Virtual Worlds
7 things you should know about..
Virtual Worlds
Scenario
What is it?
As part of her coursework as a first-year medical stu-
A virtual world is an online environment whose “residents” are ava-
dent, Marie participates in a virtual clinic several times
tars representing individuals participating online. Users of virtual
during the semester. The clinic is an online, animat-
worlds design their environments and often their avatars as wel ,
ed world populated by avatars representing doctors,
from gender to clothing and hairstyle, and control how those ava-
nurses, and patients control ed by medical students
tars communicate, move, create things, and interact. The function-
and volunteers. Marie assumes the role of a doctor in
ing of a virtual world can mirror that of the real world, or it can al ow
the virtual world, and for each session, the clinic is a
residents to do such things as fly, wander around underwater, or
different kind of office: an emergency room, a clinic
teleport themselves to other locations. Today’s virtual worlds are
that serves primarily needy patients without insur-
1immersive, animated, 3D environments that operate over the Inter-
ance, and others. For the first session, the clinic is a
net, giving access to anyone in the world. Although many online
family practice, and through the animated computer
games take place in such environments, the concept of a virtual
interface, Marie controls her avatar’s movements and
world does not require the elements of a game, such as rules or
conversations in the virtual world.
an explicit objective. Residents of a virtual world have the freedom
to do and be nearly anything they want, limited only by the design
The world is set up to closely mimic a real doctor’s
of the environment.
office. Marie walks her avatar into an examination
room, where she finds the patient waiting. By typing
dialogue, Marie speaks to the patient, introducing her-
Who’s doing it?
self, and the patient stands up and introduces himself.
Many col eges and universities are experimenting with virtual
An important element of becoming a doctor is learning
worlds for educational purposes. Dartmouth Col ege has begun
how to interact well with patients, and the virtual clinic
creating a virtual world to train community emergency response
gives Marie an opportunity to do that. Marie’s avatar
teams. In this world, volunteers learn how to cope with a range of
and the patient—who is the avatar of another medical
emergencies by experiencing simulated, 3D disaster areas while
student—talk about what’s bothering the man, which
engaging with others—virtual y—to deal with unfolding events.
turns out to be a flare-up of gout. Marie and the other
Harvard University created River City, a virtual world that presents
participants see the action of the virtual world through
2users with an outbreak of disease, alowing them to move through
3D animations from their computers. Marie asks ques-
the environment, make inquiries, and examine data to try to dis-
tions, reads the patient’s chart, and conducts a clinical
cover the source of the il ness. Using a game engine, the Univer-
examination.
sity of British Columbia developed a virtual world based on real
archaeological sites in which students use contemporary materials
Faculty monitor the sessions in the virtual world and
and techniques to create replicas of structures of the time.
can interrupt them to offer suggestions to student doc-
tors about better ways to ask certain questions and
to earn the patient’s confidence. Because the virtual
How does it work?
world has both real and simulated components, Marie
A virtual world requires choosing or building a platform. Several
finds that it requires her to be extremely conscious of
vendors currently offer a selection of environments, with some
her actions and the words she uses when interacting
providing considerable latitude to develop and customize a par-
with patients, a skill she will need to apply when in a
ticular space within the virtual world. Although many worlds are
real office with a real patient.
3developed for games, the benefit often lies in the lack of a game
structure. Depending on the desired educational outcome, an
instructor might use a game format, but virtual worlds hold signifi-
cant potential for a learner-led—rather than an outcome-based—
model of exploration and knowledge development.
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Virtual Worlds
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Once an environment has been identified and the parameters
ply don’t perform wel without clear-cut tasks and goals. Moreover,
defined, users register and create avatars. An instructor might
some students might find a virtual world so engaging that it dis-
assign times during which students are expected to log in and
tracts them from work in other courses.
inhabit the virtual world, or participation might be left up to stu-
On a practical level, the smooth operation of virtual worlds
dents, who can reside in the world when they choose. Participants
requires robust hardware and fast Internet connections. Some
move and communicate and create items in the virtual world based
virtual worlds reside on corporate servers, and course activities
on available resources and the educational goal, which might be
that use those worlds depend on the availability of the applica-
very loosely defined. With this kind of learning, known as construc-
tion, which can be spotty. With steep technology requirements
tivist learning, learners can freely make decisions and interact with
also comes a greater burden on support staff to ensure the infra-
others, initiating and directing their own learning. The low stakes of
structure can handle user demands. Final y, while students in
an online environment encourage participants to experiment—to
technology-focused programs will likely be comfortable with the
learn by trial and error—in a way not feasible in the real world.
technical side of virtual worlds, such as using scripting, students
Why is it significant?
in other disciplines might find this aspect especial y chal enging.
Using virtual worlds for education has significant potential to fos-
Where is it going?
ter constructivist learning, putting students in contact with oth-
Virtual worlds have a long history of use in games, but efforts to
ers in an immersive environment that chal enges them to figure
use the technology for educational pursuits are at an early stage.
things out for themselves, without explicit learning objectives
Growing numbers of educators and organizations are experiment-
and assessment. Students are increasingly comfortable with
ing with and creating educational programs using virtual worlds,
this kind of learning, not to mention with electronic communica-
broadening the scope of activities available to students. As the
tions and interactions, and for many, avatar-to-avatar activity is
line between the virtual and the real continues to blur, so too does
as real as face-to-face contact. Indeed, behind every avatar is
the line between formal and informal learning. Increasing com-
a real person control ing the avatar’s actions and words. If stu-
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fort among educators using virtual worlds also has considerable
dents consider avatars legitimate representations of themselves
potential to develop worlds and activities that promote interdisci-
and of others, opportunities flourish for meaningful interactions
plinary learning. Early adopters from different disciplines are form-
among a broad range of students and other users, regardless of
ing nascent educator communities and sharing best practices for
their physical location.
effective integration of these tools into education.
The line between virtual and real starts to blur as activities in the
virtual world seep into the real world and vice versa. For exam-
What are the implications for
ple, the developers of Second Life, a popular virtual environment,
decided that users own the places and things they create. A mar-
teaching and learning?
ket has emerged for residents of virtual worlds to buy and sel vir-
As is often the case with a new technology, adapting existing
tual assets, but with real money. In one case, a user created a
practices to a new medium encourages reflection on desired
game in a virtual world that he then sold to a real company, which
goals and effective implementation. Virtual worlds al ow differ-
wil market it for cel phones. Users can create a business and
ent and new types of interactions that provide better educational
see how avatars respond to it. Residents could be employed by
experiences for some students. Computer gaming is an increas-
a virtual company, performing tasks and having interactions that
ingly common activity among younger students, and exploring the
would happen in the real world. In this way, users can develop
educational potential for virtual worlds gives institutions an oppor-
skil s, including effective communication, that could be applied
tunity to incorporate a medium that students enjoy into learning.
later in the real world, al within the comparative safety of a virtual
Through a virtual environment, students can interact in ways they
environment.
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find comfortable, seeking out others who share their interests and
What are the downsides?
inclinations. Virtual worlds facilitate “unintentional” learning, where
students discover and create knowledge not for its own sake but in
Many educational courses and programs have defined learning
order to accomplish something they want to do, resulting in stron-
goals, and for some, the effort required to design a virtual world
ger comprehension and deeper knowledge.
is not justified in terms of specific learning objectives. Unguided
exploration is an effective learning style for certain students in cer-
tain subjects, but virtual worlds present a risk of students’ simply
goofing off, not participating at al , or engaging in inappropriate or
offensive behavior. Other students, despite good intentions, sim-
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June 2006
