Daden Limited has a new creation online in Second Life, a virtual interactive model of the Library of Birmingham. Using architects images and plans, Daden constructed the library on Centenary Square in second life, and included a warehouse of furniture, objects, and special features to make the environment interactive and interesting. In addition, they trained the Library team to modify and update the space themselves.
“We felt it was important to allow the team to own the building and to be able to make the changes to the floor space and experiment with the internal fit-out rather than be reliant on Daden – and it’s worked well,” says Daden’s Managing Director David Burden. ”Every time we visit the library we notice they have made changes or added more detail.”
In addition to working as a PR piece, visitor’s time in the virtual structure is carefully recorded to be used as reference data in future modifications to the design.
Daden have also built-in sensors providing useful data to the Library team as to the routes people take and where visitors decide to explore within the Virtual Library of Birmingham. By creating a virtual model and letting users explore it we can start to get answers to the very practical questions of how a building will be used, which appear to be missed by more current techniques.
Get the full details in the Press Release after the break.
The Air Force has long been looking at Second Life for training and education, and a new article over on the Defense.Gov website chronicles some of the more successful efforts and what they hope to gain.
“What really drew us out to [the virtual world] was this wonderful opportunity to interact and connect with people on a global scale and with high levels of creativity,” Andrew Stricker of the Air Force’s Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base’s Gunter Annex in Montgomery, Ala., told American Forces Press Service.
“We thought Second Life was perfect for doing innovation work in the Department of Defense,” said Stricker, whose team is part of Air University’s innovations and integration division
The University of Central Florida has worked with Daden Limited to build accountancy orientation exercises in Second Life using PIVOTE. The exercises let students access course material and trainign videos while actually doing their work in-world.
Andrew Jinman, Daden’s PIVOTE Product Manager said “This project was a great example of “Learning by Doing” – Taking the students through a step-by-step of how to use bespoke course content, grounding it within the context of course material to reinforce the knowledge learnt. It was wonderful to observe such enthusiasm by the students and immediate results.”
Results so far have been great: 47% fewer forum discussions for assistance, and 12% more project submissions. Get the full details after the break.
The Department of Defense has been investigating virtual worlds like Second Life for several years for a wide variety of uses ranging from battlefield simulation to system monitoring. Over at GlobalSecurity they have a short interview with clinical psychologist Greg Reger who is using virtual world to treat PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) in war veterans. The process is something like this:
When avatars come into the virtual space, Reger said, they land at a welcome center that offers information about different deployment-related difficulties and a map of activities available in the T2 virtual experience.
“The cornerstone of the experience is when they leave that area and go into an area that teaches about the causes of post-traumatic stress disorder,” Reger said. “They enter a space where they get into a Humvee and are taken through a computer-generated simulation that includes [intense fighting on an Afghan street and] an explosion.
“As this occurs,” he continued, “they receive audio instruction about what we think causes post-traumatic stress disorder, and this sets the stage for the rest of the experience.”
Users then take a simulated flight home, during which they watch a video about post-traumatic stress. They land at a shopping mall, where each store offers an activity that illustrates a symptom and how it may affect daily life.
They don’t provide any information or statistics about the effectiveness of the tool, but they do comment that many PTSD sufferers have difficulty getting out and socializing with other people in groups, so an online tool is perfect for reaching those individuals that would never visit a psychologist for treatment.
Now here’s an interesting announcement right before Christmas. Linden Labs, the company behind Second Life, has just announced a new CEO, and the selection might surprise you: Format EA executive and man behind the scenes of EverQuest and The Sims Rod Humble.
“Rod is a great new leader for Linden Lab,” said Philip Rosedale, Founder of Second Life. “Second Life has become a consistently large and profitable business with a thriving virtual economy built together with its passionate Resident community. This has always been a big, long-term vision, it is still early and there is enormous opportunity for growth. With Rod’s fresh insights and deep experience in creating and leading the development of fun, intuitive, immersive entertainment experiences that have attracted massive audiences of loyal users, he’s the right leader to understand what makes us special and bring the next level of growth to Second Life.”
“Joining Linden Lab is a very exciting opportunity,” said Humble. “I have a long standing interest in the how the boundaries of society and economics change as communications evolve in new ways. Second Life is unique: it sits at the intersection of virtual worlds, avatars, and human contact. The Residents and developers of Second Life have built something very special, I am honored to join the talented team at Linden Lab to help expand this new frontier.”
While I’m glad to see someone with some experience come to the job, I’m a bit nervous that Second Life may turn into a type of open-area Arcade. All in all, I suppose that wouldn’t be all bad but I hope they don’t begin to sacrifice features for the sake of ‘gameplay’.
ISGTW has an article about the rise in popularity of various virtual world platforms like Second Life to replace current virtual classrooms that typically consist of little more than powerpoint slides and web forums. The ‘virtual reality’ environments of Second Life and World of Warcraft offer significantly improved interactivity and realism, which greatly improve the student’s reactions.
“Extensive research shows that visual imagery can play a powerful role in accelerating learning. Evidence suggests that use of visual media can enhance problem-solving, motivation, understanding and the expression of ideas,” said Roger Murphy of the Visual Learning Lab at the University of Nottingham, UK.
Part of the “Immersive Education” initiative and the “Media Grid” standards group, they’re working to create a standard infrastructure to combine media delivery, storage, and networking into a unified environment for both educators and students.
It might seem a bit unorthodox, but when Microsoft Gold Certified Partner ‘Sclera Design’ needed some publicity for their new SharePoint deployment systems, they turned to PookyMedia who created an entertaining commercial using the Machinima tools in Second Life.
Joining Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, Sclera Design http://www.scleradesign.com to craft a series introducing The Troubleshooter, PookyMedia gives the Old West a Second Life. See what happens when The Troubleshooter rides into town.
Given the ease of creating scenes like this (which would typically require VFX, set construction, costume design, and more) I suspect we’ll be seeing more of it. Especially on the internet, where such advertising is already playing to a self-selected market (those people who can already use a computer) and targeted advertising is simpler.
Douglas Greene has just announced a new Machinima Series that he plans to shoot inside Second Life, a Sci-Fi drama named ‘Awakening’.
The project is titled ‘Awakening,’ and is the brain child of none other than Yours Truly. Currently in pre-production, ‘Awakening’ is a Sci-Fi series that chronicles the worst, and the best, that humans can become, if left to their own devices. The story is rich, the characters are deep and complex, with one twist and turn after another that is sure to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat.
Still in early stages of pre-production, he’s looking for scriptors, animators, and various production people to aid in creation of clothing, avatars, and sets.
This has the potential to be the biggest Machinima ever undertaken in Second Life, and could set the bar for future work.
Daden Limited is creating an interactive map, both on the web and in Second Life, of virtual world based scientific research and educational activities in the UK as part of the upcoming British Science Festival at Aston University.
Daden Managing Director, David Burden, said; “We know that there is a lot of UK science and Higher Education activity within virtual worlds but is hard to visualise the scale and scope of activity without seeing it on a map. We hope that this map will inform people about projects they didn’t know about – and encourage them to visit. We want it to become a lasting resource for UK Science which can live on beyond this year’s British Science Festival.”
So fire up your SL viewer and go check it out, or go to their website and see it there.
The MUVE Virtual Patient Care Simulation Lab aims to provide a virtual environment for the training and education of medical specialists, based on the tools of Second Life. The fully interactive environment is part virtual world, part test as the user can select individual medications for IV’s and tools for patient care.
MUVE Market Virtual Patient Care Simulation Lab is an outstanding platform for medical training. Here is a compelling and detailed video that highlights some of the great features they offer and which are made possible in the Virtual World of Second Life.
Daden Limited has a new creation online in Second Life, a virtual interactive model of the Library of Birmingham. Using architects images and plans, Daden constructed the library on Centenary Square in second life, and included a warehouse of furniture, objects, and special features to make the environment interactive and interesting. In addition, they trained the Library team to modify and update the space themselves.
The Department of Defense has been investigating virtual worlds like Second Life for several years for a wide variety of uses ranging from battlefield simulation to system monitoring. Over at GlobalSecurity they have a short interview with clinical psychologist Greg Reger who is using virtual world to treat PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) in war veterans. The process is something like this:
Now here’s an interesting announcement right before Christmas. Linden Labs, the company behind Second Life, has just announced a new CEO, and the selection might surprise you: Format EA executive and man behind the scenes of EverQuest and The Sims Rod Humble.
ISGTW has an article about the rise in popularity of various virtual world platforms like Second Life to replace current virtual classrooms that typically consist of little more than powerpoint slides and web forums. The ‘virtual reality’ environments of Second Life and World of Warcraft offer significantly improved interactivity and realism, which greatly improve the student’s reactions.
Douglas Greene has just announced a new Machinima Series that he plans to shoot inside Second Life, a Sci-Fi drama named ‘Awakening’.
VizWorld.com 
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