Virtual Worlds

2010-11

Project Team

Katy Lumkin
Andrew Cram
Debbie Evans
Roger Buck

Project Overview

Virtual worlds offer opportunities for students to be innovative and creative within a safe and supportive environment. Students have fun while they explore, collaborate, design and evaluate. The 3D Virtual Worlds Project focuses on the NSW Quality Teaching framework elements of higher order thinking, engagement, connectedness, inclusivity and problematic knowledge. Are you interested in exploring how this innovative and emerging technology can make a difference to student learning? Through this project, teachers will develop and implement a unit of work within the virtual world. The project team will provide the necessary initial training and ongoing support.

Students create original work within the virtual world to meet design needs. The work could include functional objects, artworks or narratives. Students are orientated into the virtual world through a series of introductory activities such as avatar customization and simple construction training. Students will document, reflect and evaluate their learning achievements in Edmodo, a secure and collaborative learning network. Access to the virtual worlds will be available to participants for the duration of the project.

Project Blog

View the project blog for all the details on this project and it’s outcomes.

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Project Papers

Download the Project Report and other related papers.

Virtual Worlds– Project Report (2011)

MacICT Project: Virtual Worlds
Authors: Katy Lumkin, Andrew Cram

Download the Report (PDF 13mb)

Virtual Worlds

Assessing spatial designs in virtual environments. (2013)

In S. Kennedy-Clark, K. Everett & P. Wheeler. (Eds.), Cases on Assessment in Scenario and Game-based Virtual Worlds in Higher Education, IGI Global (in press)

MacICT Project: Virtual Worlds
Authors: Cram, A., Lowe, R., & Lumkin, K.

Virtual Worlds

How are Australian higher education institutions contributing to change through innovative teaching and learning in virtual worlds? (2011)

In G. Williams, P. Statham, N. Brown & B. Cleland (Eds.), Changing Demands, Changing Directions. Proceedings ascilite Hobart 2011. (pp.862-873).

Paper presented at the 2011 Ascilite Conference in Hobart

MacICT Project: Virtual Worlds
Authors: Gregory, B., Gregory, S., Wood, D., Masters, Y., Hillier, M., Stokes-Thompson, F., Bogdanovych, A., Butler, D., Hay, L., Jegathesan, J., Flintoff, K., Schutt, S., Linegar, D., Alderton, R., Cram, A., Stupans, I., Orwin, L., Meredith, G., McCormick, D., Collins, F., Grenfell, J., Zagami, J., Ellis, A., Jacka, L., Campbell, J., Larson, I., Fluck, A., Thomas, A., Farley, H., Muldoon, N., Abbas, A., Sinnappan, S., Neville, K., Burnett, I., Aitken, A., Simoff, S., Scutter, S., Wang, X., Souter, K., Ellis, D., Salomon, M., Wadley, G., Jacobson, M., Newstead, A., Hayes, G., Grant, S., Yusupova, A.

Download the paper (PDF 1mb)

Virtual Worlds

Using LAMS to structure and support learning activities in virtual worlds. (2010)

Proceedings of the 5th International LAMS Conference 2010 in Sydney, Australia

MacICT Project: Virtual Worlds
Authors: Cram, A., Lumkin, K., & Eade, J.

Download the paper (PDF 1mb)

Virtual Worlds

Real experiences with virtual worlds. (2011)

In D. Holt, S. Segrave & J. Cybulski (Eds.), Professional Education Using E-Simulations: Benefits of Blended Learning Design. Hersey, PA: IGI Global.

MacICT Project: Virtual Worlds 
Authors: Cram, A., & Hedberg, J. G

Virtual Worlds

Learning through Design and Construction in Multi-User Virtual Environments: Opportunities, Challenges and an Emerging Project.  (2010)

In Z. Abas et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Global Learn Asia Pacific 2010 (pp. 1185-1194). Penang, Malaysia: AACE.  Presented at AACE 2010 Global Learn Asia Pacific in Penang *Awarded best paper

MacICT Project: Virtual Worlds 
Authors: Cram, A., Hedberg, J., Lumkin, K. & Eade, J. (2010)

Virtual Worlds

Blended reality: Issues and potentials in combining virtual worlds and face-to-face classes (2010)

In C.H. Steel, M.J. Keppell, P. Gerbic & S. Housego (Eds.), Curriculum, technology & transformation for an unknown future. Proceedings ascilite Sydney 2010 (pp.129-140).

Paper presented at the 2010 Ascilite Conference in Sydney

MacICT Project: Virtual Worlds
Authors: Bower, M., Cram, A. & Groom, D.

Download the paper (PDF 1mb)

Virtual Worlds

Design and Construction in Virtual Environments for Real-World Learning. (2010)

Paper presented at the IODL & ICEM 2010 Joint Conference and Media Days at Anadolu University, Turkey

MacICT Project: Virtual Worlds
Authors: Hedberg, J. G., Cram, A., Lumkin, K., & Eade, J. (2010)

Virtual Worlds

Australian higher education institutions transforming the future of teaching and learning through virtual worlds. (2010)

In C.H. Steel, M.J. Keppell, P. Gerbic & S. Housego (Eds.), Curriculum, technology & transformation for an unknown future. Proceedings ascilite Sydney 2010 (pp.399-415).

Paper presented at the 2010 Ascilite Conference in Sydney

MacICT Project: Virtual Worlds 
Authors: Gregory. S., Lee, M.J.W., Ellis, A., Gregory, B., Wood, D., Hillier, M., Campbell, M., Grenfell, J., Pace, S., Farley, H., Thomas, A., Cram, A., Sinnappan, S., Smith, K., Hay, L., Kennedy-Clark, S., Warren, I., Grant, S., Craven, D., Dreher, H., Matthews, C., Murdoch, D., McKeown, L

Download the paper (PDF 1mb)

3D Virtual Worlds Challenge

Year 9 students from Balgowlah Boys’ Campus have recently completed two comprehensive training days at MacICT using OpenSim. Activities included avatar creation, building alignment, inventory management, form manipulation and design. Students use Edmodo to...

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MacICT 3D Virtual Worlds: WHEN2050

Year 10 students from Dulwich High School of Visual Arts and Design have developed architectural prototypes for Australian cities in a 3D multi-user virtual environment (Opensimulator) that incorporate ideas that lead to sustainability, aesthetic appeal and...

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Teacher Reflections: Future Directions

Peter Wootten, Senior Visual Arts teacher from Dulwich High School of Visual Arts and Design writes about how 3D Virtual Worlds can be integrated in all Key Learning Areas (KLAs) and the impact this has made on his Year 10 class. I have written in past blogs about the...

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WHEN2050: Teacher’s Final Reflection

Peter Wootten, Senior Visual Arts Teacher from Dulwich High School of Visual Arts and Design reflects on the WHEN2050: 3D Virtual Worlds Project. “When 2050” is the second stage of Dulwich High School of Visual Arts and Design student’s deployment in a virtual world,...

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A Tale of Two Cities: The Ying and Yang

Students from Dulwich High School of Visual Arts and Design have been using Edmodo to reflect and evaluate their design work in Trinity. Here are some of their thoughts. Jason: “A tale of two cities” was our theme. We interpreted it by making two separate...

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Reflections on WHEN2050

This project has advantages for all stakeholders. For my students there is the excitement of creating in a virtual world (Trinity) using OpenSim. The process involves developing their concepts, researching how architects approach the design process, incorporating...

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Concept Development: “A Tale of Two Cities”

Students from Dulwich High School of Visual Arts and Design were asked to write a report on how historical and/or contemporary architectural design informs their design choices in the virtual world. The example below by Jason (Year 10), illustrates the depth of...

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Concept Realisation: Ignite Your Imagination

Virtual Worlds are digital tools for realising concepts. The sophistication of those concepts can be limited by inadequate skills. As this is our second opportunity in the virtual world it provides a rich opportunity to challenge students to use the liberating energy...

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Mentor: Richard Goodwin

To take the learning experience to a more rigorous level, students will engage in workshops with a prominent Australian architect/artist involved in the Australian Institute of Architects: NOW+WHEN 2050 project, Richard Goodwin. He will guide the students through the...

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WHEN2050: Sustainable Designs for the Future

This project has several inherent advantages applicable to extending students as delineated in New South Wales Quality Teaching & Learning Framework. The MacICT Virtual World known as Trinity, is a wide open space situated on an island and surrounded by smaller...

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First Student Training Day at MacICT

It was wonderful to see students so completely and utterly engaged in the Virtual Worlds tasks. I was especially interested and impressed by how the students who had never used the technology before, got up to speed and even excelled to the degree where they solved...

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3D Virtual Worlds: Design-Collaborate-Reflect

Virtual worlds offer opportunities for students to be innovative and creative within a safe and supportive environment. Students have fun while they explore, collaborate, design and evaluate. The 3D Virtual Worlds Project focuses on the NSW Quality Teaching Framework...

read more

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