Tag: Virtual reality

Enter the Human Brain in the Metaverse

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Brodmann’s Brain

While the areas of the human brain were mapped by Brodmann over a hundred years ago, they are still useful for study today. Learning about the brain in the metaverse, where students embodied as avatars can enter virtual spaces together, provides a new and enlightening experience.

A recent tour for the VWER (Virtual Worlds Education Roundtable) provided a lively discussion about the potential for students to enter content in new ways. A 3D model built by Dr. David Hubbard (David Arguna in Second Life) illustrates a high quality learning experience that cannot be done in the physical world. One educator said, “This is much easier to see and imagine than simply looking at a picture in a book.”

The metaverse is quickly evolving and will provide new ways to learn. Educators at the VWER weekly meeting on Thursdays at NOON Pacific Time believe VR headsets are not really necessary! Virtual worlds provide a great way to be immersed in 3D learning in the metaverse without the trapped feeling and high cost of individual headsets. In Second Life, students cannot just learn in environments like Brodmann’s Brain, they can create rich learning spaces themselves.

Educators and learners interested in these new opportunities should acquaint themselves with the Virtual Worlds Education Consortium and the Community Virtual Library.

The Metaverse: What in the World is it?

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Everyone is talking about the metaverse right now (in 2022) and many definitions are surfacing. I suppose I should weigh in– since I have been working in the metaverse for over fifteen years.

Background of the Metaverse

Most research articles cite Neal Stephenson’s novel Snow Crash as the origin of the term (1992). The novel is set in a computer-generated futuristic world where people can interact in the same ways we do in the physical world. This “virtual world” metaverse was a far-fetched science fiction space we could only imagine before Second Life began in 2003. It really only took a decade for sci-fi to become reality!

Academic research articles abound on the use of virtual worlds for education and my colleague, Stylianos Mystakidis has an article in Encyclopedia 2022 that defines the metaverse as an interconnected immersive virtual environment which “enables seamless embodied user communication in real-time and dynamic interactions with digital artifacts”. This sense of presence and place is, in my opinion, what makes the metaverse real. Real people are embodied behind avatars and real places (although digital) are inhabited by them.

Is VR just a fad?

Jules Verne, A Trip to the Moon

Science fiction has presented humanity the wildest imaginative dreams that often become reality. For example, Jules Verne predicted we would blast off to the moon and Captain Kirk was teleporting across space well before teleportation in virtual worlds became the way to travel. XR (extended reality including virtual reality) will be an inevitable part of our lives in the future and is not going away. In fact, it is already here and quickly evolving. Perhaps many of the tools we now use will evolve with haptics making the line between the physical and virtual worlds almost nonexistent.

For the past few years, I have been distinguishing VR into two forms: Headset VR and Desktop VR. Matching the tools for the job suggests a purpose for each form. My purpose as a librarian has been to pioneer the metaverse for real learning and critical thinking. Some questions will need to be addressed, such as:

  • What about the digital divide and learners who do not have the technology devices needed?
  • Will there be one metaverse connecting all the virtual environments?
  • Will VR headsets and VR Desktop merge together into a new format?
  • What role will AR (augmented reality) play in the future?
  • How do we balance realism with creative imagination in the metaverse?

However the metaverse evolves, it is important to consider how it will impact the generations to come. Currently, educators and learners are pulled in many directions with too many choices of learning platforms and apps. Hopefully, the semantic web and the metaverse will become better defined and easier to navigate. Good digital citizenship in the future will require an understanding of entering the metaverse with a clear purpose and intent.

Introducing Enchanting Virtual Reality Soon at Your Local Library

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Is #VR coming to libraries? Yes! But how and why? Librarians have always been in the forefront of innovative technology and have fearlessly adopted changing information formats for centuries. Virtual reality is simply another information format and certainly librarians are exploring uses.

Circulating VR Experiences as Resources

While the Covid 19 Pandemic may have closed many library buildings and slowed the use of VR headsets within them, many libraries plan to provide VR experiences to patrons in the near future including educational simulations such as going inside the human body, exploring space, viewing art museums or encountering historical events. Most librarians and educators agree that VR headsets should not be used by persons under the age of 13 or by those with health problems. Virtual reality on a desktop includes environments like Minecraft which has been widely recognized as an educational space for young people. Researchers currently seek to identify the best practices and purposes for virtual reality for various age groups and perhaps the library is a good place for this exploration.

Libraries Built Inside Virtual Spaces

Putting on a headset to “go inside a book” such as The Diary of Anne Frank might provide a powerful experience, particularly for visual learners. Yet sharing VR as “library resources” is not the only way to utilize virtual environments. The library itself can be built in a virtual space so that patrons can enter together and talk with real people in the same way one might in a physical space. Library programs such as exhibits, storytelling, book discussions, special events, workshops, anything we think of doing in a physical library, can take place in a virtual library. In fact, some things that cannot possibly be experienced in the physical world can happen virtually, such as falling down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland or walking on Mars.

The Community Virtual Library is an example of a “real library in a virtual world” with a main branch in Second Life and outpost branches in numerous other virtual spaces including both desktop and headset VR. Librarians, educators, and lifelong learners can collaborate and learn best practices for virtual environments at CVL and the partnering educational institutions of the Virtual World Education Consortium hosted in sky pavilion above the virtual library.

Community Virtual Library in Second Life
CVL Reference Desk

Through the #VR Looking-Glass to Wonderland

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A group of us (librarians and educators at the Community Virtual Library) visited the virtual world of 3rdRock to experience Alice in Wonderland in a 3D immersive environment. Wow! This was not only reading but entering the book!

A librarian at the University of Hawaii created this immersive storybook complete with various scenes from the story with passages of text. Thinking about how children (as well as readers/learners of all ages) will experience literature in the future was a fascinating topic during our tour. Talk about metaliteracy! We enjoyed conversing at the Mad Hatter’s tea party!

While we were fully immersed in the 3D storytelling, we were not wearing virtual reality headsets. Virtual worlds are viewed on a desktop and we believe they are part of virtual reality. Desktop VR allows for many productive tools built into the interface and is less uncomfortable than the “trapped feeling” I get with my VR headset. Of course, as VR evolves, it may become more comfortable. Who knows what the future holds for VR but it may not be ready for young people since research has not been done on how it impacts developing minds. In a virtual world, students could create their own storybook content or develop 3D objects on various subjects. Building in VR currently requires additional programs like Unity or Unreal Engine.

Watching a machinima of our Wonderland virtual field trip does not do is justice! You really need to “be there” inside the story, but this video is meant to archive the event. The group started out in Kitely at the CVL Hypergrid Resource Library and then jumped over to 3rdRock to visit Wonderland as part of the ACRL Virtual World Interest Group which is part of the American Library Association.

Personal Symbolic Models of Metaliteracy Built in 3D

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Recently, the Virtual World MOOC 2020 shared presentations on numerous educational programs including one on Metaliteracy Symbolic Modeling, a creative process developed by Niela Miller. Niela provides training on facilitating symbolic modeling for various topics, subjects or purposes and I chose to utilize this creative process for understanding our personal responsibility for metaliteracy.

A session on Metaliteracy Symbolic Modeling was held in October 2020 with individuals creating models of how it feels to become metaliterate as literacy has changed. (Note: You may want to fast forward past the first 30 minutes as it is the Nonprofit Commons Meeting with introductions).

Watch as three participants share the 3D model they create and then discuss how they feel about metaliteracy. The process leads the individual to a personal reflection.

Understanding how literacy has changed in digital culture requires critical thinking. The concept of metaliteracy means we think about how we both produce and consume information. The impact of the internet and networked culture has dramatically changed the way we communicate and often we are faced with an overwhelming amount of information each day.

A Metaliteracy Symbolic Modeling Exhibit is scheduled to open soon at InfoLit Island for the Virtual World Education Round Table. Sheila Webber, information literacy expert in the UK shares regularly on the Information Literacy Weblog. Digital citizens around the world unite virtually!

Plunge into My VR Office – One Mind-bending Click Away!

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Virtual reality apps have exploded.  Frame.io is a web-based VR platform created by Virbela which is currently in Beta and will be released next year. In addition, augmented reality (AR) has been around for years but is staged to take off in mainstream media for many uses.  We live and work in multiple realities and we juggle multiple communication tools which certainly require metaliteracy.  Click here to visit my VR office Frame.io/valibrarian or (if you have a device nearby) just use a smart camera to access with this QR code.

Note: the default setting is an open microphone.  I need to tell the Frame.io creators that this might be a privacy issue.  I had the tab open on my browser and then left to do work on other tabs.  A couple hours later, I heard a colleague saying, “Hi Val!  Are you there?”  I could not figure out where the voice was coming from until I clicked over to the Frame.io tab. Yikes! That felt weird.

The images in the VR office have links to resources about metaliteracy in metamodern culture, so click away as you wander through both 2D and 3D objects. Metaliteracy is a term, coined by Tom Mackey and Trudi Jacobson, that encompasses the way we juggle many communication tools every day including social media, email, text messages, app notifications, evaluation of online information and much more. If you come visit, you will create an avatar and be able to chat in voice. 

One wall shares a link to the Community Virtual Library Frame.io space, which also is just one click away! My office hours in Second Life at the Community Virtual Library are currently 1-2pm Pacific Time. I will “plunge” into FrameVR and be around if anyone wants to visit. Of course, if you are reading this ten years from now, we may meet elsewhere. Perhaps on Mars!

Brave Teleportation Around the World with the #VWMOOC2020

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Virtual world immersive learning environments provide a “real space” for learning across the globe with a sense of presence beyond webinars or online learning platforms like Canvas or Blackboard.  During the Virtual World MOOC 2020, Dr. Valerie Hill (Valibrarian) of the Community Virtual Library collaborated with Hajime Nichimura (Yan Lauria in virtual worlds).  Yan Lauria, who is located in Japan, has developed a teleportal system that shares simulations for education that are organized by subject.  Each month, Yan shares a tour for Community Virtual Library, and anyone can participate.  These tours are in voice and Valerie types in a chat window to help people follow Yan across the virtual world through teleportation.

Of course, watching this video as avatars teleport to Japan, Africa, France, and Italy is not the same experience as jumping into the virtual space yourself! The video was shot and shared through ZOOM during the Virtual World MOOC.

When one enters these simulated environments, there is a sense of “being there” beyond reading a book about a different culture.  In a virtual world, one controls the camera angles, walking, and interacting through active participation rather than passive viewing.

Together, learners can communicate across space and help each other juggle a variety of technological tools.  This is part of metaliteracy– a new way to view literacy beyond reading and writing.

Virtual Japan
Virtual African Savannah
Virtual Castle in France
Virtual Venice

Visit the narrow streets of Tokyo, a beautiful African Art Gallery, a French cathedral and the gondolas of Venice! One can stop and take a look at the beautiful view from way up at the top of a castle. Visit the Community Virtual Library calendar for more information about “Gateway to Thinking” (the teleportal system created by Hajime Nichimura (Yan Lauria) located in Second Life.

Our world has changed and continues to change, requiring us to develop new literacy skills (metaliteracy). “An exploration of global digital participatory culture spotlights a momentous change in the way we live and perceive our world, the “structure of feeling” evolving from postmodernism into metamodernism and the need to rethink literacy for a new era (Hill, 2020 p. 14)”.

Hill, V. J. (2020). Metamodernism and Changing Literacy: Emerging Research and Opportunities (pp. 1-225). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-3534-9

Quest for a Virtual PLC

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People have always shared ideas and learned in collaborative communities.  But today, especially with the rush to online learning during the Covid19 pandemic, joining a professional learning community (PLC) has become essential for educators to help the next generation of learners.

Choosing the best digital and virtual environments is a daunting task.  There simply is not enough time to explore them all!  But, together, we can be aware of the best applications and best practices for utilizing virtual environments.

An example of a PLC in virtual environments is the CVL Education Network provided by the Community Virtual Library.  Educators hold “office hours” in virtual spaces such as Second Life, Kitely, Opensim, Cybalounge, 3Dwebworlz, AltspaceVR, VirBela and many more. This spreadsheet shares virtual worlds (desktop) and virtual reality (headset) platforms for education with the goal of illustrating high quality virtual learning environments and helping educators become aware of possibilities. Note that there are five sheets to share various ways to connect and build a PLC and contact information to include your virtual office hours. Anyone (educators, artists, musicians, subject specialists, or lifelong learners) can use this spreadsheet to navigate and explore virtual environments.

CVL Main Branch is in Second Life

XR in 3D with Colleagues

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Reality has changed! Extended Reality includes mixing physical world and virtual world spaces. For the celebration of Second Life’s 17th Birthday Party, my friend and colleague Renne Brock built a giant Polaroid Camera set up on an oversized desk for avatars to tour, sit, and share memories of meeting both physically and virtually. Playing with the “size” of our world is an interesting phenomenon.

SLB17 by Renne Brock of Nonprofit Commons

My avatar looks tiny sitting on the yellow beanbag. The memory of my librarian colleagues meeting in San Francisco at a conference can be viewed on the Polaroid picture. Many other “real world” meetups were shared as the pictures scrolled by on the giant desk.

Meeting folks in the “real world” after working together virtually is always a pleasure, yet virtual environments like Second Life ARE real. The Assistant Director of the Community Virtual Library (center of photo) has worked with me on numerous projects on a plethora of virtual platforms: Skype, Google Hangouts, Discord, Zoom, SineSpace, Virbella, AltspaceVR, Kitely, Second Life, Mozilla Hubs and more!

The “X” in XR can stand for any type of reality: AR (augmented), VR (virtual), or MR (mixed). Notice the little colored buttons on the desk? Renne gives out a button each time she meets a colleague in the physical world. I have quite a collection of them. Yes…reality has changed for sure!

Virtual Environment Workshops for Educators

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Build a Professional Network for #remotelearning

Not all online learning spaces are equal! In fact, many are applications built by designers without any educational background at all. So how can educators explore and build the best sustainable interactive online learning environments for students? Well- one way is to explore innovative virtual learning spaces together to evaluate them.

With that goal in mind, the Community Virtual Library is sponsoring CVL Educator Workshops in numerous virtual environments, such as Second Life, Kitely, and web-based worlds like Cybalounge and 3Dwebworldz. For those interested in virtual reality headsets, CVL has a VR Explorers team and a Discord Channel. Check out the CVL Educators Workshop schedule here! Workshops are just starting, so check the spreadsheet as dates will be added.

Community Virtual Library in Cybalounge

Community Virtual Library Main Branch

The main branch of the Community Virtual Library is in Second Life and librarians, educators and volunteers hold office hours to help teachers, learners, and anyone interested in virtual environments to better understand and use them. Explore the website and see the Virtual Reference tab to find a mentor.

Is education ready for #virtualreality headsets?

Librarians and colleagues are exploring VR headsets while understanding that virtual immersive environments like Second Life are a form of virtual reality that has been proven to be advantageous for years. A recent workshop in the virtual world of Virbela presented a session on where VR is headed in education.