Formal EducationStrategic Use in Virtual Worlds

Bobby0323, Murtek, Niccrhod, & Techbyte

Concept

Virtual worlds provide an optimal environment to host formal education.  The formal education build illustrates several possibilities of strategic usage in a  virtual world.  

Contributing Factors of Emergence

• Fixed Synthetic vs Co-created Environmento The learning centers will incorporate both

• Community of Playo Avatars will engage in play while at the centers

• Social Construction of Identityo Avatars will have the chance to place their name at the centers 

• Intersubjective Flowo The centers will be challenging, but allow avatars to immerse 

• Productive Playo Avatars will learn as they engage in play 

• Porous Magic Circleso Multiple circles of avatars will contribute 

Pearce, C. (2009). Communities of play: Emergent cultures of multiplayer games and virtual worlds. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. 

 

Flow

• Allows the avatar to easily learn the area• Intuitive experience to understand the area• Lose track of time• Enjoy exploring and productive play• Referenced from Dr. Cooper's presentation &

dissertation 

 Design Studio - Design Build Process

Broad concept of learning innovation

Better define concept

Preliminary design model

Prototype design build & assess tradeoffs

Final build

Concerns &objectives

Constraints

Fine tune

Design StudioProof of concept

Design Studio Framework

Explore Imagine Create

The Journey (Explore, Imagine, & Create)

• Benchmarks• Breakthroughs• Setbacks• Triumphs• Lessons learned• Advice

 

Explore

• We met in SL to explore regions involving formal educationo ISTE (International Society of Technology for

Education)o The Techo The Tech 2o STEM islando several other others

• Collaborated on the presentation in Google Docs• Shared our ideas for expanding our learning centers• Discussed design constructs

 

Explore & Feedback

• Learning centers• Comfortable• Flow• Easy of use• Understandable

Imagine

• We each took a learning center• The learning centers tie into one another• Each learning center represents a different aspect of

formal education and blends components together• We collaborated together to share experiences, builds,

scripts, and ideas– I found the collaboration aspect most useful, because it allows

others to share their ideas.  

Imagine & Feedback

• 1 floor changed to a floor per center• Each floor has integrated centers• The first floor flows better• Avatars receive note cards explaining the build

throughout the design• Avatars can interact with several displays• Avatars can receive gifts

 

Create

• Designing floor layouts• Teleport scripts to move between floors• Redesign and improved flow of the turnstile doors• Multiple stations at each center to interact with• Survey scripts and scripts to interact with nearby avatars• Create objects from prims and learn the art of building• Add media to prims• Configured web 2.0 tools to work within SL

 

Create & Feedback

• Avatars receive a note card of learning center highlights• Greeters at the information desks• Greeters greet the nearby avatars in the chat window• Gifts are added for visiting avatars• Avatars receive note cards and urls as they pass by areas,

lounges, and stations• Improved the “feel” of the learning centers to improve

comfort• Added more web 2.0 options

 

Results

• Formal education focal point highlighting several learning centers that offer great opportunities in a virtual world through strategic use

• An example of formal education illustrating contributing factors of emergence and flow theory

• A formal education focal point build created using the design build process following the design studio framework

 

Lessons Learned

• Building, scripting, communicating, and collaborating in a virtual world

• Design build process and design studio framework• Planning and designing is an iterative process• Emergence factors and flow theory• Integrative conceptual flow model (Hoffman & Novak,

2009)• New methodology of design thought process• Introduction to a whole new world

 

Conclusion

• Action Plan– Continue the iterative process to refine– Rez the centers, so I can take the design with me for continued

refinement and discussion– Continue the design studio framework thought process– Continue to add more centers

• Future Prospective– Rez the centers– Create portable learning centers– Continue research and possible publish on the portable

learning center topic after my dissertation