3D virtual worlds DEFINE 21st century educational technology. There's no better way to connect, communicate and collaborate. This presentation asks for assistance with the creation of a K-12 Grid, an OpenSimulator virtual environment which will enable students and teachers around the real world to work together. It also suggests using Second Life as an alternative for teachers and students 16 and older. OpenSimulator is for ALL KIDS 3-19 and so is perfect for international as well as all K-12 Schools. By David W. Deeds and Adrian Hodge of Changchun American International School. Get the FREE E-BOOK on getting your school started with 3D virtual worlds from www.indeeds.com.

1. David W. Deeds and Adrian Hodge
Changchun American International School
Global Education Conference: Nov. 15, 2011
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2. Global 3D Virtual
Student/Teacher Community
What are we trying to do?
 Introduce 3D virtual worlds to “noobs” (newbies)
 Provide more 3DVW info to those already familiar
 Discuss why 3DVW’s are the best thing to hit
education since the invention of the printing press
 Discuss how your school can get started with 3DVW’s
 Ideally without reinventing the wheel (or e-book!)
Ask for assistance with the proposal for:
THE K-12 GRID (OpenSimulator and/or Second Life)!
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The main point is to sell you on:
 A K-12 Grid (OpenSimulator, a K-12 version of
ReactionGrid or JokaydiaGrid)
And/or
 K-12 Island(s) in Second Life
Read the e-books, then contact us to help with the
proposal or other work!
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Student/Teacher Community
Virtual world – a 3D computer environment in
which users are represented on screen as
themselves or as made-up characters and interact
in real time with other users
– Computer Desktop Encyclopedia
MMOG = Massively Multiplayer Online Games
MMORPG = MMO Role Playing Games
MUVE = MultiUser Virtual Environment (Immersive)
(Try to avoid using the word “game”!)
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Today we’ll be talking about:
 Second Life
 OpenSimulator
Others exist, such as:
 Quest Atlantis
 Unity3D/Jibe
 OpenWonderland
BUT it’s OpenSimulator that will enable K-12
educators to create/maintain their own 3DVW!
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International educational technology conferences
 Flat Classroom Conference in Beijing
 AACE Global Learn Asia Pacific Conference in
Melbourne (2nd consecutive GLAP)
 AACE ED-MEDIA Conference in Lisbon
 Global Meeting on Gifted Education in Second
Life Conference inworld
 TechEx 2011 in Bangkok
 Coming up: Beijing Learning Summit!
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Get a copy of:
 “2011 Horizon Report K-12 Version,” free:
http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2011-Horizon-Report-
K12.pdf
 “OpenSimulator: School Quick Start Guide,” free:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/57959626/OpenSim-
ulator-School-Quick-Start-Guide
 “A Practical Guide to Using Second Life in Higher
Education” by Maggi Savin-Baden, not free:
Open University Press (McGraw-Hill),
ISBN: 978-0335242146 (http://www.ebooks.com)
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The 2011 Horizon Report says games-based learning
will be MAINSTREAM in K-12 schools in 2-3 years.
 Supports communication, problem-solving and
collaboration (2 of the Web 2.0 3 C’s – also
connection, ISTE NETS!)
 Helps develop dispositions well-suited to rapid
change and an information culture in general
 Includes social aspects of teamwork, project
management, play
(How about being FUN? STEM!)
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Savin-Badin’s “Practical Guide” says “immersive
virtual worlds” have many advantages.
 Space in which experimentation can occur not
possible in real life
 Good fit for a culture that focuses on the visual
 Provides a sense of freedom and openness in
teaching and learning
 Offers exposure to wide range of scenarios
 Enables process- or task-based teaching/learning
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Deeds says, should he ever get time to write his next
book, that 3DVW’s will be an indispensable part
of if not the focal point of 21st century education,
for K-12 and all schools.
 No better way to teach the 3 C’s: Connect,
Communicate and Collaborate
 For international schools, 3DVW’s help students
(and teachers) transcend the language barrier
 Gifted and Special Needs programs built-in
 K-12 OpenSimulator Grid/Second Life Islands
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Second Life:
 Launched by Linden Labs in 2003
 3D virtual world with built-in modeling (CAD)
tools and Linden Scripting Language
 Not a game (per se): connect, communicate and
collaborate (also conduct commerce!)
 Q1 2011 holdings: US$30,000,000
 Been in Second Life for 5 years, taken over 500
students inworld for different classes
 Basic membership FREE, Premium $75/year
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Second Life Business/IT/Other classes since 2006:
 Professor in Korean university’s International
Business Department
 Students from Korea, China, Russia, Vietnam,
Laos and other countries (widely varying English)
 No lower-level textbooks for subjects such as
Management Information Systems!
 Needed a means of differentiation:
“gifted/talented” plus “regulars” plus “special
needs” kids
 Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol
(SIOP), Individualized Education Plans (IEP)
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Individualized Education Plans (IEP):
 Started with Ph.D. research, means of meeting
needs of all students across the spectrum
 Tried formal IEPs but involved a lot of
paperwork, easier to make informal, although
signatures help
 Better to develop “skeleton” lesson plans that
can be adapted, special needs or
gifted/talented kids and all “regulars”
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Generic international school problems:
 Schools are geographically separated, isolated
 No IT classes, or Design/Technology split
 Teaching 21st century tech: teachers, budgets
Specific 3 C’s Problems:
 Students aren’t necessarily fluent in LOI
 2D tools are limited: subjects especially!
 Privacy; permanence; ASMeB; FUN?
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OpenSimulator:
 Came onto the scene in 2007, now at 0.7.2 (still
alpha, not yet at Version 1)
 NOT a Second Life clone! (Viewers are)
 3D virtual world with built-in modeling (CAD)
tools and Linden Scripting Language
 Not a game (per se): connect, communicate and
collaborate (conduct commerce later?)
 Been in OpenSimulator since 2008, taken over 150
students inworld for different classes
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OpenSimulator:
 FREE, although hosted solutions best for most
schools (if you have good Internet access!)
 Two Do It Yourself options: client/local or
client/server
 Still not mature, but getting there…soon (??)
should be able to do everything Second Life does
and so it’s predicted to come out on top
 Open Wonderland, others have come and gone…
OpenSimulator will be the #1 choice of schools
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At CAIS, we use:
 Munchkinland for PYP (elementary school) ICT
classes: running on local server Big Bertha
 4-region private grid called Florida Caisland via
ReactionGrid for MYP Technology classes
 1-region public grid called just plain Caisland in
ReactionGrid (K-12s Inworld headquarters)
 An almost 10,000-square-meter cybercampus on
Teaching in Second Life (K-12s Inworld HQ) for
DP Info Technology in a Global Society classes
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Advantages of OpenSimulator over Second Life:
 FREE (the software anyway)
 Private versus public (if you want it this way)
 Complete control over parameters
Advantages of Second Life over OpenSimulator:
 Where everybody is, at least grownups!
 Economy, exchange of goods and services
 More mature, it’s a for-profit business
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Second Life and OpenSim:
 Built-in computer-aided design (3D modeling)
tools: students build their own worlds
 Built-in Linden Scripting Language: students
easily learn programming with instant payoff
 Project management: students must work
together in teams with defined roles and
responsibilities
 Language exchange programs: virtual field trips!
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Second Life: Teachers/Administrators & Students 16+:
 Teachers/administrators can attend meetings and
otherwise network with professional peers
 Students can produce products and run their own
businesses, making actual profits if successful
 Teachers/administrators can recruit and otherwise
advertise their organizations
 Students can visit the cybercampuses of
universities or colleges they want to attend
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OpenSim: Teachers/Administrators & Students 3-19:
 With grid, teachers/administrators can do
everything possible in Second Life, except perhaps
economics
 Students can enjoy completely private
regions/grids while intermittently going on virtual
field trips
 Technology classes can feature true continuity:
students starting as of PYP could be professional
builders/programmers by DP
 Younger students learn all computer basics plus
advanced aspects such as project management
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Problems? What problems?
 Geographic location/isolation no longer a factor
(except for time zones). Virtual China or Italy “next
door”! 3D meetings 24X7.
 Information and Design Technology tracks
combined! Or just Design, using 3D modeling.
 21st century educational technology at $100 a month,
with teachers and students training simultaneously!
 3D enables struggling students to succeed, while
native speakers excel: ultimate differentiated
classroom! Special needs and gifted/talented.
 Avatars are anonymous; people talk, not write; and
yes, it’s FUN!
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Second Life and OpenSim, what have we learned?
Students:
 Computer-Aided Design, Programming, Project
Management, Business, English
 Social Constructivism (Reality, Knowledge
Learning), Learner-Centric Instruction, IB Design
Cycle: Investigate, Design, Plan, Create, Evaluate
Teachers:
 Inclusion, Differentiation, Sheltered Instruction
Observation Protocol (SIOP)
 Problem-/Task-Based Instruction, Action/Active
Learning, Reciprocal Guidance, Inquiry-Based
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Getting Your Cyberturf
Second Life:
 New Media Consortium
 Jokaydia Grid
 International School Islands
OpenSimulator:
 ReactionGrid
 Jokaydia Grid
 Do It Yourself: Client/Local or Client/Server
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Second Life
Getting Your Cyberturf: New Media Consortium
 International, nonprofit organization
 Linden Lab certified service provider
 Offers discounts for educational organizations
 Mutual facilities on each sim, plus entire islands
with facilities
 Other services available, up to designing and
building entire island
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OpenSimulator: Getting Your Cyberturf Options:
 Private Region/Grid for School
 Connected Grid for Multiple Schools (e.g., China,
Harrow, International Baccaleaurate
Organization, 21st Century Schools)
Three Vendors Offering Both:
 ReactionGrid
 Jokaydia
 Dreamland Metaverse
 Do It Yourself (see the e-book!)
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Getting Your Cyberturf: Do It Yourself!
 Client/Local
 Client/Server
“OpenSimulator: School Quick Start Guide” has
step-by-step directions.
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Ideal is to have a K-12 Grid so that all you need is the
client viewer and an Internet connection.
(With Second Life, there is no DIY option so there’d
just be the client viewer and Internet connection.)
But DON’T WAIT on the K-12 Grid! Try 3DVW’s for
yourself. It’ll be easier to make the sales pitch
when people at your school SEE it.
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K-12 OpenSimulator Grid! This is the year!
Presentation request to IB Asia Pacific Conference.
Proposal to the IB or other organization (ISTE,
AACE, Global Education Collaborative)!
Looking for people to help with proposal, grant
request writing (or just general contacting).
Also could have K-12 Island(s) in Second Life!
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Essential sources…the official guides:
 “Second Life: The Official Guide” by Michael
Rymaszewski, et al., ISBN: 978-0470227756
 “Creating Your World: The Official Guide to
Advanced Content Creation in Second Life” by
Aimee Weber, et al., ISBN: 978-0470171141
 “Scripting Your World: The Official Guide to
Second Life Scripting” by Dana Moore,
ISBN: 978-0470339831
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Essential sources…three textbooks:
All by Jeff Heaton, Heaton Research, Inc.
 “Introduction to Linden Scripting Language for
Second Life,” ISBN: 978-1604390049
 “Scripting Recipes for Second Life,”
ISBN: 978-1604390001
 “Introduction to Textures, Animation Audio and
Sculpting in Second Life,” ISBN: 978-1604390025
(http://www.heatonresearch.com/book/cat/3)
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More information:
 “Learning and Teaching in the Virtual World of
Second Life” (edited) by Judith
Molka-Danielsen, Tapir Academic Press,
ISBN: 978-8251923538
 “The Second Life Grid: The Official Guide to
Communication, Collaboration and Community
Engagement” by Kimberly Rufer-Bach, Wiley
Publishing, ISBN: 978-0470412916
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Thank you…
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Thank you for your attention!
Questions/Comments?
David W. Deeds and Adrian Hodge
Work: +86-431-8458-1234, www.caischina.org
ddeeds@caischina.org, ahodge@caischina.org
Blog: inDeeds! www.indeeds.com
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