Group items tagged

Immersive and embodiment tendancies. Who immerses? This article mentions research that begins to paint a picture of personalities more likely to immerse.

Edtech in 3D group notes: Site Description: Visitors experience the exhibit through the mind of a schizophrenic. Overall impressions: This was a fairly intense exhibit in some ways. But, the virtual world made it possible to learn and experience the subject matter in a very interesting way. We had a more emotional reaction to the experience than could have otherwise occurred, due to the immersion level involved. How learning is taking place: The schizophrenia exhibit immerses the visitor in an experience that would be difficult to reproduce in the real world. Visitors hear audio clips playing throughout the exhibit that show what it is like to suffer from schizophrenia, and shares examples of people who have suffered from this disease. It is an intense exhibit, and it is very effective at teaching about schizophrenia. Likes: The warnings are a good idea, and the badge system (while cumbersome) keeps people from accidentally entering the exhibit. The audio that accompanies the experience is very effective. In this case, expectations were not clearly defined up front, which made it more effective. The impact of the exhibit could have been diminished by telling visitors too much about what they were about to experience. Dislikes: The exhibit required a badging system to enter, and the process of gaining access was a little confusing. It was difficult to take a picture, because the visuals aren't very sophisticated. However, the experience may have been too intense if the visuals had been more in-depth. Applications to learning in virtual worlds: The immersion that occurred in this exhibit was very effective, and we feel that this type of learning could be used in other learning applications.

Kitely Presentation for Immersive Courseware  60 minutes

It appears that Edusim may be a partial solution to giving elementary students access to a somewhat virtual world. This is an "immersive-touch" product that works with an interactive whiteboard allowing students to interact with and build in the environment. I created an account a year ago and had no motivation to learn about it until I took this ET 700 class. Now I am eager to figure out how to use it in my classroom. Using this technique, a class can have a hands-on virtual field trip, interactive story telling, or show a process in a 3D immersive way. For more explanation:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVFsxev-2sk Edusim alpha 11:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f53LzbK3alw I am going to download this and try it out. Let me know if you have any experience with this product.

Excellent immersive experience recreating a slave's experience of the Middle Passage.   Note NEW correct location:  secondlife://SolipCISM/217/246/22

Edtech in 3D group notes: Site Description: Imperial College's virtual hospital where professionals can train and rehearse and patients can learn about healthcare facilities and procedures that they might need to use. Overall impressions: We were immediately impressed with the Medical School. The grounds were beautiful, and the buildings were designed with learning in mind. We liked the patient rooms, and the introductory podcast was a useful start to the experience. Unlike Vassar Island, we felt that we wanted to spend more time in this location - and we were left with a desire to return and learn more. How learning is taking place: Tour guides give visitors a wide range of ways to discover the island. Visitors can visit patients and learn about various medical conditions. From what we could see, lectures and demonstrations are also a large part of learning at the medical school. Likes: We liked the podcast that started playing as soon as we arrived. There were numerous tours and visitor aids, making it easy to get started. We also liked the immediate access to information. This set expectations up front, helping us to enjoy the experience. Dislikes: Because the island is full of information and is very immersive, the user has to go through several layers (tours, walking around, searching) to get to things. Applications to learning in virtual worlds: The patient rooms take advantage of the virtual world to create an experience that can't easily be created in the real world. They are a great example of how Second Life allows deeper learning than can be found by simply reading a book or listening to a lecture - without endangering an actual patient. Other learning experiences could apply this same tactic to become more immersive.

The Virtual Worlds Story Project (TVWSP) utilizes "Questing" to develop interactive, immersive, and educational journeys designed to explore specific ideas/themes, teach vital 21st century learning skills, and generate Narrative Synergy™ through story.    The goal of every Quest is to help each individual experience and express his or her Narrative Thread™ - that special spark of spirit that makes each of us unique.  Once identified and articulated, these threads or "strands of story" form the warp and weave of larger communities of practice*.

Quest Atlantis (QA) is an international learning and teaching project that uses a 3D multi-user environment to immerse children, ages 9-16, in educational tasks. QA combines strategies used in the commercial gaming environment with lessons from educational research on learning and motivation. Participation in this game is designed to enhance the lives of children while helping them grow into knowledgeable, responsible, and empathetic adults. Does this interest you? They offer extensive educator training and support. Really an exemplary project. HIGHLY recommended.

Annenberg Media provides wonderful resources for teachers of almost any discipline from kindergarten though college. I use the American Passages series in my American Literature classes. Students can watch brief videos, which really bring content to life, but what is great is that Annenberg includes so much more than just videos -- discussion questions, other links to more information, glossaries of key terms, project and essay ideas. The drawback is the passive nature of the site. Students watch videos; they don't create them or edit them. The activities surrounding the videos incoporate reading, writing, and possibly discussing, but these approaches in isolation, as we have seen, do not always provide the most immersive or effective learning experience.

Port Charles is one island among many in the region of Jabberwock in SecondLife. The islands are set in the 1700's in British colonial Jamaica, where the Royal Navy is battling with pirates. This island is British territory, but others are trading outposts controlled by pirates or smugglers dens that reminded me of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. This is a role playing environment with fairly strict rules for battle, speech, and dress. After spending some time here I learned about the politics between the British and pirates, and how people dressed.

Ning groups and forums for SL - some examples of how to implement in the classroom.

The Literature Alive! group creates immersive and interactive literary locations in SL. The maze-like dungeon of this address, for example, has the visitor explore archetypal literary themes. I think upper middle schoolers and high school students would enjoy this adventure. The note cards and objects contain instructions, quizzes and information. Passage through the mazes requires answering quiz questions. Comparisons to modern literature and movies keeps the content relevant. You can also discover links to additional websites about the topic and teaching literature. Here is a link to the Literature Alive blog: http://literaturealive.blogspot.com/ and wiki: http://literaturealive.wikispaces.com/

Make a point of checking out Rich White's Greenbush Labs blog for some fascinating and relevant ideas. See the augmented reality ZooBooks-http://bit.ly/9pUQNt, the 3D desktop, Bumptop, and Google 3D map view http://roots.greenbush.us/?p=924.

Second Life interactive game - good ideas for game-based interactions