Building Virtual Worlds for Informal Science Learning (SciCentr and SciFair) in the Active Worlds Educational Universe (AWEDU)

Abstract

As a focus of its exploration of desktop 3-D environments for science outreach, the Cornell Theory Center (CTC), Cornell University's high-performance computing center, has been exploring the use of the Active Worlds client/server technology for implementation of a 3-D multiuser virtual science museum, SciCentr, that incorporates interactive simulation-based exhibits. We present here early lessons in accommodating the needs of several interconnected user groups as we move forward with establishing the SciCentr community within the greater educational community of Active Worlds Educational Universe (AWEDU) and the Contact Consortium's VLearn3D initiative. We learned that we must provide the user communities with both social and spatial frameworks within which to work and play. Social support ranges from one-on-one, over-the-shoulder help, to guidance and training within the environment, to coordination of "inworld" activities and inperson pizza parties. Spatial design requirements depend on the activities of the user group and benefit from study of real and virtual world examples. Our experience to date with a pilot group of teenaged participants is encouraging, and we believe that this medium has potential as a resource for constructivist informal science and technology education.

Scientific Inquiry in Educational Multi-user Virtual Environments

“…Bers 1999;Bruckman 1996;Corbit 2002;Simons and Clark 2004). Many early educational MUVE-based curricula were implemented in informal settings.…”

“…An early educational MUVE created specifically for supporting authentic experimentation and interactive delivery of science content was Corbit's SciCentr (Corbit 2002). SciCentr was designed for use in informal settings as a set of virtual worlds that collectively formed a virtual science museum.…”

“…Among the exhibits were a plant breeding area and a molecular modeling simulation. In addition, the SciCentr environment included support for real-time chat among its visitors, with a goal of creating a sustainable community of practice around science (Corbit 2002). Although Corbit did not report any formalized studies of SciCentr as a learning environment, anecdotal data from several short-term pilots with high school and university students suggest that the environment was engaging and motivating to these groups, although some participants reported feeling daunted by the technical knowledge needed to create content for the MUVE.…”

“…Much of the current research into education MUVEs continues to center on the viability of the environments to support learning and collaborative inquiry in science and programming (e.g. Annetta and Park 2006;Barab et al 2005b;Clarke and Dede 2005;Corbit 2002). In addition to the technological advances present in modern educational MUVEs, there has been a shift toward increased implementation in formal school settings.…”

Collaboration modality, cognitive load, and science inquiry learning in virtual inquiry environments

“…Another challenge, cited by Kirschner et al (2006), is that guided inquiry in technologybased environments is more powerful than wholly open-ended exploration. Both of these challenges for science inquiry learning-appropriately guided inquiry learning and integration of collaboration and inquiry learning-are being addressed by researchers implementing MUVEs (e.g., Bers 1999;Corbit 2002;Slator et al 2004;Dede et al 2002). In an even broader sense, research in this area is part of a rapidly expanding focus on the use of educational gaming environments for learning (Gee 2003).…”