Virtual Worlds

1. Virtual Worlds The use of immersive virtual environments to engage and motivate in military training Peggy Kenyon EDUC 8823-001

2. Virtual world – a definition Game vs. virtual world Game A game is an artificially constructed, competitive activity with a specific goal, a set of rules and constraints that is located in a specific context (Hays, 2005). Virtual World A virtual world is a computer-based simulated environment intended for its users to inhabit and interact via avatars. These avatars are usually depicted as textual, two-dimensional, or three-dimensional graphical representations, although other forms are possible (Biocca, 1995)

3. Background Computer-based simulated environments have been used to immerse learners for many years. With Web 2.0 technology, a new immersive experience is available to learners via the Virtual World. Within this virtual world, users inhabit the character of an avatar and move about the simulated environment, interact with each other, even purchase virtual goods and services. The avatars are represented as two-dimensional or three-dimensions and some forms allow for auditory and touch sensations.

4. Background cont’d With the virtual world the computer presents stimuli to the user who manipulates elements of the world. All scenes, buildings, terrain, and textures are modeled after the real world. Some virtual worlds convey fantasy scenes and characters. Virtual worlds can be used for gaming, but can also be used to host conferencing and text based chat rooms.

5. Proposal 1 – Establish an Army Island in Second Life for public outreach/recruiting. Proposal 2 – Protected virtual world in Active World for collaboration, training and education. Establish initial capability for the Virtual Army Warrior University with partner schools. Proposal 3 – Use a virtual world environment for Future Soldier Training Program (FSTP) recruiter-recruit interactions for retention and training. Proposal 4 – Use a virtual world environment for academic collaboration between Army and interagency partners Army proposals

6. Review of current research According to de Freitas and Griffiths (2007), with the increasing research in the use of online games there has been interest in their use for training and education. Their use for engaging users at remote locations has proven successful in early research. The military has begun using multiplayer gaming to support collaborative learning events (p.535). “there is more than anecdotal evidence that gaming can support intrinsic motivation and so help to engage learners and collaborative processes” (p.537). The collective effects of the mediated experience will have far-reaching results. As learners become more sensitized to this virtual experience, it can cause changes to the way an individual perceives self, especially in young children. This exposure to a mediated world may cause changes in the way an individual relates to the real world. “One effect of this cultivation, called resonance, occurs when a group of people has an experience in both their media and real worlds: real-life experience is amplified because it resonates with the mediated one, even for virtual worlds, thus shaping one’s world view” (Calvert, 2002b, as cited in Dodge, Barab, Stuckey, Warren, Heiselt, & Stein, p.229).

7. Review of current research According to de Freitas and Griffiths (2007), with the increasing research in the use of online games there has been interest in their use for training and education. Their use for engaging users at remote locations has proven successful in early research. The military has begun using multiplayer gaming to support collaborative learning events (p.535). “there is more than anecdotal evidence that gaming can support intrinsic motivation and so help to engage learners and collaborative processes” (p.537). The collective effects of the mediated experience will have far-reaching results. As learners become more sensitized to this virtual experience, it can cause changes to the way an individual perceives self, especially in young children. This exposure to a mediated world may cause changes in the way an individual relates to the real world. “One effect of this cultivation, called resonance, occurs when a group of people has an experience in both their media and real worlds: real-life experience is amplified because it resonates with the mediated one, even for virtual worlds, thus shaping one’s world view” (Calvert, 2002b, as cited in Dodge, Barab, Stuckey, Warren, Heiselt, & Stein, p.229).

8. Review of current research cont’d Antonacci and Modress (2008), noted the increase in the use of virtual world technology in training and learning. The researchers wrote, “…these virtual worlds allow the users to create their own world and interact with it and with other users in it, rather than simply interacting with an existing, pre-programmed world” (p.116). The use of virtual worlds is consistent with the constructivist approach to learning by allowing the learner to construct knowledge as they move through the world actively solving problems (p.116). In a real sense virtual worlds are the newest iteration of a community of practice. A community that offers a social network of people who come together to share ideas, problems, passions, solutions, and just to commune (Wegner 2005, as cited in Diehl & Prins, 2008 p. 105).

9. learning in three dimensions O'Driscoll (2007, March 22) describes the 7 Sensibilities that Differentiate Virtual Social Worlds from other interactive media and makes the argument that these sensibilities provide us with unprecedented freedom to create true experiential learning opportunities Click screen to play

10. Conclusion Walczak (2002) notes the “Physical” experience increases retention, balances the psychological with the intellectual, and brings tangibility to ever-increasing virtual worlds” (p.Walczak/5). With more research on the experiential treatment of learning in a virtual world, the military may at last find a safe and cost effective environment in which to train.

11. references Antonacci, D.M. & Modress, N. (2008). Envisioning the educational possibilities of user-created virtual worlds. AACE Journal, 16(2), 115-126. Biocca, Frank (1995), Communication in the Age of Virtual Reality, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Calvert, S. L. (2002b). The social impact of virtual reality. In Dodge, T., Barab, S., Stuckey, B., Warren, S., Heiselt, C., & Stein, R. (2008). Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 19(2), 225-249. de Freitas, S., & Griffiths, M., (2007). Online gaming as an educational tool in learning and training, British Journal of Educational Technology, 38(3), 535–537. Diehl, W. & Prins, E., (2008). Unintended outcomes in second life: Intercultural literacy and cultural identity in a virtual world, Language and Intercultural Communication. 8(2), 101-118. Dodge, T., Barab, S., Stuckey, B., Warren, S., Heiselt, C., & Stein, R. (2008). Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 19(2), 225-249. Klabbers, J. H. G. (2003). The Gaming Landscape: A Taxonomy for Classifying Games and Simulations. Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA). Utrecht University, The Netherlands. Retrieved 23 June 2007 from http://www.digra.org/dl/db/05163.55012.pdf O'Driscoll, T., (2007, March 22). Virtual social worlds and the future of learning [Video file]. Video posted to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2jY4UkPbAc Walczak, D. (2002). Encompassing education, pp. 60-64, In Department of Commerce. (2003). Visions 2020: Transforming education and training through advanced technologies. Government Report. Available at: http://www.technology.gov/reports/TechPolicy/2020Visions.pdf