In the virtual worlds community we talk a lot about how immersion can get as close to real as possible without being real. We tout the benefits of feeling like you are there and the immersive applications for education, science, business. Certainly even with Linden Labs shake ups this technology seems on course to improve and be adopted and applied more in the coming years–especially in the higher and online education space.
However, we often avoid the wet-blanket discussion about core physical needs virtual environments will never replace. The next few posts will be related to this question of physical limitation. I appreciate your feedback.
Kids connection to nature diminishing to their detriment
Romantic relationships founded on virtual first impressions
I have a theory that Star Wars super-charged interest in the universe we live in, in this galaxy of ours not so “far, far away.” If anyone has the statistic of global planetarium attendance after many of us first saw this block buster let me know. I’m betting attendance increased dramatically like it did for my friends and I.
Today one obvious and exciting use of 3D virtual environments is understanding and experiencing the vastness of our known universe. Here’s Carter Emmartt, a combination of Carl Sagan, Mr. T, and Ted Nugent, showing Uniview, a 3D Atlas of the Universe, created by interns from Linkoping University in Sweden:
Currently it appears you can only see this Digital Universe in a “dome” attached to a planetarium but that may change. As computers increase in power soon this level of application will be available in the classroom, until then, students are already using the free OpenSim virtual environment to manipulate and create models of our solar system and more. 3D is the natural medium for such models, either in physical form or virtual. Virtual models can show rotation speeds and simulate gravity with a little scripting. We’ve come a long way since Carl Sagan’s Cosmos representations (but they are still worth watching, or mixing, again).
OpenSim Models of Solar System
Second Life has several locations to experience our world, solar system, and universe in 3D as well.
Observatory of Da Vinci in Second Life
For those over 18, or teachers willing and wanting to give their students a classroom tour sites like the recreation of the Da Vinci Observatory on Info Island might be worth a visit. There are many other informational kiosks about astronomy at that location as well.
The TOC Astronomy Gallery puts otherwise flat high quality hubble telescope pictures in the context of space. As you float looking at them you feel their significance more than looking at a web page.
Hubble Photographs in a 3D Display
The International Year of Astronomy 2009 island has tons of science related things to tour. I wasn’t, however, able to find an actual recreation of any celestial models. This tends to be a problem with a lot of educational sims. To often they simply place 2D material in displays and in buildings that, while cool, would be better left on a 2D web site that is easier to navigate and more accessible. Virtual environments work best when they actually make use of that third dimension. The holodeck at the Let There Be Night exhibit is a good example of on-demand exhibits. This would be ideal if it were setup to recreate different specific places and scales within our universe.
The Caerleon Planetarium comes as close as any to recreating a planetarium experience in 3D, building and all and has a very informative narrative to go with the slide show and star show that uses a hard-to-find pointer to identify locations on the star map. If you are giving this tour, make sure you understand how to use your camera. Still, recreations of physical settings, buildings and experiences don’t seem to tap into the true potential of 3D with object rotation and complete immersion possibilities. I would also recommend recording several small sound clips for the narrative instead of the text, reading the text draws attention away from the immersive experience of watching the stars.
Orreys, like this one I filmed on in Jennette Forager’s virtual classroom at The Epoch Institute, illustrate more what is possible with a little more time and scripting investment. Just learning the skills to create such a virtual mechanical model teach useful 3D modeling and programming as well for those considering allowing a student to create something similar in the classroom using a desktop version of OpenSim.
Those Swedes Know Their Planets
Planetarium and Stellarium from Magnuz of Sweden remains one of my favorites. The planetarium focuses on, um, planets which can be moved to show their location based on there you are in the world as well as their current charted position in the solar system. You can’t speed up rotation to see them in action, which would be cool, but it is the most accurate and immersive representation of the planets I have found in Second Life so far. Besides, you can’t go wrong with a little dancing under the Milky Way not far in the Stellarium. You guessed it, the Sun is the dance ball.
If you are just interested in Mars, then The Mars Institute might be for you. Everything you wanted to know and then some. They do a good job with using immersion to make you feel like you are walking around on the surface.
One of the big kids on the block, MICA (Meta Instritute for Computational Astrophysics) on StellaNova has a lot of great information, but I’m sad to say falls victim to the same fate as many 2D exhibits gone 3D, not much practical use of 3D itself. Most of the sim would be easier, faster, and perhaps more consumable as a web site, which they also have. I get the impression this is because they use the space to meet and collaborate more than model stuff for education as their web site suggests.
The NASA Educational Sim is worth mentioning but does not have any strictly astronomy-based models that I could find. It does have a lot of rockets though at the International Space Flight Museum on Spaceport Alpha, which are often photographed.
The Oft Photographed International Space Flight Museum
Or there is that other scientific space organization, Star Fleet.
Better astronomy simulations coming.
Few experiences are as immersive as sitting in a planetarium, even if you can’t ‘drive’ it. I admit I’m a little discouraged by the quality and nature of astronomy Second Life resources after reviewing all those I could find. The Stellarium is my favorite. It is the only one that I caught myself ‘wow’ing in. Still, if Carter’s Uniview, or something like it, is ever destined for a few powerful computers that we can host in classrooms recreating that planetarium immersive experience might not be too far off. Until then, other virtual environments do a pretty good job, better than styrofoam and paste anyway.
Combining machinima and astronomy instruction
Aimee Weber’s astronomy work in Second Life shows how powerful 3D virtual environments can be when combined with video capture (machinima) to give a Carl Sagan ‘Cosmos’ feel to the presentation. Students can both create their astronomy models and then capture them with simply machinima software to create presentations and demonstrate their creations to those unable to walk through them.
Google Sky
Oh, don’t forget Google Sky, which also has an amazing iPhone or Droid app (reportedly in the top 5 downloads) for actually mapping the sky while you look at it outside the most immersive experience possible.
We’re all home.
Carter’s closing words seem appropriate today as a way to find common ground and understanding between the peoples of the world. We are all human. We all share this planet and so much more:
What the world needs now is a sense of being able to look at ourselves in this much larger condition now and a much larger sense of what home is. Because our home is the universe, and we are the universe, essentially. We carry that in us. And to be able to see our context in this larger sense at all scales helps us all, I think, in understanding where we are and who we are in the universe.
This year I attended my first ISTE conference. I was nervous having been an ‘outsider’ from the corporate world, which I still am, even though I have been so involved with ISTE and other educational groups. I had also publicly expressed some strong doubts, even criticisms of Second Life and virtual worlds as being too dangerous to risk the extra stresses such social exposure can bring, (which I address below).
My concerns could not have been more unfounded. I realized quickly I was among very welcoming–even loving arms–of real people I have come to know and respect through Second Life and social media.
Mo Gets A Gentle (Heron) Hug
The real-life avatars were so numerous it was overwhelming. Even my close friend and IBM colleague, with whom I speak daily over Skype and chat, put me up at the last minute when I decided to attend despite some personal difficulty. I was reminded how good people really are at heart.
Those people aren’t real.
No thought frustrates me more than when I hear, “those people aren’t real” about SLers or anyone in social media. Certainly it takes much more to foster and maintain a real friendship only over the internet, but it certainly can be done. I admit going through any personal trial causes one to question just how real these people are. Maybe they couldn’t “change my tire” on a given day but they damn-well would if they were in my neighborhood. Proximity has never been a requirement for love and friendship.
ISTE SIGVE Team (Typing Chat for the Camera)
Technology is Amoral
Once again I was strongly reminded that it isn’t the technology that is at fault for any moral decay in the world, nor for its advances. Technology doesn’t care either way, it just makes things possible, easier, or more efficient, whether it be killing people or healing them, propagating racism and bigotry or fighting it, healing psychological wounds or pushing them deeper, building family ties or destroying them. It is easy to blame technology for our social failings and try to hide from it or demonize it but technology progress is not going to stop just because we stop using it. We need to prepare, educate, and grow our society to be better able to understand the technology and address social failings using it rather than hiding in fear from it or ignoring it.
Here’s looking forward to another year discussing and sharing real success stories of how we can accomplish great things with help from enabling technologies such as virtual environments. See you on ISTE Island!
He got upgraded. After falling off the immersion curve, Rob (and Mo) are back both wiser for the wear. We often need a reminder to step away from the screen. Virtual environments will never be better than face-to-face even if friendship isn’t virtual. I am not in Second Life nearly as much as before, try my ISTE Island docent shift from 8-9 SL time (11-12 eastern). Other than that try my contact page.
You might be wondering where all the pages and videos went.
Most are in the bit bucket. The content of the pages and the videos had become outdated and largely irrelevant. Change happens. The timing seemed right to make a fresh start. There are many wonderful SL 2.0 video tutorials available elsewhere.
Quest Assess Development Resumed
I’m happy to announce that development of Quest Assess has resumed, a unique tool for creating and managing engaging, immersive assessment quests. I hope to have both a free and full version available for sale and download by 2011. Talk to me in person if you’d like to know more or become a sponsor or beta tester.
See you soon!
To all those who have been around for the last few months, thank you. To those I have lost contact with, I look forward to catching up.
A blog exploring education, creative expression, and personal development within virtual environments such as Second Life, OpenSim, Blue Mars, Unity3D and more.
To contact Rob use this contact page or stop by ISTE Island from 8-9 SL Time (11-12 Eastern).
