Creating genetic applications for informal science learning in multi-user virtual environments
✍ Scribed by Christopher Maher; Margaret Corbit
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 2002
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 440 KB
- Volume
- 25
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1084-8045
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
A team of developers at the Cornell Theory Center (CTC), Cornell University's highperformance computing and interdisciplinary research center, has implemented a 3D multiuser virtual science museum, SciCentr. SciCentr is a virtual world based on Active Worlds client/server technology. Related to gaming technology, and thus attractive to youth, virtual environments can be applied to formal and informal science education in areas such as genetics, as well as to language learning and social studies. In this paper, we review the current state of our understanding of the impact of this technology on informal science learning. We attempt to identify some of the advantages of using this technology, design features of our implementation, and ideas for managing the social interaction among educational users. More speci®cally, we will discuss pilot user experiences focused on crop genetics in SciCentr's Plant Breeding Beds and on the related SciFair exhibits, both examples of collaborative experiences in our virtual worlds. Finally, we describe the next stage in interactive interface development for our Gene Bot feature.