zora: implementing virtual communities of learning and care david grogan manager, curricular...
TRANSCRIPT
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Zora: Implementing Virtual Communities of Learning and Care
David GroganManager, Curricular Technology Group
UIT, Tufts [email protected]
Keiko SatohGraduate Student / Research Assistant
Developmental Technologies Research Group, Tufts [email protected]
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Presentation Overview
• What is Zora?• Development and Architecture Overview• The Zora Studies• Next Steps• Q&A
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What is Zora?
• It’s an interactive, multi-user, 3-D environment explicitly designed to help young people explore issues of identity and to promote positive development through the use of technology.
• Built upon ActiveWorlds VR Building Platform• Using .net, ASP, Cold Fusion, and MS-SQL
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How it Began
• 2003: Prof. Bers won an APT grant awarding her 600 hours of R&D work from CTG.
• Goals:– Port conceptual design of Zora (built in the late 1990’s on top of
later-abondoned VR platform) to a more sustainable platform
based on a prioritized list of criteria.
– Build something easier to use and administrate.
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The Main Criteria: Architectural Drivers
• Educational goals drove functional requirements• APT grant scope and state of industry made choosing a
viable platform difficult– older platforms disappearing
– newer platforms immature or missing functionality
– platform cannot be created from scratch and remain within
scope.
– functionality to be added to an existing platform must be
achievable within 600 hours of R&D and approximately $10,000.
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The Main Criteria: Making the Choice
• Platform chosen must already support or facilitate the creation of
– multiple, persistent, isolated, and dynamic worlds that are multi-
user inhabitable
– real-time object building, annotation, and viewing tools built-in to
the world browser
– custom logging capabilities for data mining / research analysis
– easy to use interface (GUI, controls, tools) for end users,
principally children ages 7-18
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The Main Criteria: Making the Choice
• Platform must be:
– acceptably easy to deploy and administrate (a sustainable
technology, client-side and server-side)
– acceptably easy to add new functionality in the future
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The Architecture
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The Information Flow
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Context of the Research
Theoretical Design
Empirical
How to design and implement empowering technological tools to promote positive youth
development ?
How do youth, non-experts and communities use these technologies?
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Design Elements
ConstructionismLearning with Technology
(Papert, 1982)
Applied Developmental Science
Frameworks on Positive Youth Development Positive assets to promote
youth development, (Lerner et al, 2005)
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Technologies explicitly designed to promote Positive Technological Development (PTD)
Identity Construction Environments (ICE) (Bers, 2001)
KaleidostoriesSAGE Zora
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PTD ComponentDefinition Zora’s design
featuresAfforded activities Measures
Competence
Ability to use technologies in a fluent way to create projects, communicate and express oneself
Authoring toolsProgramming environment
Multiple modes of interaction Youth as designers and programmers
PTDPYDZora logsInterviews
Connection
Having and maintaining good relationships with peers and adults through the use of technology
CommunicationVirtual spacesSupport group
Support networkDecision-making, self-organization
same
Character
A moral compass that guides behavior with technology; and values for succeeding in a tech world (perseverance, etc)
Heroes and VillainsValues dictionaryValuesVirtual spacesNarratives
IntrospectionValues and definitionsModels of identificationPerspective taking
same
Confidence
A sense of oneself as a person who can act successfully using technology
CommunicationZora’s creations and participation over time
Programming interactions for objectsZora experience
same
Caring Willingness to respond to needs of others in the technological environment
CommunicationVirtual spaces Cases
On-line interactionsCommunity building
same
Contribution
Orientation to contribute to civil society
CommunicationVirtual spacesValues dictionaryCases
Decision-makingCommunity buildingParticipationDiscussions
same
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The Post-Transplant Study
• Transplant teams & Department of Psychiatry at the Children’s Hospital Boston
• Funded by NSF• To explore the potential of networked technologies to
improve the quality of life post-transplant– patient’s medical adherence to post-organ transplant regimens.– foster growth in Positive Technology Development.– relationship among technology use, youth development, and
medical adherence.
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What is Happening?
• Emergent curriculum• Weekly group-activity sessions• What are being built…
Personal housesPress OfficeZooWrestling arenaSchoolRestaurantTransplant house etc.
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Walk through
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Research
• 15 children in the first group (7 boys; 8 girls)• 7 in the control group (starts in January)• 4 to 8 months using Zora• Qualitative & quantitative data from Zora (logs)• Short surveys and interviews (kids, parents and medical
staff)• Home visits• Follow-up 3 and 6 months after
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Zora Log Parser
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Next Steps for UIT
• Continue to support Zora.• Review field again.• Offer 3D VR service to Tufts community in 2007.