Felicia Beard

INDT 501

9/20/2010

Immersion Worlds

21st Century Education is drastically evolving, using many different types of

technological advances. We currently live in the digital age that is very diverse, globalized, and

media saturated. Immersion Worlds (3D Worlds, Virtual Reality Worlds) are examples of how

technology has changed and now being integrated into the learning environment. According to

Wikipedia, immersion is the state of consciousness where an immersant’s awareness of physical

self is diminished or lost by being surrounded in an engrossing total environment; often artificial.

There are hundreds of virtual worlds and in mainstream society, millions of subscribers who

access these worlds. People log onto virtual world not only for gaming use, but other

communication purposes such as chat rooms, being in one place at the same time, common

interest locations and so much more. Specifically, in education, Immersion Worlds, help

facilitate the learning environment with a wide range of opportunity. Students can build self-

worlds, complete educational task, and learn about teamwork and strategy.

Focusing on how to use virtual worlds in the classroom, I wanted to research and locate

worlds that were appropriate for classroom use and could promote learning on topics mainly

discussed in school, such as math, literature, science, and history. I had a hard time finding actual

worlds; most worlds were for entertainment purposes or for adults. I visited a website called

Quest Atlantis. According to the project director, Sasha Barab, Quest Atlantis is an international

learning and teaching project that uses a 3D multi-user environment to immerse children, ages 9-

15, in educational task. Quest Atlantis combines strategies used in the commercial gaming

environment with lessons from educational research on learning and motivation. It allows users

to travel to virtual places and perform educational activities (known as Quests), talk with other

users and mentors, and build virtual personae.

The image below shows a virtual hub or chat room that has a group of students logged in

at the same time. Just like most immersion worlds, students can create and personalize their own

avatar and teleport from one quest to another. I wanted to try the quest myself, but I

had to subscribe and be excepted. Quest Atlantis videos can be viewed on you tube, and I had the

chance to view several. In particular, I viewed Quest Atlantis-Getting Started tutorial and Quest

Atlantis Line Dance video put together by a group of students

The second immersion world I had the chance to explore was through the popular Second

Life website. Like Quest Atlantis, in Second Life, you have to create an avatar to fit your profile

and explore different islands. I did get the chance to download the Second Life program and I

was able to explore the functions of the program. At first it was a bit confusing, comparing my

experience to the videos I watched. The videos made it seem very easy to create avatars and

create scenes that reflected an imaginative world. I was very hard for me to create an avatar and

navigate my way through the program. I did find out that you could literally buy items with real

money. This was a turn off because once I finally got comfortable with the program. I had to

purchase clothes and land to go beyond the getting started phase.

I wanted to explore Second Life more and research how it could be implemented into the

classroom, similar to Quest Atlantis. Second Life is mainly for the mainstream population and

not solely centered on the educational process. Second Life is a good opportunity for students to

immerse themselves into the virtual reality world and have a realistic experience in real world

events. Loyalist College in Canada set up a Second Life world simulation-training program for it

students in training to be US-Canadian border guards. This program was designed in Second Life

tailing closely to professional border guards to experience the daily routine of their future job.

Second Life offered the students a hands-on

experience that was more realistic than doing

classroom scenarios. For example, students

were able to practice riding across the border

as civilians, while others played the role of

border agents validating identification against

records and conducting interviews. Second

Life was programmed to generate

information

for the guard booths. From that, students were

able to experience real world issues that may

arise at the borders.

Immersion worlds correlate with many

learning theories including, Active Learning,

Cognitive Load Theory, Scaffolding, Zone of

Proximal Development, and social

constructivism. Immersion learning provides

students with the ability to use virtual worlds,

simulations, technologies and activities that

supports communication. This enables learners

to be immersed in their learning experience.

References

Immersion (virtual reality). (2010 , September 10). Retrieved September 13, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immersion_(virtual_reality)

Immersive Education. (2010). Retrieved September 13, 2010, from Education.Au http://www.educationau.edu.au/immersive-learning#3D

Virtual World Simulation Training Prepares. (2009). Retrieved September 13, 2010, from http://secondlifegrid.net.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/Second_Life_Case_Loyalist_EN.pdf