Creating and Sharing Knowledge in 3D Virtual Learning Environments — Reflections from On-going Projects
Leif Martin Hokstad & Ekaterina Prasolova-Forland
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
3D virtual environments and serious games are increasingly considered to provide new and emerging affordances for knowledge creation and sharing. On the one hand these learning environments offer exploratory learning experiences, and on the other they offer different means of communication, reflection and manifesting knowledge. In this paper we will discuss experiences from TARGET, an on-going EU project involving a total of 17 university and industry partners, and we will address how knowledge can be created and shared in a combination of serious games and Web 2.0 based tools. We will use examples from two summer schools involving student participants from different nations. Central to the projects presented by the students is the community aspect in knowledge creation and sharing, and how this may be enhanced using 3D virtual worlds and Web 2.0 tools. Through these examples we will describe and discuss how knowledge was created and shared among the participants, and the tools used both for the creation and the sharing of knowledge. These examples will be analyzed from the perspective of the TARGET methodology for the creation of learning communities. The paper will conclude with suggestions for further research and development, and point to how the combination of serious games, 3D virtual environments and Web 2.0 can be developed further, and how this might enhance workflow processes in industry and university contexts.