Demonstrations of Virtual Worlds for Education Research at NDSU

Brian M. Slator, Jeffrey Clark, Paul Juell, Phil McClean, Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat, Donald P.Schwert, Alan R. White, John Bauer, Francis Larson, Bradley Vender, Aaron Bergstrom, OttoBorchert, Robert Cosmano, Justin Hawley, Christina Johnson, John Opgrande, Rebecca Potter,

Paul Rye, Lester Sjoblom, Shannon Tomac, and the NDSU Worldwide Web InstructionalCommittee (WWWIC)

North Dakota State UniversityFargo, ND 58105

Abstract

The World Wide Web InstructionalCommittee (WWWIC) at North Dakota StateUniversity (NDSU) is an ad hoc group ofuniversity faculty dedicated to developinginternet-based education and research software.Members of this group foster cross-disciplinary,collaborative relationships with WWWIC faculty,students, and staff as well as those from otheruniversities and institutions. The content ofWWWIC immersive environment projectsincludes subject matter across a variety ofdisciplines such as anthropology, archaeology,cell biology, commerce, computer science,geology, and history. WWWIC's projects includethe Virtual Cell for cell biology education, theGeology Explorer for geology education, and theDigital Archive Network for Anthropology forarchaeology and anthropology education, aswell as others. This paper will highlight many ofthese.

Introduction

The NDSU World Wide WebInstructional Committee (WWWIC; McClean etal., 1999) is engaged in several virtual/visualresearch and development projects: some areNSF-supported, the Geology Explorer (Schwertet al., 1999), the Virtual Cell (White et al., 1999)the Visual Computer Program (Juell, 1999) and

the ProgrammingLand MOOseum of ComputerScience (Slator and Hill, 1999). Each has sharedand individual goals. Shared goals include themission to teach science structure and process:the scientific method, scientific problem solving,diagnosis, hypothesis formation and testing, andexperimental design. The individual goals are toteach the content of specific scientificdisciplines: Geology, Cell Biology, ComputerScience. In addition, WWWIC is applying whathas been learned in Science education to newdomains: history, microeconomics, andanthropology.

The Geology Explorer

The Geology Explorer projectimplements a virtual world where learnersassume the role of a geologist on an expeditionto explore the geology of a mythical planet.Learners participate in field-oriented expeditionplanning, sample collection, and "hands on"scientific problem solving. The GeologyExplorer world, Planet Oit, is simulated on anObject Oriented Multi-user Domain, the XeroxPARC LambdaMOO. A text-based version ofGeology Explorer was tested in an introductorygeology class during the Summer 1998. Resultsof that test were used to prepare for a larger testin the same geology class during Fall 1998 andFall 1999. A graphical user interface to theGeology Explorer is under development.

Figure 1: Students explore the Planet seeking to achieve authentic goals.

To play the game, students aretransported to the planet's surface and acquire astandard set of field instruments. Students areissued an "electronic log book" to record theirfindings and, most importantly, are assigned asequence of exploratory goals. These goals areintended to motivate the students to view theirsurroundings with a critical eye, as a geologistwould. Goals are assigned from a principled set,in order to leverage the role-based elements of

the game. The students make their fieldobservations, conduct small experiments, takenote of the environment, and generally act likegeologists as they work towards their goal of,say, locating a kimberlite or a graphite deposit. Ascoring system has been developed, so studentscan compete with each other and withthemselves. The Geology Explorer prototype canbe visited at http:/ /oit.cs.ndsu.nodak.edu/

Figure 2: The Geology Explorer is self-paced and immersive.

The Virtual Cell

The Virtual Cell (VCell) is aninteractive, 3-dimensional visualization of a bio-environment. VCell has been prototyped usingthe Virtual Reality Modeling Language(VRML), and is available via the Internet. To the

student, the Virtual Cell looks like an enormousnavigable space populated with 3D organelles. Inthis environment, experimental goals in the formof question-based assignments promotediagnostic reasoning and problem-solving in anauthentic visualized context.

Figure 3: students in the Virtual Cell are given instructions in the Lab.

The initial point of entry for the VirtualCell is a VRML-based laboratory. Here thelearner encounters a scientific mentor andreceives a specific assignment. In this laboratory,the student performs simple experiments andlearns the basic physical and chemical features ofthe cell and its components. More notably, ourlaboratory procedures are crafted such that they

necessitate a voyage into the Virtual Cell whereexperimental Science meets virtual reality. Asthe project progresses, students revisit thelaboratory to receive more assignments.Periodically, the student will bring cellularsamples back to the virtual lab forexperimentation. The Virtual Cell prototype canbe v is i ted at ht tp : / /vcel l .ndsu.edu

Figure 4: The students explore the Virtual Cell alone or in small groups.

The Archaeology TechnologiesLaboratory

The Archaeology TechnologiesLaboratory (ATL) at NDSU was founded for thepurpose of developing a 3D artifact scanningprotocol and digital databases. The ATLequipment includes a Minolta Vivid 700 laser3D digitizer, top-end workstation and laptopcomputers, and PolyWorks Modeler software.With the assistance of graduate andundergraduate students, NDSU IT staff, andconsulting colleagues in computer science, theATL has made significant progress in developingdatabases for Samoan lithics and hominid cranialendocasts. These databases are serving as the testcases to work out the scanning and modelingprocedures, database structure, user interface,

system architecture, navigation system, and otherdesirable features of an archive network.

At the ATL, we are working to createan Internet-based digital archive foranthropology that contains accurate, 3D modelsof material objects. These models will besufficiently precise to allow for measurements atthe micron level, thus permitting a wide range ofdetailed analyses through the application ofspecially created “virtual tools.” Our ultimategoal is to work with other institutions to create anetwork of interoperable databases forming aglobal Digital Archive Network forAnthropology (DANA). Such a federation ofdatabases would link researchers, students, andthe general public to realistic, accurate, visualrepresentations of artifacts, fossils, and otherarchived objects. ATL can be visited online athttp://atl.ndsu.edu.

Figure 5: Archeological artifacts are stored in a 3D database.

Fort Berthold and Like-a-Fishhook

The Fort Berthold project is an attemptat the construction of a virtual, immersive, multi-user, spatially oriented, exploratory environment,such as we have constructed in the past. Firstversion is text-based, with migration to graphicalinterface written into the project plan. The aim isto create an active and educational space wherevisitors are engaged in goal-based tasks thatpromote exploration and problem-solving: theusual thrust. In other words, this is NOT a

museum piece where people come to wanderaround and passively look at things. Visitors willbe engaged in a) geology, or b) archeology, or c)botany, or d) nutrition.

The simulation will model NorthDakota’s Fort Berthold and Indian Village,which was excavated in the 1950s and thenflooded by the Garrison Dam project, shortlythereafter. Working from archeological records,we plan to simulate this valuable historical site inan internet-based, immersive 3D application.

Figure 6: The Fort Berthold simulation includes “remarkable earth and timber lodges”

Blackwood

The Blackwood Project is the firstattempt at the "next generation" of role-basedvirtual environments for education where thepedagogical simulation will support crossdisciplinary content and choice of roles topromote player interaction and potentialcollaborations. This next generation will build onexperience gained in designing andimplementing earlier virtual environments.

The Blackwood Project seeks torecreate a virtual 19th century Western townintended to teach American History andMicroeconomics. This town will be populatedwith software agents to simulate an economicenvironment, and with software tutors to supportour educational strategies. The system will behosted on the Internet and will provideopportunities for research into distanceeducation, intelligent agents, economicsimulation, and assessment of pedagogicalapproaches.

Figure 7: Blackwood combines business with history.

References

1 . Juel l , Paul (1999). Educat ionalOpportunities Using VRML in the AIClassroom. Intl. Conf. on Mathematics/Science Education & Technology (M/SET-99), March 1-4, 1999, San Antonio, TX, pp.119-123.

2. McClean, Phillip E. , Donald P. Schwert,Paul Juell, Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat, BrianM. Slator, Alan R. White. (1999).Cooperative Development of Visually-Oriented, Problem-Solving ScienceCourseware. Intl. Conf. on Mathematics/Science Education & Technology (M/SET-99), March 1-4, 1999, San Antonio, TX, pp.486-491.

3 . Schwert, Donald P., Brian M. Slator,Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat, (1999). A VirtualWorld For Earth Science Education InSecondary And Post -SecondaryEnvironments: The Geology Explorer. Intl.Conf. on Mathematics/ Science Education &Technology (M/SET-99), March 1-4, 1999,San Antonio, TX, pp. 519-525.

4 . Slator, Brian M. and Curt Hill (1999).Mixing Media For Distance Learning:Using IVN And Moo In Comp372. WorldConference on Educational Media,Hypermedia and Telecommunications (ED-MEDIA 99), June 19-24, Seattle, WA, pp.881-886.

5. White, Alan R., Phillip McClean, and BrianM. Slator (1999). The Virtual Cell: AVirtual Environment for Learning CellBiology. Proc. of the Tenth Intl. Conf. onCollege Teaching and Learning: Innovationin a Global Learning Community. April 14-17. Jacksonville, Florida.

Acknowledgements

The NDSU World-wide Web InstructionalCommittee (WWWIC) research is currentlysupported by funding from the National ScienceFoundation under grants DUE-9981094 andEIA-0086142, and from the US Department ofEducation under grant P116B000734.