Jeremy Bailenson from the Virtual Human Interaction Lab (Stanford) talks at the Berkman Center about how the use of avatars fundamentally alters communication styles both in virtual and real world settings. (Includes video and slides)
Virtual Education Oasis... humm? Where do you think we will be in 2044?
Author Ernest Cline, is interviewed about his novel Ready Player One, where "schools are built like palaces on the violence-free planet Ludus, and students take daytrips through both the Louvre and the human heart. These are but some of the benefits offered by the OASIS, a massive, multiplayer online game where most people in 2044 choose to spend their existence, away from the troubles of the real world. The OASIS combines the scope of a galaxy with the immersion of the Matrix; it is a near-perfect virtual reality."
Somewhere deep down in my rational brain, I knew the hole wasn't real - that it was a virtual reality scenario in a cramped office at Stanford University, where the floor seemed completely pit-free until I put on a clunky piece of hardware called a "headmount."
But that headmount changed everything.
After Second Life took the world by storm in 2005 and 2006, introducing many to a 3D environment in which they could create nearly anything they wanted, there hasn't been a major next step forward.
One could argue that virtual worlds have even taken a technological step backward, as most of the energy in the space these days is being put into building 2D Flash worlds for kids, or Facebook games played by the masses. It's big business, but hardly cutting edge.
The biggest danger at the moment for those who want to see rich, 3D virtual worlds take off right away is the massive popularity of social networks like Facebook and Twitter.