Workshop Topics and Schedule Part I. Introduction to the concept of 3D learning and

the emerging 3D Web environment.

Part II. Learning Objects, Disciplinary Content Object Model (DCOM), Online repositories of 3D objects, Virtual museums with 3D specimens, and other sources of 3D objects

Part III. Methods and technologies to generate and scaffold original 3D objects

Part IV. Generation of a new 3D learning object for use in online instruction.

Why 3D?

The Future of the InternetConsider: $345 million was invested in 39 virtual world-related

companies in the first half of 2008. Bandwidth and processing power are constantly

growing. Interfaces are moving closer to reality. Hardware makes 3D immersion possible.

“The Internet will evolve into a 3D space and virtual worlds will become an integral part of human communication”

-Benjamin Duranske author of "Virtual Law: Navigating the Legal Landscape of Virtual Worlds”Wall Street Journal JULY 17, 2008

Major 3D Open Source Web Efforts

Google O3D (3D applications in browser)http://code.google.com/apis/o3d/

RealXtend (free open source virtual world platform)http://www.realxtend.org/

Open Simulator (3D application server)http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Main_Page

Online Learning: General Trends

Over twenty percent of higher education students were taking at least one online course in the fall of 2007 (3.9 million students).

The online enrollment growth rate at 12.9% far exceeds the general higher education enrollment growth rate at 1.2%.

The Sloan Consortium (Staying the Course Online Education in the United States, 2008):

Online Learning: General Trends

Now, approximately 700,000 K-12 students enroll in one or more online-facilitated courses (Damast, 2007).

Enrollment growth is estimated near 30% (Sturgeon, 2007).

Online Learning: General TrendsConclusion: Online Learning is on

a strong growth trend and will be increasingly facilitated in a 3D web environment.

3d Web

Online Learning

How can Online Educators capitalize on the emerging 3D internet to support the development of Inquiry Skills?

Inquiry

Observing

Classifying

Communicating Rationales

MeasuringPredictingHypothesizingInferringControlling

VariablesModelingAnalyzing Data

Synthesizing Making

Conclusions

Facets of Inquiry

The Challenge Many essential in-class learning

activities in support of inquiry rely on a student’s investigation of authentic material objects such as everyday items, historical artifacts, art objects, and scientific specimens.

How can such learning activities be translated to and/or embellished by distance learning environments?

Meeting the Challenge One means is to provide online students

comparable study items through the use of 3D learning objects, which can have comparable information richness as real objects to support inquiry, experimentation and visualization.

Essentially, any real object that can be scanned in three dimensions can be rendered into a 3D learning object for use in K-16 distance education.

3D Learning Objects

3D learning objects (or 3D knowledge objects) are digital representations of the surface morphology of objects (real or inanimate) constructed of a mesh of polygons in various 3D file formats (e.g., VRML, DXF, 3DS).

3D Learning Objects

Corresponding 3D browsers afford the user the ability to investigate a 3D object’s size, perspective, and lighting as well as analyze its characteristics quantitatively via linear measurements, basic volume analysis and so on.