Daden Emerging Technology Seminars - Daden Limited is a Virtual Worlds and artificial intelligence solution provider. Our focus is on using virtual worlds, and virtual personalities to deliver more efficient and effective enterprise systems, saving our clients money, time and carbon, and delivering better understanding and collaboration.

1. Daden Limited
Training in Virtual
Worlds
David Burden
Daden Limited
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk

2. Training in Virtual Worlds
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 Games, Simulations and Virtual Worlds
 Modes of Use
 Why Use Virtual Worlds
 Exemplar Projects
 Barriers, Issues and Planning

3. Games, Simulations & Virtual Worlds
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk

4. Serious Games
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 Often no avatar
 Usually single user
 One game = one task
 Often stand-alone PC
 Short duration
 Limited goals
 Limited actions
 Game-play & score
orientated
The Business Game – Pixel Learning
 No persistence

5. Simulations
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 Often no avatar
 Usually first-person view
 Single/multi user
 Scenario/environment
based
 Stand-alone or networked
PCs
 Short/medium duration
 Wider goals VBS2 – Bohemia Interactive
 Wider actions
 Real-life not game rewards
 Limited persistence

6. Sandbox Games
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 Avatar based
 Trailing camera/first-person
view
 Multi/single user
 Scenario/environment based
 Networked/Stand-alone PCs
 Medium duration
 Wider goals or storyline http://blog.media-freaks.com/other-horizons-different-applications-of-3d-animation/
Grand Theft Auto
 Wider actions
 Gameplay & score driven
 Limited persistence

7. Virtual Worlds
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 Avatar based
 Trailing camera/first-person
view
 Multi user
 Scenario/environment
based
 Networked PCs
 Medium/long duration
SL5B Conference Panel – Second Life
 Wide/no goals
 Very wide actions
 Money & reputation
 Persistence

8. Synthetic Environments
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Action
Scope
Virtual Worlds
“sandbox
games”
Simulations
Serious
Games
Goal
Scope

9. Application Platforms
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Virtual World
engine
Scope
Of
Action
Virtual
Worlds
Simulation
engine
Simulations
Game
engine
Serious
Games
Range/Number/Complexity of Goals

10. Synthetic Environments
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 Don't confuse application platform and user
experience/environment
 Limitations of technology and maturity of application tend to
currently link platform with experience/environment
 As technology and applications mature further:
– A virtual world application platform could deliver a
simulation and/or a serious game
– A simulation platform could deliver a serious game
– A serious game platform can only deliver a serious game

11. One Platform – Many Environments
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Vastpark as 2D user interface Vastpark as avatar-less game
Vastpark as simulation Vastpark as virtual world

12. Modes of Use
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 Remote/Social Learning
– Only using VW to overcome distance
 Exploratory Learning
– Use explores environment
 Visualisation
– Looking at data or processes from outside
 Simulation
– Immersive experience
 Not Possible in Real-Life (“'NPIRL”)
– “Grand Simulations”

13. Modes of Use
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 Visual-Aid
 Participative
– Synchronous
– Asynchronous
– Group/Solo

14. Why Use Virtual Worlds
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 Benefits of Virtual Learning
– Developing enhanced spatial knowledge representation
– Impractical and impossible tasks
– Creating micro-worlds – embodying abstract concepts/principles
– High motivation and engagement - due to high levels of
personalisation and being “in the flow”
– First-person non-symbolic experiences (cf third person symbolic)
– Contextualisation for greater transfer from learning to practice –
encoding specificity
– More effective collaborative learning
BJET Jan 2010 – Dalgarno & Lee

15. Why Use Virtual Worlds
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 Supporting Distance Learning, eg UFI
 Changing Learning Dynamics, eg St George's
 Subjective view – greater emotion and spatial cues to aid retention
and understanding
 Doing the Impossible, eg historical recreations, inside a furnace
 Supporting Different Learning Approach, eg read, watch, do, discuss
BJET Jan 2010 – Dalgarno & Lee

16. Better Learning - Metrics
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 Blitz Triage Trainer
– 28% vs 7% for tagging accuracy for
game trained students
 Imperial College Operating Theatre
Familiarisation
– Higher confidence from VW group as
against PPT or even RL group
 Loyalist College – Border Crossing
– Success scores raised from 56% to
98% in one year

17. Saving Costs - Metrics
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 Routine Costs - ACS/IBM
– Minimum $1000 per day per
participant, plus soft-costs
 Exceptional Costs - Highways Agency
– Saving £65,000 per day for Highway
Closure simulations

18. Exemplar Projects
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk

19. WTRI – Factory Sales Simulation
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20. UFI – NVQ Customer Service
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21. Derby University – Virtual Quarrying
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22. Learning by Walking
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ThinkBalm Data Garden
Italian SL Education Seminar

23. New York City – Emergency Management
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk

24. Barriers, Issues and Planning
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk

25. Barriers
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 Technical: PC and network performance, user interface
 Identity: Tension between work and play
 Culture: Codes and etiquette
 Collaboration: Building trust
 Time: To learn and do
 Economic: Set up costs
 Organisational: Staff and student buy-in
Steven Warburton: Liquid Learning Blog, Kings College, 2008
G Falloon: BTEJ Vol 41 No 1 2010

26. Issues to Consider
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 Which world – SL, OpenSim, Vastpark, other?
 How hosted – standalone PC, LAN or third party hosted?
 How presented – training using virtual worlds, or virtual
worlds including training?
 How are users represented?
 How is learning designed (and scaffolded)?
 How will user preferences be managed?
 What fidelity matters: environment, task, interaction?
 How secure does the environment need to be?
 What LMS/VLE integration is required?

27. Scripting/Content Models
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 Embedded
– High skill level
– Hard to maintain
– World specific
 Web-Linked
– Can get fragmented
– Corporate IT policies
– World limitations
 Web-based Authoring
– Central management/authoring of whole exercise
– Easy to maintain, change and re-configure
– Can deploy across multiple virtual worlds
– Can deploy to web and mobile

28. Planning a Project
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 Establish clear requirement specification
 Be clear as to organisational and learner benefits
 Develop a detailed exercise description form tutor and learner
perspectives – and any metrics needed
 Create the VW platform/environment
 Create induction path from web
 Build the 3D environment
 Script the exercise
 Arrange data capture, ideally with LMS link
 Create supporting documentation
 Test with team and refine
 Test with tame students, and refine
 Go live (with support)

29. Questions
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk