The document discusses the potential benefits and challenges of using 3D virtual worlds (VWs) for professional development and lifelong learning, highlighting their persistent and interactive nature as well as user experience. It presents various perspectives on continuing professional development (CPD) in relation to VWs and summarizes insights from several professionals who engage in these environments. Key advantages include social co-presence, community support, and the ability to conduct low-stakes learning in realistic simulations.

1. 3D Virtual Worlds for Professional
Development and Lifelong Learning
Sheila Webber/ Sheila Yoshikawa
Information School, University of Sheffield, UK
MINDSETS, June 2021

2. Outline
I will focus more on – what could virtual worlds be
good for? Rather than on – how do you do it?
• Virtual worlds, Virtual Reality? (definitions)
• Some perceived strengths and weaknesses of VWs
• Perspectives on Continuing Professional
Development – relating it to virtual worlds & my
professional practice
• Lifelong Learning – beyond professions

3. Virtual worlds: definition
• Persistent (there even when you are not)
• Multiple people can share the same space at the same
time
• Embodiment as a 3D avatar
• Avatars can interact with objects etc. in the world
• Interactions are real time
• There are similarities to the physical world e.g. in the
geography, physics, appearance
(Warburton, 2009)

4. Persistent, Multiple people as avatars, interacting with object in
real time, similarities to physical world
What is the potential for virtual worlds to have a positive and significant
impact on learning outcomes? (1=none; 3=some; 5=an amazing amount)

5. Participants include
• Professor from the Open University, UK
• School librarian, USA
• Retired college professor (still active blogger & learning
designer in virtual worlds), USA
• Cofounder of a company that develops learning solutions,
USA
• Owner of a company specialising in learning design in VWs,
USA
• STEM Education Consultant in Alaska
• Reference Librarian in an Law School Library, USA
• Ethnographer and exhibition curator, USA
• Academic librarian, Puerto Rico

6. VWs experience & research
• A lot of educational research – cluster around 2008-
2012 when hype for SL etc. (e.g. Virtual
WorldWatch reports, Kirriemuir (n.d), but ongoing
• Educators leaving but also joining VWs
• Much in common with recent research into use of
VR in education, but often seems to be ignored!

7. • Virtual World (VW) - Persistent; shared; avatars;
realtime interaction; similarities to physical world
• Virtual Reality (VR) – Digitally created environment,
viewed from inside a VR headset, giving a sense of
perspective and scale, may be enhanced by haptic or
other non-visual tech [does not have to be persistent or
shared: Social VR is VR shared with others]
• Augmented Reality (AR) – combining the physical and
virtual world e.g. you see a digital overlay which you
can interact with to get more information (pokemon go)
• Extended Reality (XR) – umbrella terms for any
mixture of virtual/physical – all of thee above!
(sometimes to include all-physical & all-virtual – but isn’t
that just - reality!)
VW, VR, AR, XR: Definitions

8. Commonly mentioned disadvantages of VWs
• Many virtual worlds require specialist browsers (you can’t
use Chrome, Firefox etc.)
• Need gaming-spec laptop/PC to get best performance
• Need excellent broadband (as graphics continupously
downloaded) – VW like Second Life is data hungry
• Learning curve to learn how to “be” in a virtual world and
get the most out of it
• No ready made “plotline”
• Costs money to rent “land” on which to create environments
– necessary if you want to customise learners’ experience
• Some administrators, teachers & learners see VWs as
childish, frivolous or dangerous (equate with “gaming”)

9. “14 Reasons Why Virtual Worlds are still better
than Social VR Worlds” (Vans, 2021)
Factors discussed are:
• Accessibility;
• Usability;
• Content (how easy to
acquire);
• Expense;
• Avatars;
• Availability of learning tools;
• Assessing learning;
• Collaboration (tools & ease
of);
• Field trips;
• Land (how many avatars?);
• World boundaries (open vs
closed);
• Target learners (how do we
make them comfortable);
• Learning context (options for
interactivity, consumption &
production; motivation;
funding; space & equipment
required by learner;
formal/informal learning);
• Subject domain being taught

10. Some advantages that I see in VWs
• Social co-presence
• You don’t need great tech skills (or huge amounts of
money) to create a custom environment, because there is
a lot of existing content - & places to visit
• Free to present your avatar as you want – avoid stigma of
e.g. ageism
• Supportive educational community
• Can use text chat, IM, voice (some people prefer chat e.g.
shy/English-unconfident learners, those with hearing loss)
• Visually stimulating/relaxing
• Low-stakes way of learning about/ experiencing high-
stakes situations (e.g. nursing, crisis management,
chemical experiments)

11. Preview of this presentation given at Virtual
Worlds Education Roundtable meeting 10 June
All people I know – used voice and text - constructive
feedback and some quotations ….

12. Comments from VWER participants (SL names)
Valibrarian Gregg "Everyone lives in virtual worlds now (on
our digital devices and platforms) whether or not one has an
avatar. The biggest advantage of a virtual world like Second
Life is the sense of presence- actually being together-- not
just sending your voice out into the Internet through social
media or web platforms.“
PI (pi.illios) “Except a few colleagues I found the
professional conversation
more rewarding here”
Wisdomseeker: “I have met
people here I would never have
met any other way”
Marly and I chill after VWER

13. Valibrarian Gregg "Most of the VR headset experiences I have had
are disposable- meaning I see a beautiful simulation and then POP!
- I don't need to return. But in virtual worlds, we build persistent
environments through collaboration and we return again and again".
Andy (thechemengineer): “I find virtual reality [including virtual
worlds] effective for teaching scenarios that are either infrequently
encountered or are hazardous. Starting up an industrial furnace is
an example. They are started infrequently, maybe less than once
per year, so new operators may not get an opportunity to observe a
startup with experienced individuals before they are called on to
start it. The equipment can also be hazardous if started improperly.
Virtual reality provides an opportunity to practice authentic
scenarios so operators are practiced and ready to perform activities
right the first time, every time.”
Thanks to: Valibrarian Gregg; Wisdomseeker (Lissena); PI; Shiloh; Stranger Nightfire; Thinkerer
(Selby Evans); Marly Milena; Andy (thechemengineer)

14. VWER visit to installation created by Andy Sullivan to
teach Process Plant Technology (PPT) at Montana State
University Billings City College, USA

15. Examples of 3D VWs: Second Life
• Started in 2003;
• Free to signup for avatar;
• Most things created by SL
residents;
• SL’s owner makes money
from land rental and % of
cash transactions (millions of
US$ annually traded
inworld);
• Huge number of places to
explore;
• Big charity events (e.g. for
American Cancer Society);
• Strong communities, inc.
disability and education;
• Use voice, text chat, IM to
communicate;
• Anyone can create and
script, also lots of objects to
buy and adapt.

16. Examples of 3D VWs
• “Opensim” – open source 3DVW application that (1)
people can install on their own servers (2) used by 3rd
parties to create VW communities that tend to be
lower cost (but less rich in content) than SL, e.g.
– Avacon https://www.avacon.org/blog/
– Kitely https://www.kitely.com/
• 3Dwebworldz – unlike previously mentioned, uses
internet browser; can create, customise, rent space
etc. free to visit https://3dwebworldz.com/
• Minecraft – available for various platforms, in various
editions and different modes. Priced.
Free to
signup for
avatar

17. Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Also known as Continuing Professional Education

18. 5 perspectives on CPD
From phenomenographic research into solo librarians (working
in libraries where they are the only librarian) (Hornung, 2013)
1. Upskilling for the sake of the organisation/service (Service
orientation)
2. Developing as a professional librarian (LIS profession
orientation)
3. Helping you to do all the jobs a one-person librarian does
(OPL orientation)
4. When you’ve learned to do something and you want to do
things in a better way (Personal orientation)
5. Your development as a human being (Lifelong learning
orientation)

19. My perception – people in VWs particularly take the;
Professional orientation - Developing as a
professional (e.g. professional educator)
Personal orientation – wanting to do things better
Lifelong learning orientation – loving learning,
wanting to develop as a human being
(i.e. not so of a more instrumental, extrinsically-
motivated orientation to development and learning)

20. I find it enjoyable and reviving to engage with people
that have these personal, lifelong learning attitudes!
It encourages me to share and grow
Informal learning/teaching can flourish

21. My professional experience of VWS
1. Teaching first year undergraduates and Masters
students in Second Life

22. My professional experience of VWs
2. Membership and leadership in professional groups within Virtual
Worlds, notably
Groups that have stopped
Educators Coop (group of educators working cooperatively; Jarmon & Sanchez, 2008)
UK Educators (open meetings and visits)
Information Literacy Journal Club (co-organiser)
Groups that continue
Non-profit Commons (members are nonprofits, charities/advocacy) - attending open weekly
meetings http://www.nonprofitcommons.org/
Virtual Worlds Education Roundtable (weekly discussion group, since 2008) – member, co-
organiser, leader - https://vwer.info/
Virtual Worlds Education Consortium (new organisation to “bring educators together both to
share what has been successful and to tackle obstacles across virtual platforms and
communities”) https://communityvirtuallibrary.org/cvl-education-network/
As with all professional involvement – you get out what you put in!

23. Some key events
My professional experience of VWs
3. Attending, presenting at and organising conferences and events
(teaching, research and personal interest)
• OpenSimulator Community Conference (annual)
https://conference.opensimulator.org/ (in opensim
worlds)
• Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education (annual) (in
SL and visits elsewhere) https://www.vwbpe.org/ and
https://www.vwbpe.org/watch
• Virtual Ability’s annual International Disability Rights
Affirmation Conference and The Virtual Ability Mental
Health Symposium https://virtualability.org/
• VWMOOC (on Moodle, in VWs, Zoom streaming)
https://moodle4teachers.org/course/view.php?id=114

24. My professional experience of VWS
• Developed skills/confidence e.g.:
– Planning for the unexpected – having alternative strategies and
dealing with problems calmly
– Handling multiple channels of communication (visual/ open and
direct text chat/ voice)
– Using applications (e.g. video recording, photo editing)
• Sharing practice, research & ideas
– Presenting in different modes
– Getting feedback from a varied audience
– Contact with/ information from experts that I wouldn’t normally
meet
– Trying out ideas, getting new ideas
• Developing & encouraging a creative approach to teaching &
learning

25. Lifelong Learning
Wisdomseeker (lissena): “This is perfect for lifelong
learning because it combines cognitive learning with
experiential learning -- which is essential to ongoing
well-being.”

26. Example of charity work: Hair
Fair supporting Wigs for Kids

27. Tips if you want to try VWs!
• Reflect on how you want to use VWs
– Personal – relaxation; hobby; developing skill/knowledge
– Professional - upskilling; developing as professional; lifelong learning
• Find a friend to help you
• Making mistakes is fine
• If Second Life: enter via somewhere like Virtual Ability, which is
well structured/ hassle free
• Attend events, to get to know people and see what’s being
done/discussed (see calendars)
• Get to know people around shared projects – collaborations &
connections are interest based
• Explore!

28. Genome Island
Examining
DNA
Expandable table

29. Ancient History and Archaeology: Orbis Romanus
Model of
Colosseum
+ organ
Archaelogical dig
Recreation
of lost
fountain

30. Community Virtual Library
(also in other virtual worlds)
Marly Milena Music Library
Expandable table

31. Academia Electronica (Jagiellonian University, Poland)
Different learning
environments – which can be
used by other educators

32. Infolit iSchool

33. Wholebrain Health
Health
Hacienda
Multiple intelligences

34. Virtual Ability

35. Sheila Webber
Information School
University of Sheffield
s.webber@shef.ac.uk
Twitter: @sheilayoshikawa
http://information-literacy.blogspot.com/
http://www.slideshare.net/sheilawebber/
References at
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jszFFUIPralN3B5T4z5pUpRbxdW9vL3NN7rs8Iz6RVo/
edit?usp=sharing
Photos : Sheila Webber except where
otherwise indicated: taken in Second Life,
trademark Linden Labs