Kristoffer Getchell

Games Methodologies and Immersive Environments for Virtual Fieldwork

The construction and consolidation of knowledge through the practical application of concepts and processes can be difficult to support for subjects where practice is an integral component of competence and expertise in that domain. For example, participation in an archaeological excavation is not readily available to students, although a detailed understanding of what processes this involves is deemed to be core to the subject. The Laconia Acropolis Virtual Archaeology (LAVA) project has created a cooperative exploratory learning environment that addresses the need for students to engage with the complex practice of excavation. By leveraging the progressive nature of games methodologies and the immersive engagement provided by 3D multiuser virtual environments, LAVA facilitates the adoption of exploratory learning for excavation scenarios which have previously been inaccessible due to barriers of travel, time, and cost. A virtual environment based on real world data has been developed where groups of users are faced with a series of dynamic challenges with which they engage until such time that a certain level of competence is shown. Once a series of domain-specific objectives has been met, users are able to progress forward to the next level of the simulation. The excavation simulator enhances the student learning experience by providing opportunities for students to engage with the process in a customizable, virtual environment. Not only does this provide students with an opportunity to put the theories they are familiar with into practice, but it also allows students to gain experience in applying their skills in a bid to manage an excavation process, thereby making it possible for a greater emphasis to be placed on the practical application of knowledge that the excavation process necessitates. The potential of this approach has been confirmed by a positive user evaluation. LAVA contributes toward the progress of technology-enhanced learning by illustrating the instantiation of a framework which demonstrates how to integrate games methods with learning management systems and virtual worlds in order to support higher order learning behaviors such as applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.

Exploratory learning for computer networking

Computer networking is a dynamic and naturally engaging subject which is important to many aspects of life. There are, however significant challenges to be overcome before a student can engage with the dynamism of the subject. These can be categorised as barriers of time, space and access. From the perspective of time, many of the interactions occur at timescales that are outside of the range of human perception; from the perspective of space, a students location will often define their view of the network; from the perspective of access, programming skills are often required. We have sought to address these challenges through the creation of network learning objects designed to be used in lectures, laboratories or by remote learners. In this paper we assert the effectiveness of an exploratory approach to the teaching of networking and identify technologies which aid the development of exploratory learning environments.

Exploring the Second life of a Byzantine Basilica

This paper introduces the Laconia Acropolis Virtual Archaeology (LAVA) project, a cooperative exploratory learning environment that addresses the need for students to engage with archaeological excavation scenarios. By leveraging the immersive nature of game technologies and 3D Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs), LAVA facilitates the adoption of exploratory learning practices in environments which have previously been inaccessible due to barriers of space, time or cost (Collis 2001; Aitchison 2004; Colley 2004).

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.

Using disruptive technology for explorative learning

Computer Networking is the subject that enables us to build and understand the Internet which in turn lies at the heart of many social and economic transformations that are central to modern society. At the subjects core are the protocols for sending and receiving packets and reporting errors. Although it is a dynamic and naturally engaging subject there are significant barriers which make it difficult for a student to engage realistically with network protocols. These can be categorised as barriers of time, space and access. From the perspective of time, many of the interactions occur at timescales that are outside of the range of human perception; from the perspective of space, a student will be situated in one location which will often define their view of the network; from the perspective of access, interaction with network protocols is mediated through libraries provided by operating systems which in turn require the use of programming languages to manipulate. This paper advocates the use of disruptive technology, based on the PlanetLab overlay network to support explorative approaches to learning about Computer Networking.

TCP live: Experiential learning on the global internet

Providing support for experiential learning about computer networking poses difficulties for both students and lecturers: the low level nature of network programming and monitoring requires systems-level skills that are often absent in undergraduates; the time available in any given module is limited; the view from the classpsilas laboratory is constrained by firewalls and provides only one perspective onto the Internet; the adaptive nature of TCP is often invisible when seen only on a LAN. We have sought to address these challenges by exploiting Planet Lab (www.planet-lab.org) for educational purposes. Planet Lab is a networking research facility consisting of nodes at over 400 sites across the world, which are exempt from institutional firewall restrictions, and which are shareable amongst all members. We have developed a framework with an appropriate set of graphical user interfaces that runs on Planet Lab and allows students to experiment with core Internet protocols. TCP Live is a particular application that uses the framework. This paper describes the structure of the framework and its use to support experiential learning about TCP.

END TO END ADAPTATION FOR THE WEB - Matching Content to Client Connections

The size and heterogeneity of the Internet means that the bandwidth available for a particular download may range from many megabits per second to a few kilobits. Yet Web Servers today provide a one size fits all service and consequently the delay experienced by users accessing the same Web Page may range from a few milliseconds to minutes. This paper presents a framework for making Web Servers aware of the Quality of Service that is likely to be available for a user session, by utilizing measurements of past traffic conditions. The Web Server adapts the fidelity of content delivered to users in order to control the delay experienced and thereby optimize the browsing experience. Where high bandwidth connectivity and low congestion exist high fidelity content will be delivered, where the connectivity is low bandwidth or the path congested lower fidelity content will be served and delay controlled.