motivate their exploitation in the context of education and highlight their interesting features. We outline the main positive and negative results obtained so far, and point out some of the current research directions.