Virtual Learning Model for Metaverses P. D. Ariyadewa#1, W.V. Wathsala*2, V. Pradeepan#3, R.P.D.D.T. Perera#4, D.A.S. Atukorale #5 #
University of Colombo School of Computing No. 35, Reid Avenue, Colombo 007, Sri Lanka 1
[email protected] [email protected] 4
[email protected] 5
[email protected] 3
*
Lanka Software Foundation No. 35, Reid Avenue, Colombo 007, Sri Lanka 2
[email protected]
Abstract— Virtual learning environments have been increasingly utilized in the domain of eLearning recently. Virtual worlds such as SecondLife and OpenSimulator have opened up great opportunities in this front. The major issue with virtual worlds with respect to education is lack of models that consistently describe the entire learning process. Most of the prior work was focused on building tools to extend real world learning tasks to virtual worlds rather than building virtual world based learning models which consistently describe the virtual world based learning itself. The ongoing work presented here is focused on filling the void in virtual world based learning models.
implementation level is discussed and finally in section IV the future work is presented. II. VIRTUAL WORLD BASED MODEL The virtual world based model can be used as a set of guidelines when developing applications such as Second Life or OpenSimulator enabled VLEs. The model described here is a layered approach, where each concept is built up on one another and every concept is based on basic assumptions. Therefore, basic assumptions have to be discussed in the first place.
Keywords— VLE, Virtual Worlds, Learning Model
I. INTRODUCTION A Virtual Learning environment is a 3D hypothetical world hosted on the Internet where users can connect and interact with each other as well as with the object in it. During the past few years virtual worlds have become immensely popular to the point where it is being considered as an alternative VLE (Virtual Learning Environment). Most of the research that has been done to evaluate possibilities of virtual world based VLEs has been positive [1], [2]. All these attempts were focused on porting few of the real world learning scenarios such as organizing events [1], developing social skills, student commons, lecture halls [2] to experiment with virtual world based learning. In some works Second Life has also been connected to existing VLE such as Moodle [3]. However as of now no work has been done to identify a set of generalized guidelines or virtual world based learning models to describe the virtual world based learning process. Based on the prior works [1], [2], [3] which have identified virtual worlds as a viable learning environment, we try to build a complete model for virtual world based learning process. The learning model is an abstract which describes how learning process involves tasks and object is organized. The virtual world based learning model we arrive at several assumptions. The model we describe is based on these core assumptions. •
Virtual world learning model consists of three components – Content, Approach, Evaluation –
•
3D virtual learning environment cannot exist without traditional 2D virtual learning environments –
From here onwards the paper is organized as follows: in section II the two assumptions our model is based on are justified and the model is discussed in depth. In section III, the realization of the model with respect to the work carried out at
A. Justification for assumption The three components that build the 3D VLE is the foundation for carrying out the learning task. The content is the component which describes the learning materials such as 3D objects which is used to explain a subject. The approach is the way the teaching and learning is conducted. We believe that in different learning environments different approaches should be used. In real class room environments, chalk boards, projectors and lecturing sessions are used as an approach while 2D VLEs uses online presentations and videos for the same purpose. Similarly 3D VLEs have to facilitate new learning and teaching paradigms in order to exploit the possibilities of this new medium. Most of the works have tried to create real world lecture theatres in 3D VLEs [2] which we believe is not the only possible way to exploit the capabilities though such applications will definitely benefit the developing world to increase the number of student participants without limiting to available infrastructure. Evaluation component is another area where different learning environments use different approaches. In real world environments paper based tests and assignments are used, in 2D VLEs assignments, multiple choice questions picked at random from a question bank are used. Evaluation has to be different and a novel approach in the 3D VLE to justify its use in education. B. Justification for assumption The assumption says that 3D VLE requires a 2D VLE to get materialized. We arrive at this assumption due to one major reason. That is most of the records and content produced as outcomes of learning processes are kept in 2D VLE environments in the eLearning process. These materials include student records such as marks, question banks, readable (printable) materials such as book chapters etc. Therefore any 3D VLE requires interacting with a 2D VLE to take inputs and store outputs in the environment. Previous
work in this direction is described in [3] which describes integration of SecondLife and Moodle. C. Content development The content for a 3D VLE should be 3D objects. The goal is to create content that exploits the full potential and possibilities opened up by the newly added dimension. The concepts that are being described in 2D VLEs should be described in the 3D VLEs. Some of the concepts that exist in RLEs (Real Learning Environment) or 2D VLEs may not be demonstrated or materialized due to various reasons such as lack of infrastructure, the complexity of the concept, etc. The content designers should follow a creative path to create content in these environments. We introduce three categories of content models when considering 3D VLE content. 1) Physical World Models: Physical world models represent the objects found in RLEs such as buildings, theatres, libraries, projectors, displays, sandboxes etc. These can be used to deliver usual 2D VLE content like presentations, lecture videos. Sandboxes are areas where students are allowed to create their own objects related to their studies. 2) Extended World Models: This idea represents the fantasies and the intangible things that are realized only within the 3D VLE and remain as fantasies and intangibles in RLEs and 2D VLEs. Simulations of network protocols, nuclear chain reactions and structure of atoms to fairy tales are put under this category. 3) Sensory perceptions: Unlike in 2D VLEs in 3D VLEs sensory perceptions such as smell and tactile qualities can be presented visually using gestures and 3D animations. One example for this would be chemistry lab tests that use characteristic smell to identify product of chemical reactions, in this case each type of smell can be mapped to different gestures. It is up to the developer to find out novel and innovative ways to represent sensory perceptions in the added dimension. D. Approach for learning and teaching The approach for learning and teaching has to be different in this environment. Anything considered impractical or impossible in 2D VLEs or RLEs can be realized in a 3D VLE. One such example is experiencing shock waves sent by an explosion, diving and exploring an ocean or coral reef created by fractal geometry [4]. Education in this environment is a whole new open ended game where student will discover ambient knowledge embedded in the environment of his avatar in the 3D VLE. The learning process should be upgraded from listening and asking questions to crafting objects and creating events that will materialize the knowledge given to the students. 1) Ambient Knowledge:
We treat knowledge as an extraction of natural phenomena or something that has inspired by natural phenomena. The seeds of knowledge always have been around us in the nature, until some genius comes up and extract these seeds to harvest new knowledge or get inspired by it. The concept of ambient knowledge is to recreate this phenomenon within a 3D VLE. This should be done by converting learning objectives to its natural state and creating models of the nature that embed this knowledge and letting students find the knowledge embedded in their 3D environment. An example would be embedding soil erosion or water cycle in to the environment of a 3D VLE used by sixth or seventh grade students. Similarly such techniques can be used in teaching adults as well, so that concept will be understood comfortably and relatively speedy way. The goal is to support and encourage curiosity driven knowledge discovery based learning approach. 2) Personalized learning: In a 3D VLE the teacher should present himself as a participant in the learning in a broader way. Typically in RLEs teachers are people who deliver lectures and answer questions asked by students. In a 3D environment students will be able to visit a teacher or an instructor and ask questions when they encounter problems within the learning environments. For an instance if students were asked to build a simulation of a certain data communication protocol in the sandbox area and encountered a problem they may get help from the instructor who is interacting with students then and there. The other advantage of this concept is that knowledge can be transferred from the instructor to student according to the performance level of the student. Therefore the instructor will be able to share her time between students from different classes and levels. 3) Collaborative Learning: Collaborative learning is considered as an essential part in RLEs and 2D VLEs. In a virtual world it is possible to communicate and interact with a group more effectively and efficiently by voice, gestures and through objects in addition to text and graphics available in 2D VLEs. Interaction through objects can easily take place in a sandbox area where students can engage in crafting new objects collaboratively. In many existing metaverses it is also possible to transfer objects (copy) from one person to another, a mechanism which could come in handy when exchanging knowledge through examples. 4) Parallel learning: This is an approach to extend RLE learning approach to 3D VLE. In this approach whatever exist in the RLE exist in the 3D VLE in a time synced fashion. An ideal example would be a lecture delivered parallel in both RLE and 3D VLE, the goal is to increase the number of
student participants in a lecture. Specially if the RLE infrastructure is insufficient and learning has to be extended to the Internet enabled remote parts this method can be used. E. Evaluation Evaluation through tests and assignments is a crucial part in the learning process. A 3D VLE is no exception; however as in the earlier sections to justify the use of a 3D environment the power of the added dimension has to be exploited by the developers. To conduct evaluations traditional 2D VLEs and RLE techniques can be combined with the 3D environments. 1) Hybrid evaluation methods: The assignments carried out in a 3D VLE are crafting subject related matter or creating events that demonstrate the knowledge acquired by the student at the end of a particular course. Objects crafted by students can be transferred to a 2D VLE or to an instructors’ office in the 3D VLE. Conventional question bank based evaluations can also be carried out in novel ways to present questions. 2) New learning measurements: Crafting of objects is a novel way of evaluating students; this could be an ideal method to increase the creativity of students by allowing them to express themselves in novel ways by exploiting the new dimension added to the learning experience. This is an ideal way to measure competence in engineering and design classes. The evaluation is done on the knowledge used, quality of implementation and creativity. However to achieve this level the instructors too have to be creative to pose questions in more creative ways so that answers to their questions can end up in novel and creative objects demonstrating the knowledge gathered by students. At the same time learning approach has to be followed in a way that will build an inductive environment for creativity and self expressionism. F. Connecting to the 2D VLE Connecting to 2D VLEs is a requirement due to the assumption which was previously justified. Most popular 2D VLEs used today are web based software that can be used to authenticate students, deliver course materials, conduct online tests and deliver/submit assignments. Such web based systems are quite useful when interfacing with various web services through service oriented architecture (SOA) which has become popular. Therefore to integrate internet wide systems it is best to integrate 3D VLEs with 2D VLEs. The integration can also be used to draw a line between content representation and description. Under this scheme content can be described uniformly irrespective of the learning environments’ dimensionality. Such content has a mutable dimensionality and renders itself accordingly in each environment. A good example would be a recipe describing steps required to make a cake. In 2D VLE this will be rendered as a numbered set of steps each step given in a single sentence
and a picture to detail it, but in a 3D VLE this will turn in to a 3D rendition by spreading a set a jars and utensils on a table displaying each step after another on the avatars’ HUD (Heads Up Display) as he completes each step. A graphical illustration of the model discussed in this section is illustrated by the Fig. 1. It is up to the developers to decide which part of the model they need in their system and develop it accordingly. III. IMPLEMENTATION DETAILS Primary objective of this section is to detail on implementation of a 3D VLE that fits the model described in the previous section. At University of Colombo School of Computing a 3D VLE test bed has been deployed using OpenSimulator as the metaverse. The system implements several of the key components in the model. The reason for selection of OpensSimulator as the metaverse is that it is an open – source software compatible with widely adopted SecondLife viewer. OpenSimulator is also capable of connecting to a grid of OpenSimulator servers which will become the key when connecting schools, universities, government and the industry irrespective of their physical location and the level of interaction. Such integration would build a large connected educational community from various backgrounds creating novel opportunities for learners and educators. 1) Integration with a 2D VLE (Moodle) Connecting to a 2D VLE is at the core of the model, this has been done by integrating OpenSimulator with Moodle. The required functionality was partially available with a project called Sloodle[3] and was used in this project. Sloodle provides facility of sending content between OpenSimulator and Moodle which is depicted in Fig. 2. Sloodle is extended in this work to create user accounts automatically in OpenSimulator when accounts are created in Moodle.
Fig. 1 Graphical representation of the Virtual Learning Model for Metaverses
world which falls under the content category of extended physical world in the model as depicted in Fig. 4. A tangible sensor network has been proposed as an implementation of extended physical world content category.
Fig. 2 Submitting assignments using Sloodle
2) Content that falls in to physical world, extended world categories (No sensory perceptions as of now)
3) Parallel learning approach and personalized learning approach Parallel learning system is developed to synchronously deliver a lecture in parallel in both real world lecture theatre and virtual world lecture theatre. Students can join the virtual environment (especially those who are located remotely) to experience the lecture in realtime. The avatar of the lecturer is present in the 3D VLE, his voice is streamed in to the 3D VLE, his presentation is displayed on the 3D VLE slide board in sync with the real presentation and students from both worlds are allowed to ask questions. Implementation of this facility is shown in Fig. 5. Education is quite personalized with an instructor logged into the virtual world and helping the students at work in the sandbox. The sandbox area is used simultaneously by students of all levels and students can learn at their phase.
Fig. 3 A lecture theatre
Fig. 5 A virtual lecture theatre that can be synchronized with a real lecture theatre
4) Hybrid evaluation methods At the moment a hybrid evaluation method is in effect. Students can do assignments within the 3D VLE and submit it to the teacher’s office located in the 3D VLE. The teacher will evaluate the assignment and enter marks within the 3D VLE and marks with end up in students profile stored in Moodle. Fig. 4 Visualization of a sorting algorithm
The land used in OpenSimulator is developed with lecture theatres, libraries, student commons and sandboxes which fall in to the physical world content category in the model (a lecture theatre is shown in Fig. 3). Several sorting algorithms has been developed to demonstrate sorting process using 3D representations of objects of the real
IV. CONCLUSIONS We believe that our model can describe the virtual 3D learning environment in a consistent way irrespective of the underlying technology used. The work done at UCSC 3D VLE test bed will realize the model completely in the future and with the availability of performance statistics it will be possible to evaluate the correctness of the model and fine tune it as required.
V. ACKNOWLEDGMENT Authors thank the NeLC (National e – Learning Center) for funding this project and staff of NOC (Network Operating Center) of University of Colombo School of Computing for supporting the project with infrastructure. REFERENCES [1] [2]
[3] [4]
Ken Haycock, Jeremy W. Kemp, Immersive Learning Environments in Parallel Universe: Learning through Second Life, Vol.14, School Libraries Worldwide, 2008. John Wiecha1, Robin Heyden, Elliot Sterntha, Mario Merialdi, Learning in a Virtual World: Experience with Using Second Life for Medical Education, Vol.12, Journal of Medical Internet Research, 1982. Daniel Livingstone, Jeremy Kemp, Integrating web-based and 3D learning Environments: second life meets moodle, Vol. 9, European Journal for the Informatics Professional, 2008. Herzfeld, U. C., I. I. Kim, J. A. Orcutt, C. G. Fox, Fractal geometry and seafloor topography: Theoretical concepts versus data analysis for the Juan de Fuca Ridge and the EAst Pacific Rise, Vol. 11, Ann. Geophys, 1993.
