Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
ScienceDirect Procedia Computer Science 65 (2015) 259 – 268
Building Technology and Science Experiences in 3D Virtual World Maria Aristeidoua1, Natalia Spyropouloub a
The Open University,Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK76AA, U.K. b Hellenic Open University, Patra 26224, Greece.
Abstract Technology and science experiences play a fundamental role in a society of constant changes and the seemingly endless streams of easily accessible information. Because of this, adult continuous education has arisen as a means of enhancing the understanding of current social, scientific and technological challenges. The “Technology and Science Experiences virtual scenarios” project aims to engage adults in collaborative learning within Second Life, supplying them with learning resources, sources of expertise and flexible, levelled, engaging activities. The potential of Second Life in education is being explored alongside the creation and implementation of a virtual scenario case study entitled “The solar system”. 2015The TheAuthors. Authors. Published Elsevier © 2015 © Published by by Elsevier B.V.B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license Peer-review under responsibility of Universal Society for Applied Research. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of Universal Society for Applied Research Keywords: 3D Virtual Worlds; Second Life; Technology and Science Experiences Virtual Scenarios (TSEvs); Adult Education; Engagement with Science; Scientific Literacy; Computer Literacy.
1. Introduction In a world of overwhelming access to information, many citizens leave school without the appropriate science and technology knowledge and skills, rendering their critical approach towards the tons of information infeasible and shutting them out of the scientific and technical workforce [1]. This production of illiterate citizens along with constant developments in science and technology lead to the need of a further continuous education [2] and forms the ground for this study. The purpose of this research is to support adults on building further technology and science experiences and alongside it is an opportunity for a further exploration of the potential of Second Life (SL) in education. In the context of this effort, adults will engage with collaborative science and technology activities within the 3D Virtual World (VW) Second Life, experience simulated phenomena, and obtain access to expertise and a learning community. The Technology and Science Experiences Virtual Scenarios (TSEvs) is a work in progress project and this report focuses mainly on its educational aspect and principles. This paper is divided into five main sections: the introduction, the TSEvs chapter, the methods, the TSEvs case study and finally the discussion. This introductory section provides a brief review of the literature on the scientific and technological literacy, the principles of adult education principles and the 3D VW Second Life.
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* Corresponding author. Tel.: +44-744-9786209 E-mail address:
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1877-0509 © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of Universal Society for Applied Research doi:10.1016/j.procs.2015.09.075
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2. Background 2.1 Scientific and technological literacy In 2014, the outcomes of the Public Attitudes to Science survey reveal that although citizens recognise the benefits from involvement in science and technology, they experience difficulties in gaining information and developing understanding [3]. Similarly, the National Research Council lays stress upon the low rates of scientific civic literacy in the United States [4]. The e-skills manifesto [5], likewise, raises a concern about the constantly unfilled IT vacancies and the lack of e-skilled citizens in Europe. The definition of Scientific Civic Literacy was first developed by Miller [1] and includes the understanding of important scientific concepts, the process of scientific inquiry, the regular information consumption, and the attitude towards a more active engagement if considered necessary; whereas being computer literate includes the ability of utilizing computers and technology efficiently and varies in many levels, from using computer programs and applications, to programming. Based on these definitions, a question worth considering is whether we can aim towards a more active engagement with science while nurturing technological experienced citizens. In formal education, students cannot connect science with their everyday life and lose interest in the subject [4] and this fact results to many graduates leaving school without the science knowledge that could transform them into informed citizens and induct them into the scientific and technical workforce [1]. However, further education, beyond school and higher education is considered essential for all the members of the public. Squire and Patterson [2] identify that is not viable for school and university to transmit all the essential science knowledge and thus, people require continuous attention and understanding of scientific discoveries in order to understand and respond to the current social, scientific and technological challenges. 2.2 Adult education The practice by which adults engage with new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values is established with the term “Adult Education” [6] and the learners can be called lifelong learners. Adult education assumes that the learners choose the content and the manner by which they learn, based on their needs, and they are responsible for their learning. Therefore, the context they choose to learn in can be formal, non formal or informal [7]. The education institutions with credentials, like schools and universities, represent the formal context, while the ones without credentials (e.g. museums) belong to the non-formal context of learning. Informal education, on the other hand, is an ongoing learning from everyday activities related to the environment of the adult (family, community, work, leisure, etc.) [8]. Adult education or Lifelong learning combines all of the three learning contexts [9]. Nonetheless, adults education, can be challenging as it has to be designed to offer increased incentives for adult training, choices for specific target groups, access to information from learning services, career and education guidance, innovative ways of information outreach and delivery, and expert educators [10]. UNESCO [11] defends that every person should have the opportunity and ability to learn throughout life depending on the particular individual and professional needs; the use of technology is considered a significant means for accomplishing this ongoing learning. An environment that provides many opportunities for personalized learning experience is the rich immersive VW Second Life [12]. As a consequence of the SL involvement in the learning science, a number of studies on educational practices in 3D Virtual Worlds and especially in lifelong learning have been developed[13][14][15]. 2.3 3D Virtual World: Second Life 3D VW is a virtual environment, which allows users to be represented in a virtual space, as a 3D character called “avatar”. Virtual environment is a proxy for the real world, allowing users to inhabit personas (avatars) and experience situations that might not be available to them otherwise. This sense of presence [16] is considered as a big advantage
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in adopting them in education, along with the increased social awareness and communication [12], the easy-accessed collaboration at a distance [17] and the activation of constructivist and situated learning [18]. In addition to the above, a study on Lifelong learning (age 65+) showed that SL as a doable tool even for senior adult education [14]. Most VW come with various features. Typically, however, the majority of them provide three main components: the illusion of 3D space, avatars that serve as the visual representation of users and an interactive chat environment for users to communicate with each other [19]. SL is one of the most commonly used 3D VWs, where users can connect to SL through the SL Viewer. Choosing their own avatar, users can explore virtual environments, meet and communicate with other users, participate in individual and group activities and travel across the globe. Additionally, users have the opportunity to buy and create their own virtual property and other items and services. Since SL lacks of a defined goal, or rules, users use it as they wish. So far, SL has been used by academics for educational purposes such as field trips, problem-based learning, group discussions, design teamwork and virtual laboratories. SWIFT project is an example of a virtual genetics laboratory, by which the students at the University of Leicester are expected to learn about the safety rules in the laboratory and use virtual equipment such as microscopes and centrifuges [20]. Beyond the academic use, there are many ways one can use SL for learning purposes [21]; as you navigate in the SL, there are art galleries, museums, virtual exhibitions, simulations of medical wards, law courtrooms, etc. [22]. A resident in SL can attend one of the numerous free and open network communities and collaborations, influenced by his personal or professional preferences [23]. In addition to that, one can create their own object, generate information that they have expertise on, share and transmit them freely within their community and create an inquiry environment. This free sharing increases the collaboration and the reciprocity between the residents of SL, and thereafter the quality and quantity of the available resources. As a consequence of the abovementioned activities in SL by formal or non-formal education institutes and people, a number of educational resources have been gathered within SL, providing sources of free knowledge both to educators and learners. At the same time, SL provides a place for authentic inquiry [24] and may also cause spontaneous formation of social networks, supplying the educators and learners with a range of tools and the motivation to keep on their 3D virtual science and technology investigation. 2. Technology and Science Experiences Virtual Scenario (TSEvs) in Second Life A virtual learning scenario harnesses the potential of such 3D VW and provides learning trails to the adult learners. Furthermore, VW are suggested to offer significant opportunities to expand the scientific literacy of the people [5]. Simulations and activities created within SL may help in enhancing the scientific literacy and promote the jointly constructed understandings of the world. The simulations can be used as substitutes of "real" situations, when these situations are difficult to be created in real life again, such as the motion of the planets or the description of the heart function or brain in the human body [25] [26]. In addition to that, SL provides role playing [27] [28] [29] by which learners can get engaged with the role of a scientist or technician and get encouraged to identify with science. TSEvs lies on the principles of social constructionism and its aim is to facilitate learners reflect on technology and science as a way of knowing, and thus develop in a collaborative way their technology and science process skills. The learners, therefore, are prompted to build up skills such as: observation, exploration, prediction, test and manipulation and finally end up understanding the nature of science, the processes, the concepts , the institutions of science [2], and finally reflect on their technology and science learning. The learning goals of such an informal learning context can be co-constructed between the learners and the designers [2] whereas the learning outcomes for each learner can differ through their collective participation [30]. The main aspects and principles of a TSEvs orchestration are determined as described below:
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● SL difficulty level: The SL skills of the learners vary and thus they have to choose a scenario that on the one hand its completion is feasible, but on the other hand it also provides additional skills. There are scenarios of four difficulty levels and the required and targeted SL skills of each scenario are recorded in the outline of the TSEvs. This study expands on the SL skills and thus focuses on the SL difficulty level. ● Scientific field: The adult learners should be able to choose the scientific field of their liking, identifying their scientific literacy gaps and their preferences. Similarly, they should decide which aspect of science they would like to improve at a time (e.g. science processes, science concepts, etc.) and how much time they can spend. The TSEvs input proforma facilitates the choice and returns the results of the available desired scenarios for the learners to join. ● Scaffolding and collaboration: SL offers various tools that assist the scaffolding of the participants, ranging from notecards to virtual agents. The scenarios are created by field experts and SL experts. However, the learners are able to create or join groups, share roles and abilities within their groups, and exchange notices and messages31. Furthermore, they can communicate with people outside their group through the chat. ● Activities: The activities are being built based on the difficulty level and the scientific field. The low level activities aim to familiarize the learners with SL and the tools giving them small tasks and activities that focus to a steadily increasing engagement. The beginner level learners are always accompanied by SL experts. In the intermediate level, the collaboration with other participants is being included in the activities and it targets to the visit, observation and exploration of the SL learning venues and events (museums, planetariums, virtual laboratories, etc.). The advanced level includes creation, exchange and manipulation of objects and discussion on their tests and predictions. The medium and advanced level require the presence of a field expert, such as the scenario instructor, the virtual laboratory creator, etc. The expert level requires participants to set up their own questions and use a list of suggested tools and resources to conduct their own investigation. An expert can then become a member of the scaffolding team. ● TSEvs resources: SL accommodates a wide range of destinations which can be used for educational purposes. Apart from the educational places it also offers simulations which help learners to develop understanding of scientific phenomena [32] as they interact with presentations of processes that would otherwise be invisible, and engages students in inquiry [2]. For the collection of the “bank of destinations”, educational places were selected based on the list of the proposed educational places by SL, and several other noticeable places and simulations that one can find by searching the SL Destination Guide. Main concern was to reuse free virtual places in SL, in order to reduce the time and cost of creating and preparing new ones. ● Support in specialized activities: Special tools were used aiming to facilitate the organization, the efficiency and the effectiveness of the use in SL. The tool used is called SLOODLE (Simulation Linked Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) and it allows integration of Moodle into SL. The combination of these two provides specific tools in SL to support specialized activities [33] and the possibility of a properly designed site that supports the distribution of interactive digital educational content, communication and interaction between the learners - with the use of their avatars [34]. ● Reputation Tables: Once the learners finish a scenario, a tick appears next to it. The gained skills from each scenario are summed up and added to their personal skills account. The dashboard also provides a central reputation table with all the members and their skills, categorizing them as beginners, intermediates, advanced and experts motivating them to achieve more. The experts take administration positions, they are appointed as helpers and they have the opportunity to be part of the scenarios instruction and support.
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3. Method This section describes and discusses the methods used in this investigation, the TSEvs scenarios in SL, from the recruitment of experts to the recruitment of the final participants and end-users. 3.1 Recruiting the experts The project starts with invitations to SL experts and advanced users, who will be able to give feedback to the beginner participants. The invitations are sent to SL communities related with education. At the same time, experts from different scientific fields, such as astronomy, geology, meteorology, etc. are being recruited. The invitations to the science experts can be sent to scientific societies such as astronomy clubs, meteorological and geological societies, and to university science departments. 3.2 SL difficulty levels The participants on the platform are not expected to possess identical SL skills, and thus the activities have to be separated in difficulty levels. The activities are separated in four SL difficulty levels: ● Beginners: The beginners first have to download the SL application and then create an account. The first steps of the scenario help them learn how to get oriented on the island and control their movements with the keyboard. Part of the training is also the familiarization with the menus and the customization of their avatars. A last but not least skill is how to use the chat, so that they can proceed to the next level which includes interaction with other people. ● Intermediates: The intermediates learn how to express themselves through the chat, make gestures and animations, use the notecards, make friends, join groups, and exchange instant messages with the other avatars – members of a group. Beyond their induction into a group and a community, they also learn how to teleport. Having these two main skills, they are able to visit places of science interest, observe and discuss about them with their group, and take notes on the notecards. ● Advanced: The participants of this level stop being consumers and start producing their own objects. Thus, the activities focus on how to create and manipulate an object, which is going to be used for simulating a real object or phenomenon. ● Experts: The experts are no more dependent on the scenarios. They have to propose their own scenarios in order to conclude to an answer for a question they have. 3.3 Adjustment of the required scientific skills with the activities Having separated the SL activities and SL skills into difficulty levels, the next step is to create a “bank of science skills”. Each one of the skills should be available to one or more SL difficulty levels. For example, the skill area of information retrieval should be available in all the difficulty levels whereas expressing ideas is not available at the beginners’ level and the experimentation/creation of tools is only available to the two higher difficulty levels. However, the same scientific skills can get shaped to fit into the appropriate SL difficulty level. For example, the beginners may retrieve information from outside SL until they get familiarized with it, and the intermediates can make use of the notecards and collect information from their visit to a place. 3.4 Second Life Resources Turning now to the learning content, each one of the activity should contain resources that facilitate the learning experience in the VW. The resources are divided into inside and outside the SL. Inside ones, include resources which
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can be found in planetariums, libraries, museums, etc. Hence, the TSEvs leads the learners to the resources, giving them instructions on how will get there and what they are looking for. The resources can be events dedicated to something specific (e.g. the Philae landing video or a seminar about the decline of bumblebees) or a virtual classroom delivering a course (e.g. vaccinations). An important factor of using these resources is a creation of a bank with their links – the abovementioned bank of destinations – available to the learners. Outside the SL, the educational resources consist mostly of documents/tutorials on how to navigate to SL and follow the TSEvs. 3.5 Scaffolding Each one of the activities is accompanied by instructions for the learner in notecards. Therefore, they will be able to know what the learning goal of the activity is, which resources they have to use, where and how they can find them, and what they are expected to do for the completion of the activity. An exception in this scaffolding technique is the beginner level; the learners are supported by documents/tutorials outside SL, but they also have a SL expert observing and giving them direct feedback. 3.6 Orchestrating the activities in a TSEvs - proforma What follows the separation of the activities in SL difficulty levels, scientific skills and SL resources, is their orchestration into an integrated scenario. The learners prior to their engagement complete a proforma (Fig. 1) in which they have to add their SL skills, their preferred gained scientific skills and the science field they want to learn more about. The combination of those will retrieve a scenario, choosing activities from the related “bank of activities” that serves the learning of the selected scientific skills within an appropriate environment for the SL skills of the learner. The assessment of their acquisitions is based on the activities they have had during their scenario.
Fig. 1. TSEvs proforma
3.7 Dashboard The preparation of the TSEvs leads to the creation of the dashboard by which the learners will have access to their scenario. The Moodle site, which has been used for the dashboard, provides profiles for the learners, SL tutorials and instructions to the beginners, the wizard guide to the scenarios (proforma), the link for the reputation table, and a forum for those who want to discuss, exchange and propose ideas about the scenarios. For user management SLOODLE extension will be used, where the SL user account is linked with their Moodle account. 3.8 Pilot the TSEvs The above research will be first tested with volunteer participants for a period of three months. The participants, SL and Science experts and non-experts will have to test the software, the scenarios and the quality of the resources
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and finally give their feedback for any changes needed to be made. The feedback of the pilot will inform the re-design of the scenarios. 3.9 Recruiting participants Finally, some advertisements will be released for the recruitment of the participants and the distribution of the TSEvs. The targeted places of the advertisement announcements include Social Networks (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc.), Science Education/Communication/Engagement communities, University Science departments and clubs related to a specific scientific field – amateur astronomy clubs, meteorological society, etc. 4. TSEvs: “The solar system” – Case Study In this section a case study based on the aforementioned method is described. 4.1. TSEvs Description The case study entitled “The Solar System” is addressed to advanced SL difficulty skills learners, who are invited to participate in interactive activities and learn about astronomy. The scenario is descripted below (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2. “The Solar System” Scenario Description
4.2. Activities Before starting the educational activities, learners need to enroll the course on the Moodle platform where all the necessary instructions are given. Learners are informed how to teleport within SL and where they can find the TSEvs they want to attend. 4.2.1 Manage groups - Communicate: Collaboration The first activity is about communication and collaboration inside the SL. New learners are invited to join the SL Group “TSEvs” (Fig. 3). After that, learners are separated into smaller teams with the help of an SL expert; they have to create new SL groups, share the administrator and the roles of the members, and learn how to communicate through messages and chats inside their groups. Throughout this activity, learners are guided by notecards and tutorials, such as the wiki help of SL. The main objective of the group creation and management is to familiarise learners with the notions of group collaboration and communication, which are required for the next activities.
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Fig. 3. Student avatar interacts with SL virtual object
4.2.2 Visiting planetarium: exploration, observation The second activity is about exploration and observation in a virtual planetarium. The learners undertake the role of the investigator and teleport to the virtual planetarium location that the TSEvs activity had provided them. Their main task there is to explore the virtual solar system and learn about its planets (Fig 4). This activity is an individual one and therefore there is flexibility for its completion. Advanced learners have the required skills to navigate and explore the virtual planetarium; however, notecards with tips are given aiming to guide learners on how to explore hidden virtual objects. Additional useful resources are also given inside the notecards.
Fig. 4. Virtual Planetarium in SL
4.2.3 Creating objects: Collaboration, inquiry, resources, experimentation In this activity, learners create their own virtual objects in collaboration with the other members of their group. Following the TSEvs, the learners are invited to create an object that represents a planet of the solar system. Inside the virtual object they have to put notecards or scripts which present details about the features of the planets and why human is able or not to live in that planet. Learners have to collaborate with each other, discuss their findings through group chats and build an integrated solar system simulation together. In every group there is a SL expert member attending as the observer and coordinator of the activity process. 4.3. Assessment The assessment activities within TSEvs are designed aiming the self-assessment and group-assessment of the learners upon their SL skills enhancement. 4.3.1 Object Competition [skills] During this activity, learners have the opportunity to see the object creation of other groups. They have to view, and explore the simulations, and read the information added. The groups give feedback to other groups through group messages, and with the guidance of the SL expert, they vote for the best virtual creation based on a) the building skills b) the planet information which is included in the notecard.
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4.3.2 Quiz [knowledge] Quiz questions are designed with the use of Moodle Quiz module in order to store the results in the Moodle database. The questions selection includes multiple choices which are connected to the virtual classroom quizzes objects. Learners based on the TSEvs are asked to answer individually two different quizzes. The subjects of the questions are the SL aspects, the solar system structure and the other planets of the solar system. For each wrong answer, feedback is displayed on the quiz. 4.3.3 Reflection At the end of the activity a discussion is carried out with the participation of all groups. The discussion topic is to answer questions and provide general conclusions through the learners’ responses and involvement. Finally, learners are asked to write comments about their experience on a notecard and to stick it to the pin board in SL (Fig. 6).
Fig. 6. Learners stick on the pin board their comments
5. Conclusions Having described an example of a TSEvs, we have to acknowledge some of the implications within this research concerning the limitations regarding the human and technology resources, the difficulty in managing the learners and the time duration, and last but not least the time and effort needed for the preparation. Liability issues are still a matter of concern in terms of education in virtual worlds. In SL, for example, a private space can be purchased and be limited to authorized users, however, there is no control in the public areas. In addition, there are many outstanding legal issues surrounding virtual violence, virtual assault, and sexual harassment in virtual worlds, which should be taken into consideration during the design of educational programs in virtual worlds. Yet, this research lies on the initial stages and there are still a number of factors that should be taken into consideration. However, SL demonstrates increased motivation and active participation which constitutes a significant criterion for using it in Lifelong learning. Furthermore, the potential of SL in education is currently being explored and new opportunities are being discovered which may be able to improve the TSEvs and lead them to new, more efficient directions. References [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
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