3D Online Learning Environments: From Game Technology to Serious Educational Applications

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3-D Online Learning Environments From Game
Technology to Serious Educational Applications
National Educational Computing Conference, 2006

• Greg Jones, PhD

http//courseweb.unt.edu/gjones
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Workshop Goals

• Explore and understand 3D online learning
  environments.
• Discuss the educational implications of this new
  technology.
• Examine the potential of games and simulations in
  education.

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Workshop Agenda

• Introduction
• Hands on
• 3D Online Learning Environments
• Break
• Educational Implications
• Games and Simulations
• The Future

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CRG 3D Online Learning Environments

• Start Client
• Login
• First Last Name (i.e. Greg Jones)
• Password is necc

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Basic Functionality

• Movement (arrow keys)
• Who (/who)
• Open Say (enter, type, enter)
• Audio (press and hold F12, then release)
• Teleport
• /goto yard, /goto outdoor1, /goto mus_room1
• Slideshow (example)

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Elements of a 3D OLE

• Space, Relationships, Presence
• Engaging, Interactive
• Immediacy, Feedback
• Multi-Modal
• Multi-Media
• Distributed Learning
• Bandwidth Efficient, Scaleable
• distributed computing, digital divide
• Cognitive Scaffolding

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Why is 3D more possible now?

• 1999 and 2000
• Consumer Computer Technology Plateau
• Barriers to Access begin to decline
• Internet common and affordable
• Personal Computer Performance
• 3D GPU in 80 of shipped units
• We have gone from 20,000 polygon displays in 1999
  to 3D scenes derived from 200million in 2004.
• Games and 3D graphics are the new literacy
  created by the availability of technology.

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From 1998 to 2005 Graphics
Excerpt from half-life2 demo.
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Virtual People in 2004 Graphics
Excerpt from half-life2 demo.
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Photorealistic 3D Environments
Excerpt from half-life2 demo.
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Graphics Engine 2004-05
Excerpts from UnrealEngine3 Halflfe 2.
306
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Current MMOG Examples

• World of WarCraft Example
• Elements
• Setting the Environment with Story
• The Questing concept of Games
• Questing as it relates to the quest for knowledge
• Personalization and Ownership
• Creating Community

http//www.worldofwarcraft.com
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MMOG Populations
http//www.mmogchart.com
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break

• Lets take a 15min break

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Entertainment Industry

• Is driving technology development
• In 2005, video game industry sales topped 7
  billion in the U.S.
• In 2004, more than 248 million computer and video
  games were sold, or almost two games for every
  household in America.
• Average Age is currently 33 years old
• This impacts
• Tools
• Available Talent from Industry and Schools
• Cost
• Technology

http//theesa.com
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Consumer Technology Lag
Introduction Widescale Adoption

• 1999 ? 2003-2004
• 3D Graphics Acceleration
• 50,000/- polygons
• 2002 ? 2006-2007
• Pixel and Vertex Shaders
• 500,000/- polygon
• 2004 ? 2008-2009?
• Normal Maps
• 1million polygons

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3D Platforms

• Personal Computer
• Mac, Windows, Linux, etc
• Current Platform for Education
• Console Games
• Now have keyboards, Internet, etc
• Closed Systems - Limits Access
• Handheld
• PSP
• Gameboy
• Closed Systems - Limits Access
• Cellphone
• 2006 phones are starting to support 3D graphics

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Old Barriers Gone, New Barriers Emerge

• Old Barriers
• Graphics Card
• Internet Access
• Computer Performance
• New Barriers
• Content
• Capture, Storage, Presentation
• Investment
• Few Standards and changing standards
• Content Creation Expensive
• Content Interoperability and Migration Issues

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Educational Examples

• UNT 3D OLE Lab and CRG
• UNT research
• Mars Environment
• 7-8 STEM Curriculum Guide - Univ of MT and NASA
• Educational Prototypes
• English, Special Education, Counseling
• ActiveWorlds
• Active Worlds Educational Universe
• Quest Atlantis (Univ. Indiana)
• http//atlantis.crlt.indiana.edu/
• RiverCity - Harvard/NSF - Chris Dede
• http//www.gse.harvard.edu/dedech/muvees/
• Second Life
• http//secondlife.com/

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English Writing Prototype

• Extend an existing online web-based course
• Peer Writing Exercises
• Textboard
• Mavis and Guru
• Famous Writers (science currently)

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My Current Research

• Based on Adoption Levels
• 1st Gen Education - extending web
• How can it improve Web based courses ?
• Outcomes, Attitudes, Satisfaction
• 2nd Gen Education - situated learning
• Impact of higher fidelity and feedback
• Transference
• 3rd Gen Education - learning worlds
• Scope of 3D environments

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Extending Web Delivery with 3D OLE

• Face-to-face and Web with 3D Environments are
  similar
• Spring 2004, Pre/Post Factor Analysis using the
  IITTL Instruments
• 12 sections of CECS 4100 (treatment 3 sections)
• Improved Discourse
• When the 3D environment is used to extend
  web-based courses, the discourse is improved
• Presence
• Students feel that 3D environment provides more
  presence than Web based communications to teacher
  and other students.
• Feedback mechanisms appear to be key for both
  student and instructor satisfaction

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Impact on E-mail based Discourse

• A comparison of similar courses between 2002 and
  2006 taught as web, blended, and online.

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A Few Lessons Learned During Course Deployment

• First time students take up to three sessions to
  complete exploration and playing with the system
  and are able to focus on the learning and
  discussion that is the basis of the current
  approach.
• Summer Courses (5wk) are too short to use with
  inexperienced students.
• No benefit is seen when the system is not used
  frequently enough (3 or less).
• The system can be used to provide the intro
  session successfully.
• Younger students get it quicker than older
  students. This is not related to prior gaming
  experience.

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Possibilities in the Classroom

• Multi-Student
• Single-Student

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Building or Moding

• The use of existing software to change into
  something else
• Never Winter Nights is a popular engine
• Revolution, MIT
• http//www.educationarcade.org
• Garage Games
• Torque Engine
• Xith
• Crystal Space
• jMonkey

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Interaction and Collaboration 3D

• Capture, Creation, and other means of creating
  Environments and Interaction will get cheaper and
  easier
• Current Web-browser design is not the solution
• Game Engines provide a partial solution, but they
  dont scale well.

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Scanning
http//www.3rdtech.com
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3rd Tech
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3rd Tech
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So -- where do we find ourselves?

• For wide scale deployment and adoption means
  using 1999-2002 technology
• Thus
• Low-Res environments (
• Limited texture buffer
• Limited data transfer between CPU and GPU
• However, this does not meet current needs
• Scans are creating millions of polys minimum
• Kids and young adults are expecting current
  graphic expectations

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The Potentials (Serious Games)

• I believe the real power of 3D online interfaces
  is in the creation of virtual spaces for
  interaction and collaboration.
• Training and Online Sync / Async Courses
• Situated Learning, Complex Systems, Community
• Museums
• Allows anyone to visit the museum
• Libraries
• Visual interface potential, Community
• Law Enforcement
• Simulate and Integrate Data
• Tourism
• Simulate

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The Future

• By 2006-2007 we should begin to see most users
  with pixel and vertex shaders
• More tools and open source scene renderers
• By 2008-2009 we should begin to see user with
  normal map capability
• Content creation will continue to get cheaper and
  simpler to use
• Interest in serious games will continue to grow
  and fund pilot-projects to show potential
• Additional research to support what works and
  what doesnt

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Contact Information

• Dr. Greg Jones
• Dept. of Technology and Cognition
• University of North Texas
• gjones _at_ unt.edu
• http// courseweb.unt.edu
• Created Realities Group
• http// created-realities.com