Dr. Brian M. Slator, Computer Science Department North Dakota State University

1. Immersive Role-based Environments for Education Dr. Brian M. Slator, Computer Science Department North Dakota State University

2. NDSU WWWIC World Wide Web Instructional Committee Paul Juell Donald Schwert Phillip McClean Brian Slator Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat Alan White Jeff Clark WWWIC faculty supported by large teams of undergraduate and graduate students. WWWIC’s virtual worlds research supported by NSF grants DUE-9752548, EAR-9809761, DUE-9981094, ITR-0086142 and EPSCoR 99-77788

3. Educational Role-playing Games“Learning-by-doing” Experiences • MultiUser • Exploration • Spatially-oriented virtual worlds • Practical planning and decision making

4. Educational Role-playing Games“Learning-by-doing” Experiences • Problem solving • Scientific method • Real-world content • Mature thinking

5. Balancing Pedagogy with Play Games have the capacity to engage! • Powerful mechanisms for instruction • Illustrate real-world content and structure • Promote strategic maturity (“learning not the law, but learning to think like a lawyer”)

6. DesignMainPrinciplesEfforts • Game-like * Learning • Spatially oriented Environments • Goal-oriented * Software • Immersive Agents • Role-based * Assessment • Exploratory * Development • Self-paced Tools • Multi-user * Learning Styles • Learn-by-doing * Support Systems

7. Technical Approach • Networked, internet based, client-server simulation • UNIX-based MOO (Multi-User Dungeon, Object Oriented) • Java-based clients (text version - telnet based; graphical versions)

8. The Projects • The Geology Explorer • The Virtual Cell • Dollar Bay • Like-a-Fishhook Village • Digital Archive for Archaeology • Others

9. The Geology Explorer

10. • Similar to Earth, but opposite the Sun •You are a Geologist and you “land” on Oit to undertake exploration •Authentic Geoscience goals - e.g., to locate, identify, and report valuable minerals Planet Oit

11. The Virtual Cell

12. Work in Progress

13. 1869 Town of Blackwood established. • 1880 Spring: begin historical simulation. • 1881 Fall: Railroad Arrives. • 1882 Silver is discovered in the hills. • 1885 Nov-Dec: the Great White Ruin begins. • 1886 Spring: Flood, Blackwood simulation ends.

14. Virtual Archaeologist An immersive multi-user 3D virtual environment that faithfully reproduces an archeological site, Fort Berthold/Like-A-Fishhook Village (FB/LF), which supports: • exploration of a spatially oriented, authentic virtual world; • practical, field-based decision making; • critical thinking for scientific problem solving; • and time-travel

15. Immersive Virtual Environments • Simulated environment using LambdaMOO (enCore version 3.0, UT Dallas, Haynes & Holmevik) • Multiple interface(s) to the SAME simulation • Hosted on the internet, browser accessible • Multi-user, embedded objects, spatial navigation • Implemented support for “story points” (for embedded historical and/or fictional narrative) • Support humanities student writing project

16. Agents are needed: • 1. Atmosphere Agents • provide “color”, entertainment and activity • 2. Infrastructure Agents • contribute in “meaningful” ways to game-play • 3. Tutoring Agents • “over the shoulder” monitoring and remediation

17. Tutors are Needed In Virtual Environments: • Students can join from any remote location • They can log in at any time of day or night • Human tutors cannot be available at all times to help • Students can become discouraged or “lost” in the world and not know why

18. Assessment Qualitative Rejects the notion of standardized multiple choice tests Pre-game narrative-based survey • short problem-solving stories • students record their impressions and questions Similar post-game survey with different but analogous scenarios Surveys analyzed for improvement in problem-solving

19. Assessment by Scenarios • Assess computer literacy • PreTest: Present scenario, students propose course of action or solution • Engage in learning experience Control vs Virtual • PostTest: Present similar scenario, student response • Analysis of assessment data

20. The Geology Explorer: Assessment Protocol Pre-course Assessment: 400+ students Example: Fall, 1998 Computer Literacy Assessment: (244 volunteers) Divide by Computer Literacy and Geology Lab Experience Non-Participant Control Group: (150 students, approx.) Geology Explorer Treatment Group: (122 students) Geomagnetic (Alternative) Group: (122 students) Completed (78 students) Non-completed (44 students) Completed (95 students) Non-completed (27 students) Post-course Assessment: 368 students

21. A sample scenario: Manitoba Fishing You are in northern Manitoba on a fishing trip. Fishing has been good. At dawn on the day of your departure, you cut across country to a remote bay and have more good luck: you catch your limit of walleye. On the way back to the lodge, you stumble across a heavy, moss-covered rock on the shoreline, flipping it over. Looking down, you see the underside of the rock shining with a brilliant metallic yellow. You pick up the rock and lug it back to the lodge. At the airport luggage check-in, the baggage agent notes that you are 20 kg overweight . . . . . . exactly the weight of the rock that you found. He says, "It's okay to ship rocks back to the States, eh, but at $15 per kilogram, eh, you're going to owe $300!" As a geologist, what do you do? Please respond to the following: 1. List the questions you would ask yourself, giving reasons behind asking those particular questions: 2. List the factors that you would consider in making your final decision:

22. Scoring protocol for scenario assessment. 1) General Problem Solving: 60 points Scoring consisted of three sections worth 20 points each. With 60 points possible this category is weighted highest because it deals with students’ ability to approach, manipulate, and make conclusions on a problem scientifically. The three sections included: * Form Hypothesis: 0-20 points based on the strength of questions and strategies for solving the scenario. Hypotheses were judged on how well they fit the problem and their testability • * Making specific tests: points awarded for listing diagnostic tests on the following scale. Points were compounded with a maximum of 20: • 8 points for first correct test • 7 points for second correct test • 5 points for third correct test • 3 points for naming a test unsuitable for the situation • * Conclusions based on evidence/theory: 0-20 points based on the strength and reasoning of conclusions 2) Specific Information: 25-30 points Divided into several elements each worth five or ten (most important to solving problem) points. Naming a test was given 2/5 credit while giving actual mineral properties was given full credit for the element (such as “quartz should scratch glass, but not diamond”). Examples of elements are: hardness, cleavage, taste, soluability. 3) Expert Knowledge: 5-10 points Points awarded in this category were for other expert geologic or specific knowledge. Points were based on the usefulness of the information in helping resolve the problem. Examples of useful knowledge receiving points in this category are knowing: • the value of gold per ounce • locations where diamonds are found • presence of artifacts in specific regions

23. Good response (scores: 70-75 points) If this happened to me I would note that the rock is very heavy so it could be gold. I would then try and press something hard into the rock because I know solid gold has a very soft texture. If I could not decide whether or not it was gold I would bring it somewhere that I could find out for sure like a geologist that could help me out. I don’t think I would pay $360 for the rock unless I was absolutely positive. Poor response (scores: 0-30 points)      I would probably do some research to find out what kind of rock it is. If it is a very valuable rock, I would pay the $360. Otherwise, I would probably get rid of it. If I didn’t have time to do research I would have it shipped to me by mail. I would definitely wonder what kind of rock it was. I would study the characteristics and look them up in my geology book. I would for sure make smart decisions on how I could keep it in my possession.

24. Mean Post-Intervention Scenario Scores for 1998 Geology Explorer - NDSU Physical Geology Students Grader Grader Grader Group No. One Two Three Alternate 95 29.3a 27.0a 42.6a Control 195 25.1a 25.5a 44.5a Planet Oit 78 40.5b 35.4b 53.4b Within any column, any two means followed by the same letter are not significantly different at P=0.05 using Duncan’s multiple range mean separation test.

25. Learning Style • Patterns we noticed: • analytical approach: frequent reference to on-line help, conducting sequences of experiments, deliberative: many experiments • pattern-matching approach: exploring far and wide in search of their goals: many movements • “brute force” approach: simply visiting location after location and identifying everything: many reports

26. Learning Style • A wide range of approaches are supported • Questions: • Are some of the “pattern matchers” really “curious explorers? • Is there such a thing as TOO much experimentation? • Will software tutors effect what we’re seeing? • How can the game encourage a more analytical approach? • Are students “gaming” the system?

27. Advantages of Virtual Worlds • Collapse virtual time and distance • Allow physical or practical impossibilities • Participate from anywhere • Interact with other users, virtual artifacts, and software agents • Multi-user collaborations and competitive play

28. To visit WWWIC Projects: www.ndsu.edu/wwwic Choose the project you want to view from the list at the left

29. Digital Archive Network for Anthropology (DANA) DANA is a recent advance! • DANA is intended to be a cross-platform information retrieval system for web-based multimedia utilized in anthropological research. • Ultimately, the goal of the DANA project is to create a network of distributed, federated databases containing research quality digitized 3D models, photographs, and video of archaeological and cultural data. • To the user seeking to access a broad variety of data, the client application will seem as though it is a user-friendly interface to a single online database. In actually, the user will be conducting searchers across a wide variety of databases located across the globe.