finding the balance between pedagogy and technology

John LesterChief Learning Officer

ReactionGrid Inc.

Experiential Learning in Virtual WorldsMarch 22-24, 2014Prague, Czech Republic

Finding the Balance between Pedagogy and Technology

These Slides (with Hyperlinks)

bit.ly/johnlesterprague2014

Topics for Discussion

3 Key Technologies:

Unity3DOpenSimulator

WebGL / HTML5

3 Key Technological Affordances:

Unity3D --- Professional game-design toolsOpenSimulator --- In-situ content creation using atomistic tools

WebGL / HTML5 --- Plugin-free functionality

Explore how these affordances map to different pedagogical goals.

Unity3D

Professional Game-Design Tools

- www.unity3d.com

- Developer tool (Unity Editor)

- Free vs pro

- embed in any webpage (with Unity plugin)

- Industry standards (Javascript, C#, Boo, Mesh)

- Ability to create highly interactive experiences

- ReactionGrid’s Jibe Platform - Template for Unity3D

Unity3D - Jibe Platform

- Multiuser

- All content development done using Unity3D Editor

- Backend database for user info and behavior tracking

- Hosted or self-hosted

- Create highly interactive and malleable worlds

Unity3D - Jibe Platform

- American Sentinel University

- Malleable urban environment for testing observational skills

Unity3D - Jibe Platform

- Storefronts can change

- Mixing physical world images with models

Unity3D - Jibe Platform

- City changes based on user’s actions

- Tired of graffiti? Contact City Hall.

Unity3D - Jibe Platform

- Hunting for clues

- Seductive detail

OpenSimulator

In-situ content creation using atomistic tools

- www.opensimulator.org

- Create complex content using basic building blocks (geometric primitives or “prims”)

- Content creation happens live within a published world

- Can also use mesh models

- Can export primitive-based models as mesh

- Connect worlds via the Hypergrid

OpenSimulator

- Power of collaborative building

- Ability to observe construction as it happens

OpenSimulator

- Open Source

- Hosted or Self-hosting

WebGL / HTML5

Plugin-free functionality

- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebGL

- No plugins. Period.

- WebGL = JavaScript API for rendering graphics

- Unity version 5 will support creating WebGL environments

- www.chromeexperiments.com

WebGL / HTML5

- www.graffitigeneral.com

- Beautiful example of completely contextual content

Street Art - Montreal

Magasins Généraux - France

WebGL / HTML5

- Can add user-generated content (graffiti)

- Live demo

Thank You

Slides: bit.ly/johnlesterprague2014 Contact: about.me/pathfinder