JOYSTIQ is carrying a piece on an academic (Ed Lamoureux) who is going to run a Multimedia-VR module entirely in Second Life. The module is called "Field Research in Second Life" (Multimedia 490, MM 490) and will initially be limited to 8 students. The module objectives are:
1. teach real world field research (communication ethnography) techniques.
2. adapt real world field research techniques to a virtual environment.
3. examine the potential of immersive online communities as teaching and learning environments, both for BU/MM and for New Media Consortium and its partners/sponsors.
4. expose BU/MM students (as future MM producers) to an immersive, online, 3D environment that has purposes in addition to/other than gaming.
This is truly a new departure and Ed should be commended for taking this `leap'.
It would be nice if Ed were to publish a post-module evaluation so that we can see if this is a viable medium for teaching and learning.
Dave
[NEWS] Media Machines announces Ajax3D based on Ajax and X3D
August 01, 2006
Media Machines announced Ajax3D, a Javascript-based software library and development paradigm for deploying online virtual worlds and 3D web applications based on Ajax and X3D. The company also issued an open call for participation in an industry forum at www.ajax3D.org, dedicated to the research and development of online virtual worlds using 3D open standards and Ajax best practices.
Ajax3D combines the visual richness and interactivity of X3D, the ISO standard for networked 3D graphics, with the ease of use and ubiquity of Ajax, a set of Javascript and XML programming methods for developing web applications. Ajax3D employs the X3D Scene Access Interface (SAI) for controlling 3D worlds within a web browser via Javascript. Ajax3D content can be viewed with any web browser with an X3D-compliant plug-in.
VR
Ajax3D
X3D