3D Virtual Worlds as Collaborative Communities Enriching Human Endeavours: Innovative Applications in e-Learning

3D Virtual Worlds are potent Digital Ecosystems because the 3D interface simulates real-world environments and the community of users creates a dynamic, real-to-life economy and in-world culture. Some Virtual Worlds such as Second Life empower users to generate in-world content through object buildi...

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Main Authors: Dreher, Carl, Reiners, Torsten, Dreher, Naomi, Dreher, Heinz
Format: Working Paper
Published: School of Information Systems, Curtin Business School 2009
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/42683
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author Dreher, Carl
Reiners, Torsten
Dreher, Naomi
Dreher, Heinz
author_facet Dreher, Carl
Reiners, Torsten
Dreher, Naomi
Dreher, Heinz
author_sort Dreher, Carl
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description 3D Virtual Worlds are potent Digital Ecosystems because the 3D interface simulates real-world environments and the community of users creates a dynamic, real-to-life economy and in-world culture. Some Virtual Worlds such as Second Life empower users to generate in-world content through object building tools and programming languages; indeed the content in Second Life is entirely user-generated. This promotes a rich culture of innovation surrounding this emerging technology that continually develops the capabilities of the 3D Digital Ecosystem. The collaborative culture spans both the 3D in-world environment and 2D ecosystems: for example, Web 2.0 applications such as wikis and blogs facilitate support, discussion, and documentation for user-generated innovations. Innovation in 3D Digital Ecosystems such as Second Life are applied to all domains of human endeavour that exist in the real-world, including recreation, socialisation, commerce, and education. This working paper shares the authors’ professional experience using Second Life in tertiary Information Systems/Science education and describes specific educational applications. This is followed by discussion of the benefits of 3D Digital Ecosystems for education and suggestions for future research, development, and practice.
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format Working Paper
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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publishDate 2009
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-426832017-01-30T15:01:25Z 3D Virtual Worlds as Collaborative Communities Enriching Human Endeavours: Innovative Applications in e-Learning Dreher, Carl Reiners, Torsten Dreher, Naomi Dreher, Heinz 3D Virtual Worlds are potent Digital Ecosystems because the 3D interface simulates real-world environments and the community of users creates a dynamic, real-to-life economy and in-world culture. Some Virtual Worlds such as Second Life empower users to generate in-world content through object building tools and programming languages; indeed the content in Second Life is entirely user-generated. This promotes a rich culture of innovation surrounding this emerging technology that continually develops the capabilities of the 3D Digital Ecosystem. The collaborative culture spans both the 3D in-world environment and 2D ecosystems: for example, Web 2.0 applications such as wikis and blogs facilitate support, discussion, and documentation for user-generated innovations. Innovation in 3D Digital Ecosystems such as Second Life are applied to all domains of human endeavour that exist in the real-world, including recreation, socialisation, commerce, and education. This working paper shares the authors’ professional experience using Second Life in tertiary Information Systems/Science education and describes specific educational applications. This is followed by discussion of the benefits of 3D Digital Ecosystems for education and suggestions for future research, development, and practice. 2009 Working Paper http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/42683 School of Information Systems, Curtin Business School fulltext
spellingShingle Dreher, Carl
Reiners, Torsten
Dreher, Naomi
Dreher, Heinz
3D Virtual Worlds as Collaborative Communities Enriching Human Endeavours: Innovative Applications in e-Learning
title 3D Virtual Worlds as Collaborative Communities Enriching Human Endeavours: Innovative Applications in e-Learning
title_full 3D Virtual Worlds as Collaborative Communities Enriching Human Endeavours: Innovative Applications in e-Learning
title_fullStr 3D Virtual Worlds as Collaborative Communities Enriching Human Endeavours: Innovative Applications in e-Learning
title_full_unstemmed 3D Virtual Worlds as Collaborative Communities Enriching Human Endeavours: Innovative Applications in e-Learning
title_short 3D Virtual Worlds as Collaborative Communities Enriching Human Endeavours: Innovative Applications in e-Learning
title_sort 3d virtual worlds as collaborative communities enriching human endeavours: innovative applications in e-learning
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/42683