Virtual Reality
A TWC project
Virtual Worlds
Simulation Virtual Reality for virtual worlds in different aspects
Open worlds of endless possibility provide schools and organisations with novel methods of teaching and convening.
Games such as Secondlife and more recently Opensim allow the users or groups of users to create and experience anything that they can imagine (there are no rules set up by the game, only be the people playing it.) This has been utilised by organisations such as IBM, Sony BMG and around 300 universities just to name a few. The freedom and the connectivity that virtual worlds provide allow for users anywhere to meet “face-to-face” and can make for a more immersive experience.
Meetings and conferences can be held in virtual worlds, helping to facilitate distance learning and communication. Users will interact with each other using computer generated avatars. For instance, if one user is typing out a message, that person’s avatar would create a typing motion with their hands, informing whoever is in that person’s company that he has something to say. Apart from just conducting their classes in a replica of a classroom, virtual worlds provide for creating entire worlds dedicated to aiding the learning or business process. Within these worlds, ideas can be actively drawn on to flowcharts in real-time, visualisations no longer have to be limited to imagining it in one’s mind as the 3d visualisation of the object can be made right during the meeting!
Gregory and Masters (2010), 2 instructors at the University of New England, Armidale, had conducted research to test the effectiveness of Virtual Worlds for teaching. Their study found that students who had used the virtual world, Second Life as a learning tool tended to perform better than their counterparts who used other methods of learning such as the school’s learning management system. Students cited the added personal touch that the avatars presented gave them the perception that they were actually there. adding to the suspension of disbelief.
Video 6. Raytheon Delivers Virtual Training in Second Life for NOAA.
Reproduced from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuR2xeIcnFM&feature=youtu.be
Video 5. Education in Second Life.
Reproduced from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R1SrZua5ww&feature=youtu.be