Disputation Mikhail Fominykh - Department of Computer and ...

Collaborative Work on 3D Educational Content
3D CVEs need to be distinguished from the other virtual reality technologies. There
exist fully immersive, augmented or mixed, and desktop virtual realities, which are
different in their interfaces, types of immersion, required resources, and
possibilities (Pana, Cheokb, Yanga, Zhua, & Shia, 2006). Although, all these
technologies are used for educational purposes (Hai-Jew, 2010), the research work
presented in this thesis is focused on exploring one particular type of virtual
reality technologies – desktop virtual reality (Ausburn & Ausburn, 2004; Tait,
1992).
2.2.1 Overview of 3D collaborative virtual environments
Formal definitions are rare in the area of 3D CVEs, since it is relatively new and
complex (Bell, 2008; Schmeil & Eppler, 2009). The technology appeared on the
interception between virtual reality and networked computers. There exist few
terms to call the technology itself. These terms have overlapping meanings and are
often used to describe the same phenomenon. Most commonly used terms include
3D collaborative virtual environments (CVEs), Multi-user Virtual Environments
(MUVEs), and Virtual Worlds (VW). Collaborative work on 3D content is one of the
major activities explored in this thesis, and therefore, I use the most suitable term
– 3D Collaborative Virtual Environments or 3D CVEs.
Based on several sources, 3D Collaborative Virtual Environments can be defined as
three dimensional, multiuser, synchronous, persistent environments, facilitated by
networked computers (Bell, 2008; de Freitas, 2008b; Schmeil & Eppler, 2009). In
such environments, users are represented by animated avatars and can interact
using text-based chat, voice chat, and gestures. In addition, 3D CVEs allow
interaction with various types of objects, including 3D objects and other media,
such as text, graphics, sound, and video.
There are many application domains of 3D CVEs, and their use has been growing
rapidly in the first decade of the 21 st century. Although entertainment remains one
of the most successful application domains, many other CVEs are created to be
used for ‘serious’ purposes (de Freitas, 2008a; Messinger, Stroulia, & Lyons, 2008;
Wrzesien & Raya, 2010). Education is often considered to be the main serious use
of 3D CVEs (de Freitas, 2008b). However, there are many others, such as training,
research, commerce, and socialization. Developing quality specialized 3D CVEs is
expensive, but there are examples in the military and health care training. More
often, regions of large social virtual worlds are adapted for serious purposes
(Hendaoui, Limayem, & Thompson, 2008).
In this research work, I have been deriving platform-independent implications.
However, two social virtual worlds (Active Worlds and Second Life) can be briefly
presented here as examples. Many theoretical propositions in this research work
have been made based on the results of several related studies, conducted in
Active Worlds. Another platform – Second Life – has been used for conducting
three explorative studies, included in this thesis.
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