Today, Virtual Online Worlds are most often associated with the genre of Interactive Digital Entertainment called Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs). These games, developed primarily for entertainment purposes, immerse the user in a vast virtual environment where they may participate in a variety of entertainment-oriented virtual activities, such as combat, resource harvesting, construction, and of course, socializing with other users. Each activity incorporates complex mechanics to make the activities and their consequences seem believable. These games are also known to be highly addictive.
In sharp contrast, today's cutting edge technology-based instruction (TBI) -- sometimes called Computer Based Training (CBT) -- is multimedia-based. Multimedia combines text, video, static graphics, and animation to present information in a structured manner. TBI takes advantage of the structured nature of multimedia to inform and instruct the user on any topic imaginable. When combined with proven instructional methods, TBI can be a powerful instructional medium. In fact, studies have suggested that TBI -- especially when implemented as part of an instructor-driven training solution -- produces better results than traditional book learning.
On the other hand, multimedia-based TBI generally lacks one key ingredient: an ability to keep the learner interested. The best developers of TBI products go to great lengths to make their products keep the learner's interest throughout the presentation, relying heavily on applied learning methods, along with an abundance of graphical and audio hooks, to keep the learner's interest and make the content seem more relevant. Despite these efforts, developers meet with varying degrees of success.
In the future, TBI -- and education in general -- will commonly be delivered through simulations and virtual environments that immerse the learner in the content, engaging her in a process of discovery and application that naturally reinforces understanding. The pinnacle genre of these new instructional frontiers will be Virtual Online Learning Environments (VOLEs) -- Virtual Online Worlds designed with the purpose of delivering instructional content. VOLEs integrate proven instructional methods with the elements that make MMOGs exciting and addicting, and the complex mechanics associated with Virtual Online Worlds allow for seamless integration of virtually unlimited relevant content.
A well-designed VOLE provides the perfect conditions for learning. It incoporates proven instructional strategies to deliver quality instruction that the learner will retain. It allows the learner to engage in active discovery of the content they are expected to learn. The social element allows many concurrently connected learners to discuss the material and cooperate in its discovery. Exciting interactive activities will likely maintain the learner's interest for a substantial period of time -- sometimes well beyond the time it takes to complete the lesson. Finally, a VOLE gives the user an unprecented opportunity to virtually experience and apply the material firsthand.
This blog is a journal of progress. From time to time, I will post important articles, comments, discussions, and reflections that relate to the design and development of tomorrow's Virtual Online Learning Environments.
For my first reference, I would like to point out an article written by the reknowned researcher on Virtual Online Worlds, Nicholas Yee. His article,
Imagining Future Worlds, discusses precisely what I've been talking about in great detail. His entire collection of articles and research on MMOGs, and Virtual Online Worlds in general, is called The Daedalus Project, and is most informative.
Stay tuned for more!
