Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
INTRODUCTION
as part of computer-assisted learning (CAL) mate-
rials for at least three decades, with “SimCity” be-
ing one of the earliest and most popular examples.
Until recently, however, the prohibitive costs of
equipment and computational power required
to enable high-fidelity 3D simulations confined
them to specialized laboratory environments and
medical and military training facilities. In the last
decade, the ubiquity of the multimedia-capable,
broadband-connected personal computer has led
to a resurgence of interest in web-based virtual
reality (VR). The new wave of multi-user online
games and virtual worlds is increasingly being
seen as offering viable alternatives to visiting a
real place or performing a real activity. 3D MUVE-
based simulations can allow the learner to develop,
practice, and refine vocational, professional, and
other skills in a real-time, collaborative virtual
environment that is safe and cost effective, yet
reflects and incorporates much of the dynamic
complexity of the real world.
This chapter commences with a critical explo-
ration of the motivation and rationale for using
3D MUVE-based simulations in higher education
teaching and learning, with a specific emphasis
on the healthcare domain, based on a systematic
review of the literature. Theoretical and pedagogi-
cal models and frameworks that underlie current
and proposed uses of 3D MUVE-based simula-
tions in healthcare education are surveyed, before
reporting on current initiatives that represent the
major issues surrounding research and practice
in this area. The aim is to distill and illuminate
the key developments/milestones and challenges
in order to provide an overall “snapshot” of the
field, to help guide and inform scholars and profes-
sionals. The chapter concludes with a discussion
of the future of 3D MUVE-based simulations in
healthcare education, including some of the chal-
lenges and opportunities for both researchers and
practitioners.
Three-dimensional multi-user virtual environ-
ments (3D MUVEs), including virtual worlds
such as Second Life and Active Worlds, as well
as popular massively multiplayer online games
(MMOGs) such as World of Warcraft, Runescape,
and The Sims Online, are receiving significant
attention and interest from tertiary educators as a
means for providing their students with engaging,
immersive, multi-modal online learning experi-
ences. These environments hold great potential for
enriching higher education teaching and learning
by presenting opportunities to bridge the divide
between students' experiences with technology
in formal education settings and those that occur
in other aspects of their lives (Prensky, 2001b,
2001c, 2006; Wolburg & Pokrywczynski, 2001;
de Freitas, 2008). Excited at the possibilities,
universities and colleges across the globe are
building models of their campuses in virtual worlds
using a variety of platforms, and using them to
deliver in-world lectures, tutorials, seminars, and
collaborative exercises. Such initiatives are also
allowing education institutions to reach new audi-
ences, extending learning beyond the conventional
boundaries that have been long in use. Indeed the
tyranny of distance faced by many students, either
due to campus disparity, living conditions, or time,
provides a compelling argument for the use of
3D MUVEs as a means of fostering a learners'
sense of presence, which is widely acknowledged
as a key constituent of effective online learning
(Bronack, Riedl, & Tashner, 2005).
In addition to replicating on-campus or
classroom-based teaching activities, 3D MUVE
technology can be used as a basis for simulations,
to deliver authentic learning experiences that are
difficult, impractical, or impossible to achieve in
the real world (Saunders, 2007). Frequently de-
scribed as “non-linear exploratory environments”
(Aldrich, 2004, 2005), simulations have been used
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