Benefits vs. Weaknesses & Countermeasures

• Focus on the Strengths of SL!
• Use SL for its strengths and avoid things that are best done face-to-face in real life such as class lectures and exams.

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Viewer Selection

• We need to unify Second Life Viewer
• Use SL for its strengths and avoid things that are best done face-to-face in real life such as class lectures and exams.

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Virtual World Unique Benefits

1. Presentation and discussion interactively and remotely
2. Visualize contents and contexts in 3D space/ Autonomous develop. world
3. Multi-sensing immersive experiences
4. Discovery learning by collaboration
5. Special training and experiment
6. Social skill challenge
7. Person to person communication under less stress circumstance

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for detail

Virtual World Unique Benefits

• Remote meetings without any limitation by specific host
• Joy of forming own ideas in autonomously developing world
• Quest & discovery with someone in multi-sensing 3D geospace
• Special training and experiment

• Face to face communication under less stress circumstance
• Social skill challenge via Avatars

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Benefits

A. Lecture, presentation and

discussion interactively by

remote access

(Small lectures, Review sessions, Student

slide presentations, Small group discussions,

Student-teacher conferences)

• Voice and visual communication in online distance learning.
• Synchronicity and Interactivity between Teacher and students
• Capability for remote, real-time communication among multiple users.

Weakness - Common

Technical Issues for Meetings

• PC/ Internet requirement
• Limitation of multi-account
• Limitation of avatars per region
• Lack of support for teachers

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• See Technical Tutorials
• Network of volunteer technical supporters
• Avoid massive education

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Benefits

B. Visualize contents and contexts

in 3D space

• Visualize own idea by oneself using in-situ building tools, fruitful marketplace and curating in open space. Even people who can't use professional software can enjoy building under existence of admirers.
• Visualization reduce barriers due to languages, cultures and disciplines and induces cross-disciplinary collaboration.
• Interactive by Touch, Sit, Zoom, Scripting and Multimedia (Textures, Web, YouTube). Inexpensive way for interactive exhibits compared with real world.

Weakness - Common

Technical Issues for Builds

• Necessity of various skills for building and scripting.⇒Technical Tutorials
• Limited number of builders who have incentives for education.
• Network of volunteer technical supporters
• Necessity of sharing and supporting 3D educational resources and lesson plans.
• Cost for regions⇒OpenSim Grids are cost effective for archaeological reconstruction and Art museums

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SL/OS have sustainable ecosystem where various 3D contents are accumulating by users. ⇒TeleTortal

3D experiences require a kind of literacy for both creators and visitors just as a language needs grammar learning.

• Enough considerations for curation and navigation in 3D space based on image literacy because of narrower view angle in PC screen.
• Questing, mapping, discovering view points, finding information, deciphering builder's intentions are required.
• 3D experience where visitors need to move and interact with displays actively. ⇒ STEAM/ Constructivism education

Benefits

C. Multi-sensing immersive

experiences

(Field trip, Performing Art, Language,

etc.)

• Sense places and events in a Virtual World that supports multimedia, such as visual, aural and simulations.
• An opportunity to visit places that people cannot access easily in the physical world.
• Language education by voice and field trips to enhance their learning experience

SL/OS don’t support VR headset yet

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Current VR head still has problems like 3D sick, narrow view angle, insufficient network bandwidth, etc.

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It's not just VR heads that can provide you an immersive feeling.

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• Operate the SL / OS viewer by yourself on Full-HD monitor to explore actively.

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• If you're giving a lecture using screen sharing of Web Conference System, you can give a immersive feeling by using FlyCam mode 3D mouse like Moving Shot in movies.

Benefits

D. Discovery learning by

collaboration

(Field trip, Museums, Hunts, etc.)

• Capability for remote, real-time communication among multiple users.
• Discover and experience different types of learning with classmates in a user-created environment which is less structured than other social media spaces.
• Visualize one’s idea induces cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Weakness - Field trip

Lack of appropriateness

• Unpleasant encounters
• Inappropriate content

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• Select "General" rating of SL where is safer than internet web pages.
• Select OpenSim or Sim-on-a-Stick (SOAS: http://simonastick.com/)

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Weakness - Field trip

Distraction from Learning

How to guide Students in ill-structured and open-ended environment?

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• SL is not suitable for systematic and effective passive learning
• A balance between teacher control and letting students explore.
• Lesson plan notecard with LM
• Combine with mailing list

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• Usually, it is difficult for students to learn without the builder’s guidance because the creator was satisfied to visualize his/her idea and got tired of making it more user-friendly.
• Teacher should quest the region in advance so that the purpose and approach of the exploration can be defined.
• For students, quest and deciphering the builder’s intention is good educational experience.

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Scaffolding

Many SL destinations are ill-structured and open-ended with no clear mission to accomplish.

Benefits

E. Social skill challenge

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Students can participate in communities from a classroom to a college campus.

And outside of campus, there are various socio-economical activities are developed in SL.

• Social skill development in a physically non-threatening environment.
• Enabling disabled persons to experience living via a virtual world in ways they may be able to experience in the physical world.

Weakness - Social skill challenge

How to protect students from threat and Adult contents?

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Threat and adult contents are worse in SNS and web contents than SL.

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Teach students following measures;

• Select "General" rating.
• Don't open your real personal information to anyone, and don't accept friendship offers from strangers. Both are rather useful in RL and SNS.
• Teleport to home at the dangerous situation.

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Benefits

F. Person to person

communication under less stress circumstance

Communication through avatars is less stress and risk than that through face-to-face or video camera, especially;

• For people who have difficulty for face-to-face contact
• For people who want to keep their privacy.

(for Discovery learning, Social skill challenge, Counseling, etc.)

Weakness - communication via avatars

Avatar making is always annoying.

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Difference from face-to-face in RL;

• Lacking facial expressions and gestures
• A kind of realistic avatar sometimes gives uncanny feeling, uneasiness or revulsion. (Uncanny valley)

When you share the same space with somebody day to day, you are able to trust that person better. (Philip Rosedale, 2022)

Benefits

G. Special training and experiment

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• Experiments and training in potentially dangerous environments in real life.

Example: Medical, nursing, laboratory, occupational safety and legal role play scenarios

• The training includes interactive experiences with hands-on objects to observe visual outcomes of one’s actions

Weakness - Special training

Training facilities are very rare in SL/OS and some of them are not opened to public.

• Creating training facilities requires sufficient skills, large effort, and enthusiasm for education.
• Few creators/ educators can do that.
• We should share such training facilities with educators and support their survival.

Benefits vs. Challenges

Natalie Nussli & Kevin Oh

• 5 Affordance of 3 Dimensional Immersive Virtual Worlds
• Special benefits of virtual worlds for individuals with social skills challenges
• Benefits vs. Challenges of Virtual World

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