The Geology Explorer: Virtual Field Training

1. The Geology Explorer: Virtual Field Training A WWWIC virtual worlds research project supported by NSF grants DUE-9752548, EAR-9809761, DUE-9981094, ITR-0086142 and EPSCoR 99-77788, and FIPSE P116B011528

2. Geology Explorer Development Team • Graphics • Acey Olson (Rendered Landscapes) • Rebecca Potter (Rendered Images, Icons, and Landscapes) • Dr. Don Schwert (Landscape Photographs) • Shannon Tomac (Rendered Landscapes, Icons, & Images, Comic Book) • Daniel Turany (Rock/Mineral Photographs) • Staff • John Bauer; Java Client (GUMI-bare and GUMI-game) Design and Implementation, Graphical Directive Protocol • Nem Schlecht • Mark Tinguely • Students • Graduate Research Assistants: • Otto Borchert; Software tutors, Java client development • Bob Cosmano; Makes Java Go, Moral Support • Krista Dauner; Tutoring Scripts • Rahul Devabhaktuni; Hydrology (Water) on Oit • Kuo-Di Jian; Java Tool Integration • Yongxin "George" Jia; Java/LambdaMOO Hierarchy Tool • Guy Hokanson; Software tutors, dynamic HTML • Bhaskar Marthi; Instrument verbs • Vidyalatha Nagareddy; Java/LambdaMOO Entity Tool • Shanhong Wu; Java3D • Undergraduate Research and Independent Study Students: • Bryan Bandli; Assessment and Evaluation • Chris Fish; Endgame Design and Implementation • Lucas Koehntop; Java consulting • Ned Kruger; Assessment and Evaluation • Acey Olson; Bryce Landscapes, Tutoring, Player History, Interface Design • Carson Rittel; Content Quality Control, Help Database • Joy Turnbull; Content Quality Control, Help Database • Brad Vender; MOO-side HTML server • Dean Vestal; Content Quality Control, Help Database, Interface Design • Mindy Sue Vogel; Geologic & Quality evaluation, Alternative exercises • K.C. Vorthmann; Geologic Content and Assessment • Jane Willenbring; Assessment and Evaluation

3. WWWIC Course Management – The Planet Oit Example • Player Introduction • Faculty Enroll a School and Class • Student Progress Page • Computer Literacy Test to Create Balanced Experimental Groups • (Oit vs. WWW activity vs. other activity) • The Pre-experience Scenario Assessment • - Baseline for the Post-experience Scenario Assessment • - Example of Assessment Scheme • The Student Launches the Java Client • Students Receive Help and Can Request Help • Teachers Can Track Student Progress • The Student Completes the Post-experience Scenario Assessment • Students Provide Feedback on Their Experience • The Scenarios are Evaluated by Graders or by an automated system under development • All Student Actions Are Logged • What is Planet Oit?

5. 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 Geology Explorer Treatment Group: (122 students) Geomagnetic (Alternative) Group: (122 students) Non-Participant Control Group: (150 students, approx.) Completed (78 students) Non-completed (44 students) Completed (95 students) Non-completed (27 students) Post-course Assessment: 368 students

7. How To Play

9. Help: The Bookcase

10. Help: The Message Board

11. Tracking Student Progress

12. The Setting •Planet Oit - similar to Earth, but opposite the Sun •Students “land” on Oit to undertake exploration •Authentic Geoscience goals - e.g., to locate, identify, and report valuable minerals

13. The Simulation ~50 places: desert, cutbank, cave, etc. ~100 different rocks and minerals ~15 field instruments: rock pick, acid bottle, magnet, etc. ~Software Tutors: agents for equipment, exploration, and deduction

14. Graphical Navigation

15. How To Play: The Topology of Planet Oit

16. Carrying out Investigations: Players Identify Outcrops Using Tests Detail Images for Samples Results of Tests (in this case, acid reactivity)

17. Example of Programming Actions: Acid Bottle: "pour acid bottle on substance" Coarse-grained rocks Minerals Fine-grained rocks Other objects If the property acid_reactive is 2, the mineral fizzes actively when acid is poured on it. If the property acid_reactive is 1, and a powder is made of the mineral, the powder will fizz actively. If the acid_reactive property is 0, the mineral does not fizz. If the rock contains more than 10% calcite, it fizzes actively when acid is poured on it. If the rock contains between 0 and 10 percent calcite, its powderized form will fizz. Also, if the rock contains more than 25% dolomite, its powder will fizz actively. Finally, if the rock contains no calcite or dolomite, it will not fizz. Because each mineral in the rock can be distinguished, the test can be performed on each mineral. Each returns whether it is acid reactive or not. Most other objects in the game have a acid_reactive property of 0. Pouring acid on them will cause them not to fizz. Players are an exception to this rule. You are unable to pour acid on other players.

18. Intelligent Software Tutoring Agents are Needed in Virtual Environments: Students/players interact with the intelligent tutoring agents Players can ignore advice and carry on at their own risk • Deductive Tutors • Equipment tutor • Exploration tutor • Science tutor • Detects when a student makes a wrong guess and why (i.e. what evidence they are lacking); or when a student makes a correct guess with insufficient evidence (i.e. a lucky guess)

19. Virtual Mapping and Petrology Module LS Marble Dike LS Marble SS Qzite SS Qzite SS Qtzite Qzite SS Schist 1 Sch2 Sch2 Gneiss Schematic map - not to scale

20. Virtual Mapping and Petrology Module LS Marble Dike Marble LS SS Qzite SS Qzite SS Qtzite Qzite SS Schist 1 Sch2 Sch2 Gneiss First Set of Goals • Locate yourself and outcrops using topo maps and aerial photos • General rock identification • Begin creating a Geologic Map

21. Virtual Mapping and Petrology Module Tutorials on Concepts of Geologic Mapping are Available in the Environment A Player (appearance can be changed)

22. Virtual Mapping and Petrology Module Base Maps for Adding Data and Creating a Geologic Map “aerial photo”

23. Virtual Mapping and Petrology Module Base Maps for Adding Data and Creating a Geologic Map Topographic map

24. Virtual Mapping and Petrology Module Outcrop Locations are Shown with Markers You Are Here Rock Type Markers Show Locations of Identified Outcrops

25. Virtual Mapping and Petrology Module Player Creates a Geologic Map Based on Outcrop Locations, and Can Get Immediate Feedback

26. Virtual Mapping and Petrology Module LS Marble Dike Marble LS SS Qzite SS Qzite SS Qtzite Qzite SS Schist 1 Sch2 Sch2 Gneiss Intermediate Goal • Put Geologic Events in a Reasonable Order Advanced Goals (in development) • Identify the Metamorphic ‘basement’ rocks • Use Thin Sections for Rock Identification • Microprobe Analyses of Relevant Minerals • Thermobarometry

27. Efficacy shown by controlled experiments Fall Semesters 1998 - 2002 >400 students in large non-major Intro Geo class, split into 3 groups • Planet Oit • Web-based (alternative) exercise • Control (non-participant)

28. Subjective Assessment 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

29. New Research: Automated Assessment SLATE Hand grading 100’s of narrative responses is expensive Automated evaluation of the quality of students’ questions: • students enter a question • their question is matched to one in the database

31. Conclusions Implementation: • Networked, Multi-player • Simulation-based • Interactive • Multi-media, highly graphical Educational virtual environments can provide: • Authentic Experiences • Active Learning And are valuable adjuncts to traditional learning

32. http://oit.ndsu.edu World Wide Web Instructional Committee (WWWIC) North Dakota State University Fargo ND