Iain Angus Oliver

The Web in education

The Web has spurred our imagination as to how education could be radically transformed and enhanced through the adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). While there have been many significant innovations and successes over the last decade there have also been many unrealised aims. Beliefs in technology-driven change for education have been countered by shortcomings in technological understanding by educationalists and in turn by shortcomings in the understanding of educational theories and learning concepts by technologists. The use of the Web in education has revealed issues such as the distinction between formal and informal learning; the packaging and formatting of learning materials for online distribution and use; the management of learning materials and processes in virtual and managed learning environments; solutions offered by the semantic Web; and how the quality of experience in interactive learning environments relates to the quality of the Internet infrastructure. A comparison between the performance of early and current Web technologies from a user perspective is given for an interactive learning environment which has been in use for over a decade. Client, server, network and protocol components which contribute to the quality of experience for the end user are presented and analysed. In summary, this paper examines the use of the Web in education to date and looks forward to new challenges and aspirations such as MOOCs (massively online open coursewares) and the immersive 3D Web as the basis for the next generation of learning environments.

Virtual worlds, real traffic: interaction and adaptation

Metaverses such as Second Life (SL) are a relatively new type of Internet application. Their functionality is similar to online 3D games but differs in that users are able to construct the environment their avatars inhabit and are not constrained by predefined goals. From the network perspective metaverses are similar to games in that timeliness is important but differ in that their traffic is much less regular and requires more bandwidth This paper contributes to our understanding of metaverse traffic by validating previous studies and offering new insights. In particular we analyse the relationships between application functionality, SLs traffic control system and the wider network environment. Two sets of studies have been carried out: one of the traffic generated by a hands-on workshop which used SL; and a follow up set of controlled experiments to clarify some of the findings from the first study. The interplay between network latency, SLs traffic throttle settings, avatar density, and the errors in the clients estimation of avatar positions are demonstrated. These insights are of particular interest to those designing traffic management schemes for metaverses and help explain some of the oddities in the current user experience.

Exploring canons & cathedrals with Open Virtual Worlds: The recreation of St Andrews Cathedral, St Andrews day, 1318

St Andrews Cathedral is located on the East Coast of Scotland. Construction started in 1160 and spanned Romanesque and Gothic architectural styles. It was consecrated in 1318, four years after the battle of Bannockburn in the presence of King Robert I. For several hundred years, the Cathedral was one of the most important religious buildings in Europe and the centre of religious life in Scotland. During the Reformation, John Knox himself lead reformers in divesting the Cathedral of all its finery. Thereafter it fell into disuse and decline. Today the remains hint at its former glory. Here the use of Open Virtual Worlds (OVW) to support new modes of engagement with cultural heritage is presented through the example of St Andrews Cathedral. Open Virtual Worlds offer an extensible collaborative environment for developing historical scenes against which background material and intangible aspects of cultural heritage associated with a site may be explored. They offer the potential to reconstruct within a 3D computer environment both the physical structures of the past and important aspects of the lighting, sounds and lifestyles that once existed within those structures. Bringing together architecture, sculpture, illumination, stained-glass, music, procession and lighting into a scene, which can be explored from multiple spatial perspectives enables holistic appreciations to be developed.

Mongoose: Throughput Redistributing Virtual World

Metaverses provide a framework for developing distributed 3D Internet applications where users gain presence through the proxy of an avatar. They offer much of the engagement of online 3D games but support heterogeneous applications. From the network perspective metaverses are similar to games in that timeliness is important but differ in that their traffic is less regular and requires more bandwidth. The motivation for our study flows from using virtual worlds to support experiential learning and to promote cultural heritage; the applicability of the results is wider. The responsiveness of the system is effected by interactions between avatar activity, application traffic regulation and network conditions. Through measurement and analysis current Virtual World traffic regulation is evaluated and compared with Transmission Control Protocol fair rate. The measurement study motivates the design of Mongoose, which adds measurement based packet regulation to Open Virtual World clients and servers. Mongoose combines isolating distinct functional components with efficient use of network resources and fairness to other traffic.

Metaverses as a Platform for Game Based Learning

This paper evaluates metaverses as a platform for game based learning. Metaverses such as Second Life are a relatively new type of Internet application. Their functionality is similar to that offered by 3D multi-player online games, but differs in that users are able to construct the environment that avatars inhabit and are not constrained by predefined goals of the type found within a game environment. From a quality of service (QoS) perspective metaverses are similar to games in that the timeliness of network communication is important, but differ in that their demands upon host server systems and network traffic are more bandwidth intensive. This paper contributes to our understanding of metaverses by presenting a case study of the application of Game Based Learning (GBL) within a metaverse environment, by situating the case study within a survey of the state of the art in GBL in metaverses and by analysing the QoS delivered by the widely used Second Life metaverse under a range of evaluator-induced network conditions.

Virtual Worlds and the 3D Web – Time for Convergence?

Multi-User Virtual Worlds (MUVW) such as Open Wonderland and OpenSim have proved to be fruitful platforms for innovative educational practice. However, when compared with the way educational activities have flourished through the use of the constantly evolving WWW, MUVW learning environments remain a relatively obscure niche. Since the advent and promise of Second Life, there has been no critical mass reached and no movement towards standardisation. Concomitantly, the 3D Web has emerged as a recognisable if loosely defined concept. With the advent of technologies such as WebGL and a plethora of plug-in 3D viewers for web browsers, the question arises: will MUVWs converge with the 3D Web? If so, can existing educational content be migrated to the 3D Web for mass dissemination? The paper contributes a survey of 3D Web and MUVW terms, concepts, technologies and projects, illustrating their similarities, their value for education and discusses the likelihood of convergence. The survey is complemented by a cultural heritage case study of Unity 3D support for the deployment of virtual worlds in web browsers using two different approaches.

Digitally enhanced community rescue archaeology

Coastal erosion is causing the destruction of archaeological sites around the world. The problem is particularly grave in Scotland, where storms can cause many meters of land to be lost in a single event. Archaeological researchers from the University of St Andrews and the SCAPE Trust have worked with community groups to excavate sites before they are destroyed. Video was used to record the progress of the community rescue digs and interviews conducted with local group members. Additionally, photographs and artwork augmented the archaeological record, resulting in a wealth of information about the sites and the process of excavation. The data has been used to make reconstructions of the sites as they were in the past. Visitors control avatars to explore the virtual worlds and to access videos, photographs, laser scans, 3D models and historic documents. This innovative approach to heritage interpretation allows the public to see the evidence behind reconstructions and to learn about the process of archaeological enquiry. For example, clicking on a plate of food reveals a summary of the environmental report which provided the evidence for diet. This allows an archaeological site report to be presented in a 3D environment, with various layers of information accessible to the explorer. The group have set up their first installation in a dedicated room at Timespan Museum, Helmsdale. The evidence for the reconstruction comes from the sixteenth century Brora salt pan, excavated between 2007 and 2011 and destroyed in a storm in 2012 as well as the neighbouring township of Caen. Users manoeuvre the avatar either through a game controller or by body gestures recognised by a motion sensor. Multiple screens have been used to present a wraparound and immersive experience. The systems are built using OpenSource software and commodi

Towards the 3D Web with Open Simulator

Continuing advances and reduced costs in computational power, graphics processors and network bandwidth have led to 3D immersive multi-user virtual worlds becoming increasingly accessible while offering an improved and engaging Quality of Experience. At the same time the functionality of the World Wide Web continues to expand alongside the computing infrastructure it runs on and pages can now routinely accommodate many forms of interactive multimedia components as standard features - streaming video for example. Inevitably there is an emerging expectation that the Web will expand further to incorporate immersive 3D environments. This is exciting because humans are well adapted to operating in 3D environments and it is challenging because existing software and skill sets are focused around competencies in 2D Web applications. Open Simulator (OpenSim) is a freely available open source tool-kit that empowers users to create and deploy their own 3D environments in the same way that anyone can create and deploy a Web site. Its characteristics can be seen as a set of references as to how the 3D Web could be instantiated. This paper describes experiments carried out with OpenSim to better understand network and system issues, and presents experience in using OpenSim to develop and deliver applications for education and cultural heritage. Evaluation is based upon observations of these applications in use and measurements of systems both in the lab and in the wild.

An immersive platform for collaborative projects

In the recent past 3D and immersive technologies were not supported by standard business and educational computers. Yet new generations of Intel and AMD processors and improved networking provide a basis for the spread of immersive technologies, into all aspects of education, business and leisure. Consequently, it is critical that computer science and IT degree programs facilitate the graduation of professionals with an understanding of and experience in working with immersive technologies. The work reported in this paper addresses the need to support learning about how to develop, engineer, use and evaluate 3D and immersive systems. The Apollo Virtual World GRID [1] provides a platform designed to support collaborative learning and exploratory project work with 3D technologies. Apollo provides an environment for the creation of 3D content, a framework for the development of 3D systems and a platform for the delivery of distributed immersive systems. It is built around the open source and freely available OpenSimulator project and extends it by providing educational content, a rapid application development environment and a measurement infrastructure. Using the Apollo GRID student projects have expanded the scope of experiential learning by creating interactive 3D environments that simulate specific learning contexts. For example a Virtual WiFi laboratory supports exploratory learning and experimentation with WiFi network protocols and the LAVA virtual fieldwork resource supports archaeologists in learning how to manage archaeological excavations. This paper reflects upon experience in using Apollo for 30 collaborative projects involving more than 100 students over a period of four years.

HTTP/2 and QUIC for Virtual Worlds and the 3D Web?

Abstract The continuing advances in computer graphics and Internet bandwidths are supporting a gradual convergence between multi-user virtual worlds (MUVW), such as Second Life and OpenSim (SL/OS), and the nascent 3D Web. However, significant networking barriers remain to exploiting these capabilities for developing the 3D Web. These barriers include latency of content update and firewall blocking. In MUVWs the firewall and latency problems are related as the SL/OS network protocols designed over twelve years ago sought to minimise latency through the use of multiple concurrent UDP-based virtual circuits. Most firewall administrators are loathe to open up over fifty unknown UDP ports to accommodate such applications. New protocols now being deployed on the web such as SPDY, HTTP/2 and QUIC seek to reduce latency and routinely traverse firewalls. One of the key goals of the convergence between MUVWs and the 3D Web is for MUVW functionality to be provided in a standard web browser, with optional links to other autonomous virtual worlds. It follows that as an incremental step towards the 3D Web the use of these new web protocols in MUVWs should be researched. This paper details traffic management approaches in SL/OS MUVWs, clarifies 3D Web concepts and terminology, explains the functionality provided by the new web protocols, and provides a mapping which postulates how their features can be exploited for the benefit of MUVWs as part of the convergence with the 3D Web.