An Introduction to Web 2.0 and Virtual Worlds

by Edward Howell

The Read and Write Web

And what is the “Read and Write Web?” These are web pages that are served on demand by web-based software applications, which have built in controls to edit them. In the early days of the Web, creating personal websites took specialized knowledge and software. They were created individually and uniquely. The first generation of web tools focused on the desktop user tools. Viewers and browsers such as Netscape, Explorer, and Opera, along with their plug-ins, became very popular. Web page creation applications such as Dreamweaver, InDesign and FrontPage, and web servers with high-end software appeared to be the main products that would drive the market.

But then Web servers became cheap and easy to deploy, and free page creation tools based on the feature sets of commercial programs became available. Today sites like MySpace and Facebook provide extensive customization and web page creation tools which require little or no coding knowledge. Tasks such as word processing, image processing and even videos are now easily created and stored outside of a user’s computer. This means that a person could go to another computer and still have access to their work and materials through (almost) any web browser.

The second generation web tools are using the web as a platform.  The applications are becoming more knowledge-oriented, such as data aggregators and sorters, and user-generated content that is published and managed through a network application, which provides the service of data management: uploading, storing and serving.  The new hot product was a service delivered over the Web platform. So Web 2.0 refers not to any particular new protocol or service, but simply that people are beginning to take advantage of the Internet in ways that are new, collaborative and decentralized.

Another major shift in Web 2.0 was web page coding. Traditional HTML code defined the content of the page and the design/formatting in the same document, directly. The advent of XML separated the content from the presentation formatting. This allowed the same content to be reformatted on demand for any browser, device or preference.  Static content is replaced by dynamically created pages – pages that do not exist until you ask for them.

Video: The Web is Us/ing Us

The Power of the Group

Companies that have survived the dot-com bust had one interesting thing in common. They leveraged the intellectual power of their users. The concept of allowing your customers to modify and direct the production of your product seemed crazy at first. Businesses like Google and Lego have used it to successfully harness the power of “collective intelligence.” This is nothing new. The original concept of hyperlinking is analogous to the way synapses form in the brain. As associations grow stronger or persist for long periods of time, these associations grow organically as the collective activity of millions of users builds them. The idea behind this is leveraging the “long tail,” gathering work/knowledge from the edges and not overly favoring the center. Many companies have used this concept to become very successful.

• Wikipedia
• Reddit
• Digg
• Slashdot
• Del.icio.us
• Google
• Lego
• Linux

WebCT (Valencia’s Learning Management System) and ATLAS are full of tools that are collaborative. For example, Chat with Whiteboard, discussion boards, groups, photo sharing, blogs and journals, some with peer review. The discussions use HTML, which the students can edit directly within the course, with no need for purchasing programs. Think of web 2.0 as Internet-enabled collaging with images, text, hyperlinks, video, audio, data.

Some of my favorite web 2.0 Sites:

• Flickr
• Purchased by Yahoo! Networks, a photo and image sharing, tagging and collecting site.
• Colour Lovers
• Create and share color palettes and designs for design, enjoyment, and fun.
• YouTube
• Post, remix, share and comment on videos.

Some other great Web 2.0 sites:

Source:

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2007/12/21/the-best-web-20-applications-for-education-2007/

Tumblr

This “micro-blogging” site upgraded their service this year.  It’s a great place for students to easily post a whole lot of their work.  Students can have individual or group “Tumblrs.”   A student can also share their password with a small number of students who can leave comments.

Bookr

It would be difficult to create an easier application to make Slideshows with captions on the web.  The only drawback to it is you can only use images off Flickr, and not others on the Web, but that’s a small price to pay for such an accessible application.

VoiceThread

You can upload pictures and create an audio narrative to go along with them.  In addition, audio comments can be left by visitors.  VoiceThread also provides a great deal to teachers by allowing them to get their premium services for free, including allowing them to create a zillion VoiceThreads for free.  Happily, they’ve finally incorporated the feature of allowing you to include images off the web just by inserting its url. 

Show Beyond

This is similar to VoiceThread (number three) in allowing audio narration of slideshows, but doesn’t allow audio comments like VoiceThread.  You can also add music and text.

Daft Doggy

It allows you to create website tours — a series of websites where you also leave your own descriptive text or instructions on each page.  You can use it to create Internet scavenger hunts.   Visitors can also leave comments.

Community Walk

Students can put many sites on a map with descriptions and images (which can be easily grabbed off the web).  Students can use this to describe field trips, report on historical events, and do other mapping applications.  There are a lot of these kinds of sites, but I’ve found Community Walk to be the easiest to use.

One True Media

It’s a very easy way to create slideshows on the Web, and add text, music and images.

Fleck

Fleck lets you take any webpage and create virtual post-it notes to “paste” on them.  They’re great for students to demonstrate their use of reading strategies.

ESL Video

It’s super-easy to take pretty much any video off-the-net and create a quiz to it.  It’s designed for ESL/EFL students, but it can also be used by and for mainstream students.

CircaVie

I think it’s the easiest online application for creating timelines and incorporating images.  It can be used in any number of lessons.

CLEAR
SMILE

SMILE and CLEAR.  They’re both from Michigan State University, and allow teachers (and students) to easily create clozes, drag-and-drop exercises,  and sequencing activities.  They also allow you to use audio and video with the activities, and will host them as well.

Cloze: a procedure used to measure comprehension or text difficulty, in which a person is called upon to supply elements that have been systematically deleted from a text.

 Footnote

Footnote allows students to access thousands of primary source documents and photos, and easily create online history reports.  Their urls can then be posted, and students can also leave comments on their peers’ reports.

Sketchcast

You can “draw” on a whiteboard and record an audio explanation at the same time.  You’re given a url for your creation and/or you can embed it into a blog.  Others can leave comments about your Sketchcast, too.  It’s particularly good to demonstrate how to solve math problems.

Vi.sualize.us

It’s a “social bookmarking” site like del.icio.us, but for images.  You can save, categorize, and write a description of images on the web.

Valencia’s MySpace and Facebook sites

MySpace:

Group URL: http://groups.myspace.com/ValenciaCC

http://www.myspace.com/valenciacommunitycollege

Example Valencia students on MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/davidwfox

http://www.myspace.com/hareg

http://www.myspace.com/nuangel

Facebook Site:

http://www.facebook.com/

In Facebook, look for and Join the Valencia Network.

Second Life

The roots of Second Life are in Gaming and Simulations. The Game Main Character, controlled by the player, is usually presented with some dilemma at the start of the game, which must be solved. The main character’s appearance is designed by professionals to fit the game story and animation. Sometimes, a selection of preset characters is available, such as different genders, or appearances, or capabilities.

In a Role Playing Game, or RPG, the main character usually has an Inventory of stored items such as clothing, weapons, shields, maps, and or “spells,” depending on the game. With the advent of broadband connectivity, early online RPGs which were either text based, or which used simple graphics, gave way to fully 3D MMORPG's (Multi-User Online Role Playing Games). Examples are World of Warcraft, Star Wars Galaxies, Lord of the Rings Online, and City of Heroes. They take place in a large explorable 3D environment, with realistic terrain and sky. Sun, wind, gravity, other physical interactions can affect anything in the environment.

These games mostly are built from re-usable software engines, which provide the core software for rapid, simple development of games and interactive environments. The game programmer can easily script interactive rendering, physics, and collision detection. Most modern games also come with an integrated development environment, or Level Builder. After playing the game (or, instead of playing it) the player can design make their own environment and characters to play with, or shoot at. Some of the modifications to the original game, or “mods”, can be very popular.

Second Life also integrates many components of social networking software, game engine physics and streaming media. It includes Instant Messaging, Chat, Voice Chat and 3D environments and 3D building software. Second Life is a MUVE - Multi-User Virtual Environment. Unlike a game, there are no points, scores, winners, levels or strategic goals. The Main Character from video gaming is now the Avatar, whose appearance and behavior is directly controlled by the user. Each Avatar has a stored inventory of text notecards, landmarks, images and textures, objects and scripts.

The avatars interact on the Second Life Grid, which is modeled upon an ocean and land masses. Land, avatars and objects are handled in 65,536-meter2 plots called sims. Each sim runs on a single server. Second Life started about 4 years ago with about 500 Residents and one square kilometer.  As of July 2007, Second Life consisted of about 600 square kilometers of land, on about 2300 square kilometers of Grid, with 40,000 to 50,000 people from all over the world online at any time. The Teen Grid restricts Residents by age. The only adults that are allowed in the Teen Grid are verified educators. Additional Grids are planned, and the Grid server software is open source. Minimum technical requirements: 1 GB RAM, 4 MB video card, 1GhZ processor, Internet Connection*: Cable or DSL.

Using Second Life

You can create an avatar at www.secondlife.com. Names in Second Life can be anything for the first name, and a last name selected from a database. Once you are logged in, you can make extensive alterations to the avatar appearance, including gender, body, clothing, modes of movement.

The movements and appearance of the avatar are controlled by a user in real time. Walking, flying, camera control and navigating are controlled by the keyboard and mouse. The Mini-Map gives you a small real time view of the local area, with indicators for avatars who are nearby. The Camera can show you either your avatar, or the point of view through your avatar’s eyes.

Interacting and communicating can be accomplished through Chat, Instant Messaging, Gestures, and Voice. Social networking software elements allow you to add Friends, join Groups and even share and modifying 3D objects.

The user creations tools in Second Life are mainly building and scripting. The 3D Tools are simplified – boxes, spheres, donuts. Building in 3D using simple building blocks and images allows even novice 3D users to create things to use. These 3D shapes and their size and textures are streamed to the user's computer live to produce an environment where the distance between conceiving an idea and making it visible, usable and distributable to people is nearly zero. Second Life’s scripting language can produce a wide range of behaviors and interactivity, including fully functional applications!

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Educational Places of Interest to Visit in Second Life

The Globe Theater, Renaissance Island

Paris, 1900

Spaceport Alpha

Millions of Us

Electric Sheep Company

IBM Innovations

Reuters News Agency

English Village

ICT Library on Info Island

ACLU in Second Life

Diplomacy Island

Education UK Island

Mental Health Simulator "Virtual Hallucinations"

NBC Studios

Sony BMG Media Island

NOAA

Svarga Artificial Life Simulation

Ideas for Using Second Life

• Distance and Flexible Education
• Presentations, Panels and Discussions
• Training and Skills Development
• Self-paced Tutorials
• Displays and Exhibits
• Immersive Exhibits
• Roleplays and Simulations
• Data Visualisations and Simulations
• Libraries, Art Galleries and Museums
• Historical Re-creations and Re-enactments, Living and Immersive Archeology
• Computer Programming
• Artificial Intelligence Projects
• Artificial Life Projects
• Multimedia and Games Design
• Art and Music Projects
• Literature, Composition and Creative Writing
• Theatre and Performance Art
• Photostories and Photo Scenarios
• Machinma
• Treasure Hunts and Quests
• Virtual Tourism, Cultural Immersion and Cultural Exchange
• Language Teaching and Practice, and Language Immersion
• Social Science and Anthropological Research
• Awareness/Consciousness Raising and Fund Raising
• Support and Opportunities for People with Disabilities
• Politics, Governance, Civics and Legal Practice
• Business, Commerce, Financial Practice and Modelling
• Real Estate Practice
• Product Design, Prototyping, User-testing and Market Research
• Interior Design
• Architectural Design and Modelling
• Urban Planning and Design

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Distance Interaction - Users can see each other and interact in real time.
• Prospective students can search for classes or find a virtual school
• Objects and scripts that users create can be shared
• Completely user-created content
• Open source viewer
• Planned de-centralization of the servers that run Second Life
• Free accounts
• User-created content is protected by Intellectual Property rights & permissions settings
• Lots of existing Educational free content
• Free account activation - free use for students
• Easy to use for most people - immersive environment resembles RL
• Leveraging Skill Stratification (Peer Mentors)
• Using Second Life as one tool in a set of leveraged Web 2.0 resources
• Can be used with other LMS's
• Integrated chat, voice and instant messaging reduces cost for a live distance learning classroom
• Virtual campus needs no upkeep, no utilities, no cost to build or expand, and can replicate or improve any classroom activity
• Cost of land is a fraction of most LMS & webinar software

Cons

• Learning curve is steep for some – but practice will help and the skills learned are useful in the 21st century
• Technology is new and occasionally rough – but the program is still partly in beta and has improved steadily
• System requirements are still relatively high - but new chip breakthroughs this year have dropped the price of computers and high-speed access continues to increase in usage
• Some negative press – but the detractors, by their own admission spent only a few minutes learning Second Life and did not travel to many places
• Competition may eclipse Second Life as a standard in time – but the breakthroughs made in Second Life will likely mean any new products will be very similar

Why are virtual worlds important?

Humans learn best with audio and visual stimuli, and retain experiential memory, when the information is embedded emotionally in a story. 3D interactive content allows the students to form their own “story” surrounding the learning content. Collaborative technology leverages the power of creativity and experiential learning.

The changing minds of 21st century students will expect the Internet to facilitate communication and sharing. A mentoring environment is easy to achieve, because most requests for help are answered by someone interested in teaching.

The class of 2011 and beyond will change the way they use the Internet, as the technology is changing and growing quickly, processing power and connections speeds are both increasing. Intel announced a chip breakthrough this year.

The class of 2011 already is communicating with text chat, instant messaging, email, and voice mail. They have lived in a networked society and have probably been using a computer since childhood.

When they join us in Fall 2011, they will already have made use of this technology. My 2007 survey showed that 25% of faculty and staff already have tried it.

The class of 2011’s telecommunications environment may include very powerful convergence technology. Virtual spaces may be part of a standard, like XML. Competing virtual worlds will proliferate the choices. There are already many other virtual environments like Second Life – it is not the only one!

• HiPiHi – Chinese virtual world
• Entropia Online
• Outback Online

The future may see Avatar portability across virtual worlds. Virtual stores may sell both virtual and real versions of things like clothing, appliances or even hairstyles. Web and virtual applications will merge and each will feed the other. Database-generated 3D environments could allow complex information to be assimilated at a glance.

Avatars could become closer to real life and real life becomes more like Second Life appears, with people of various hues, extremely divergent appearances and a blending of real and virtual events. Demand for more immersive experiences may lead to inexpensive head-mounted displays, with motion sensor controls like the Wii, and even neurologically controlled avatars. Augmented reality will overlay data visualizations onto our views of the world, adding layers of additional incoming information. In fact, all of these things have already been created, but have not yet been implemented on a large scale.

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