In addition to “Magic Leap” development in the conjunction between augmented reality and virtual reality, where Google Glass and Oculus Rift and other connective devices are exploring, there’s the ongoing development of virtual reality worlds such as Second Life.
A conference for those working with “OpenSimulator” took place a week ago… here’s a link to the conference home, and here’s one to the program for the conference.
OpenSimulator is an open-source server platform for hosting virtual worlds and the Metaverse. It is compatible with the client for Second Life and can host alternative worlds with differing feature sets with multiple protocols.
If one searches around one can find videos from various “tracks” of the conference. Here’s one from the “Learning Lab” labeled “lyr” and done by Dr. Cynthia Calongne
It also is a glimpse of the future, albeit one that will need a lot of work to get here. But that’s the way things happen, the innovators are out there on the boundaries of what’s possible, and they bring back the rough maps of how to proceed for the “mainstream”.
Someday it’s all going to come together: augmented reality, virtual reality, “the metaverse”, wearable devices, “magic leaps”, and online learning of all kinds. If we believe the “Second Machine Age” guys, perhaps it will arrive much sooner than we think.
Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Kudos to Ed for source nod.
The video from the “learning lab” was an interesting example in demonstrating how a virtual reality could be used for a Defined Learning Experience (DLE). The interaction and outcomes between the learners and instructor was fascinating to watch as the learners built their own models after listening to the explicit instructions and watching the demo by the instructor.
The instructor referred to learners by name and seemed to have a live chat going on, but the transcript was not visible. While the learners could interact by moving and creating, I missed not hearing any voices other than the instructor.
I also wondered about the age of the learners since the instructor seemed to be encouraging them in ways that might imply they were children and they might be getting bored….”we’re almost done now”.
Thanks to Ed for sharing what he knows about virtual reality!