NASA Langley Virtual Center of Excellence Workshop. Presentation on Virtual Environments: Framework and Examples. May 2009. Greg Jones

1. Virtual Center of Excellence Workshop @ NASA Langley Research Center April 30 – May 1, 2009
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS
Framework and Examples
Greg Jones, PhD

2. COMMUNITY OF INQUIRY
A framework that
supports the
Structure/Pro
development of a
cess
virtual community
is important.
One such OUTCOME
framework is the
Social Cognitive
Discourse
Community of
Inquiry. Presence Presence
Ref: http://communitiesofinquiry.com/introduction

3. 3D ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
• Combines 3D environments
• Context Based Interaction
• Immersive Learning
• Text and Audio Interchange
• Distributed Learning
The environment has been used
for educational research since
2002. Research shows that the
environment is as effective for
student outcomes and interaction
as face-to-face courses and is
considerably better than web-
based course delivery.
Jones, J. G., Warren, S. J., & Robertson, M. (forthcoming).
Increasing student discourse to support rapport building in web and
blended courses using a 3D Online Learning Environment. Journal
of Interactive Learning Research.

4. MARS ONLINE (FROM NASA MOLA DATA)
The CRG MARS on-line project
allows student/teachers/researchers
to access information that
represents real data collected about
the planet Mars.
The project takes data made
available from NASA generated by
Nicholson crater central peaks (MARS_0.5_195.0) the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter
(MOLA), an instrument aboard
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor
(MGS). Mars Global Surveyor
began orbiting the red planet on
September 12, 1997. The MOLA
data being used by the CRG Mars
On-line project provides some 1
Panorama Olympus Mons, Top Cone (MARS_19.0_227.0) billion elevation measurements
gathered between 1998 and 2001
Jones, J. G., Kalinowski, K. E., & Hicks, J. (2007). Touring Mars by NASA.
Online, Real-time, in 3D for Math and Science Educators and
Students. Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science

5. CHALK HOUSE (LITERACY EDUCATION)
Chalk House, the first in a series of situated learning
modules being developed by CRG, is an online
computer-based 3D environment in which game play
and engaging narrative are used to improve student
literacy skills, namely reading and writing.
Chalk House is focused on students who commonly
resist traditional writing activities in the classroom.
The game leverages the genres of mystery and ghost
stories as part of its attempt to match with student
interest. Based on the results of recent studies by
Barab et al. (2006) and Warren (2006) the narrative
qualities of video games and learning environments
with game-like properties can be used motivate learners
as a means of increasing standardized test scores.
Chalk House uses the CRG 3D online learning
environment (CR Framework) to deliver this learning
module.
Jones, J. G., & Warren, S. J. (2008, March). Demonstration and discussion of
a 3D online learning enviroment for literacy. Paper presented at the Society for
Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference, Las
Vegas, NV. (AACE SITE paper award)

6. SPEECH RECOGNITION/NATURAL LANGUAGE
The project combined the CRG 3D on-line
learning environment with the Nuance speech
recognition technology. The system created an
immersive situated learning environment that
overlaid spoken language training with audio
feedback and used the speech recognition
system to determine if the student has accurately
said the language items.
Jones, J. G., Squires, T., & Hicks, J. (2008). Combining speech
recognition/natural language processing with 3D online learning environments
to create distributed authentic and situated spoken language learning. Journal
of Educational Technology Systems, 36(4), 375-392.

7. QUESTIONS ?
Greg Jones, PhD
greg@created-realities.com