Exploring Some Technology Trends
Reading through the 2010 Horizon Report, I learned about a few things I wasn’t too familiar with. I first heard about augmented reality a couple years ago from this article in THE Journal:...
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Considering Virtual Worlds
I don’t know why some teachers take exception to calling virtual worlds “games.” Every time I’ve referred to Second Life as a “game” on Twitter, I receive a flurry of replies insisting “Second Life is...
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Review of “Learning Online with Games, Simulations, and Virtual Worlds”
Learning Online with Games, Simulations, and Virtual Worlds: Strategies for Online Instruction is a book by Clark Aldrich, an educational game consultant, which explains the benefits of different types...
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Virtual Worlds and Game-Based Learning Activities
This past week I was wrapping up a draft of a synthesis paper about constructivist learning theory and its application to educational simulations and virtual worlds. I imagine there’s nothing new about...
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Sculpties and Meshes in Second Life and OpenSim
Imagine a drafting class. Students are designing buildings in AutoCAD, laying out blueprints, and modeling the architectures. The teacher then tells everyone, “Okay, now add your buildings to the...
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Social Presence and Immersive Environments
Virtual worlds are considered immersive environments, and as such, it’s not unexpected that the element of social presence plays a rather important role. Virtual worlds have an advantage over...
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Geo Quest
Here’s a simple “culture quest” for Geo Island, a region in Second Life dedicated to the study of geology. Interactive models, slideshows, and informational posters are available to guide students...
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Making a Better World Through Games
Gamer on the verge of an epic win In February 2010, Jane McGonigal gave a TED Talk on how gaming is not only a prominent feature of modern society, but an absolutely essential one. She cites statistics...
View ArticleOpenSim and Moodle: Creating Enhanced Learning Spaces
Using OpenSim virtual world software and the Moodle LMS system, you can enhance standard course offerings. This video example show how lessons become learning spaces, objects interaction with users and...
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Undersea Observatory for OpenSim
I’m close to finishing an underwater simulation in OpenSim to help teach students about marine biology. I’ve been working on it for a couple weeks now, and it’s been interesting and fun to create. In...
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Thoughts on Student Safety and Using OpenSim for Education
OpenSim is making headway as a viable alternative to Second Life. About 98% of the functionality of Second Life is present in OpenSim. The remaining 2% primarily deals with vehicle physics. Although it...
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Undersea Observatory Available for Download and Featured at VWBPE
Version 0.9 of my Undersea Observatory for OpenSim is available for download. It’s available as a standalone OAR, which can be imported into your own OpenSim server, or another OpenSim host like...
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A Virtual Aquarius Reef Base?
I’ve started a second OpenSim project, but I’m still thinking about how I can expand the Undersea Observatory sim. Spending time building this sim has really caused me to consider how worthwhile an...
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