Web virtual reality in education – a tool helping young people to love natural

sciences (again)

Fe-ConE FRAMEWORK FOR E-LEARNING CONTENTS EVALUATION. AGR.No – 2005 – 3872 / 001 – 001 ELE-ELEB14

Tomaz Amon, Center for scientific visualization, Ljubljana, Sloveniatomaz.amon@bioanim.com

The classical school is traditional and new tools only slowly enter it. “When I go to school I have to power down (High school student).”

One researcher clams that, on average, students in class only get to ask a question once every 10 hours (Greasser, A.C., & Person, N.K. (1994). American Educational research Journal.

New approaches make the change possible…And new pedagogical strategies make it urgent.

Present situation

How to change or at least improve this situation?

• Modern curriculum• Teaching methods gets adjusted to the

way children think today• Teaching tools use advantage of the tools

children use• More (self-)experimentation in natural

sciences• Stimulating and managing the team work

The Right Creation Tools

• Not too expensive

• Easy to learn

• Productive - so that one can produce relatively simple content with ease and fun at work

• The final product should run on several platforms

• In two years, all is new again!

Also the “low end” virtual reality has several authoring levels as to the technical quality:

•The open – source like VRML (our Cell-Tissue-Body project)

•The more advanced level like Macromedia Director VR worlds combined with Flash (our Lake and Rgames projects)

Making an avatar

Lake Game First ViewThe user is

represented by his avatar

(the dragonfly). He can fire projectiles

and so interact with the system.

Play Features

• The 3D world can be easily exchanged, because the actions are mainly triggered by collisions

• a large part of animation is performed by physics simulation engine (Havok Dynamics)

Connecting virtual with real by LEGO robots

A suggestion…

• Make a floating robot with waterproof video camera

• Let it flow on a lake, come near to waterbirds (swans) or look under the water

• So students record the present situation on the lake.

• Later on this can be compared against global warming trends.

Authoring the mobile content

• Why not use the technology that our students love to create?

• I heard that our students have sent and received over 200.000 emails or instant messages by the time they graduate from college? (=137 per day if they used only in college (=4 years), 91 per day for 6 years, 68 per day for 8 years. If 2 per day for 8 years then total=5110)

BlogsWikisPodcastsOnline collaborationOnline testingOnline learningwebcamsGPSGeocaching games

GISGoogle EarthWebquestsE-portofoliosVirtual Pen-palsVirtual toursWritingReadingReflection

CELLPHONES to learn&teach

Author in Flash..

Preview for the phone type

Check your mobile e-content

Check the video clip

The compatibility…

Not all phones are supported…

Evaluation at the primary school Franceta Prešerna Kranj

Thank you.

Tomaz AmonCenter for scientific visualization

Ljubljana, Slovenia

tomaz.amon@bioanim.com http://www.bioanim.com

www.eduanim.comwww.radiationgames.net