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WP4-5 2D and 3D content

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on March 10, 2011 at 4:25:43 pm
 

 

 


 

This document is licensed under a "Creative Commons Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Austria“ Licence (“Creative Commons Namensnennung-Keine kommerzielle Nutzung-Weitergabe unter gleichen Bedingungen 3.0 Österreich”). Further details see: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/at/

 

Author: Klaus Hammermüller, Gerhilde Meissl-Egghart, talkademy.org

 

 

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

 

 

Introduction

 

This deliverable represents the collection of the content that was produced in the AVALON project. This document helps readers to find and use these resources.

 

By the nature of the project a wide range of content has been produced and is available on different platforms. This content is available after the end of the project as it is intended to maintain the content. However some services that are not under our control might be discontinued at some time in the future. Therefore we feed copies into the repository.

 

 

Available Content from the Avalon project

 

Here you find a summary of the types of available content and where to find them:

 

WHAT ?
WHERE ?
  • Official AVALON project communication, including the link to the open source portal (page: 'Information for content creators, teachers and IT specialists')
http://www.avalonlearning.eu
  • Live 3D content at the 3D platform (on avalonlearning-island)
SLURL to Second Life
  • 3D content including models, textures, sounds, animations, scripts

  • Source code patches

  • Recorded streaming media objects

  • Archives of other AVALON project components (e.g. documents)


All those objects can be found at the physical repository code.google.com/p/avalon-learning or can be directly accessed via the 'Open source web portal' on http://www.avalonlearning.eu

(page: 'Information for content creators, teachers and IT specialists')

 

Use this link for direct access to 3D content:

http://code.google.com/p/avalon-learning/downloads/list?can=1&q=3D-content

 

Use this link for direct access to source code patches and scripts:

http://code.google.com/p/avalon-learning/source/browse/#svn%2Ftrunk%2Fsourcecode%2Bpatches

 

For detailed information about how to access and use it, see WP4-1 Repository for 2D and 3D object

  • Moodle-content (e.g. the teacher training course)

http://lms.workademy.net/course/category.php?id=3 It is exported by the end of the project using the moodle ZIP format into the long term archive:

http://code.google.com/p/avalon-learning/downloads/list?can=1&q=moodle-archive

  • Streaming Media / Video footage and materials

http://youtube.com/avalonlearning

and blib.tv see  

http://tinyurl.com/5umq5o4

 

  • Surveys
see Feedback Questionnaires
  • document store for more detailed information on all aspects of the project

https://avalonlearning.pbworks.com

 

 

Creation and maintenance of content

 

In order to run a live learning event a lot of different content needs to be in place. This section discusses issues around content creation and re-use of existing content (e.g. from the Avalon project).

We will address basic content (that only needs basic IT skills to be produced) in the first part and go on with advanced topics in the second part. The last part gives a brief overview of using streaming media.

 

Basic content

If you are a beginner, you will probably get along with those:

 

WHAT ?
WHY ?
HOW ?
SLURL / landmark
At first you want to make sure, that your participants finds you. A SLURL is a link to a location in Second Life. Use it when announcing your event or within eMails. If your event uses avalonlearning-island, this is the SLURL: SLURL to avalonlearning-island in Second Life

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceIzvl0TYVc

 

Notecard
Notecards are 'textsheets' that you can distribute in-world to your participants. Make sure, you provide all information (e.g. description of tasks) as text (either in text chat or as notecard), because you never know if all participants can permanently hear you fine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwSIYGhZbT4

 

Slides
You might want to use a presenter to show slides to your participants . Create them and upload them.

Use an office suite (powerpoint, etc.) and export slides in jpg or png format. Then upload them to Second Life (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfih3EmXnjc) and assign them to your presenter (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAbFkPOjg5w)

 

 

Textures
Give 3D objects a visual surface (e.g. for creating posters). Note, that the quality of the textures determines the quality of the visual impression.

Use photoshop (professional use) or gimp (open source tool) to create the texture, then upload it to SL and assign it to your object:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIbJWeDomno

3D environment
You need a place to meet your participants in-world.  This place should be an athmospheric setting that fits your learning activiy and support immersion and emotional impact.

You have various possibilities:

  1. Use an existing one (e.g. the village on avalonlearning-island)
  2. Use a holodeck (e.g. those that are provided on avalonlearning-island. They are mentioned here: http://avalonlearning.pbworks.com/w/page/33819371/A-service-point-for-language-trainers)
  3. Import an environment from our repository (check out http://avalonlearning.pbworks.com/w/page/7682883/WP4-2%202D%20%E2%80%93%203D%20Integration for more information)
  4. Build it on your own (on a place, where you have building permissions, e.g. in the sandbox on avalonlearning-island). Check out this for further information: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVSzh_QTE00)

 

Advanced content (requires advanced IT skills!)

If you are an advanced user, you might want to improve your learning scenarios using the following:

 

WHAT ?
WHY ?
HOW ?
Objects Building objects (e.g. furniture, stages, props for role-plays, ...) gives you the option to fine-tune the used environment exactly to your needs.

Fortunately there are many places in Second Life where you get objects for free (search for 'freebees'). If you want to create them on your own, check out this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVSzh_QTE00

 

Sculpties Sculpties are specific complex 3D objects (e.g. a vase)

They are actually modelled in 2D format. Check out:  http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Sculpted_Prims:_3d_Software_Guide

and:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEAM1GCzk74&feature=relmfu
Clothing

Special clothing makes certain scenarios (e.g. role-plays) more immersive. As a teacher, you might want special clothes for your own avatar to adds to your avatar's identity.

 

Fortunately there are many places in Second Life where you get clothes for free (search for 'freebees'). If you want to create clothes on your own: Note, that clothings of an avatar is a special form of texture, where template requirement are to be considered. See: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Clothing_Tutorials
Terrain (RAW) Modelling the surface of an island help creating exactly the atmosphere you need (e.g. flat tropical island)

The landscape of an island is determined by a special texture which includes additional meta information (e.g. height of the landscape, applied texture, etc.).

There are multiple terrain editors available.

See http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Tips_for_Creating_Heightfields_and_Details_on_Terrain_RAW_Files

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR5tZN4BVSw

for more details.

Animations Animations give avatars a body language. In most cases you won't need special animations, but there are cases where it might make sense (e.g. gestures that are typical in a certain culture).

There are many animations available (for little or no money - search for 'freebees'). Complex animation and gestures are modeled in a specific format by using special tools, e.g. poser.

 

Check out: http://my.smithmicro.com/tutorials/1773.html

and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_-3c_aC-O4

for more information.

 

Scripts
Scripts are useful to attach a certain behavior to an object (e.g. open a door when an avatar clicks on it)

Use a software development environment with support of mono and the linden script language . Check out this for all necessary information:

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/LSL_Portal

 

 

 

Streaming Media

Streaming media is a powerful tool for various types of usage. We want to highlight two of them: It might be created before a course (preparing a learning scenario) or live by capturing a action learning event.

 

Pre-production of streaming media

 

WHAT ?
WHY ?
HOW ?
short audio clips  (max. 10 seconds) Audio clips help in creating a rich 3D environment including sounds from objects (e.g. from nature, machinery or other objects one expect to produce sound)

Use recording tools, e.g. audio recorder included in a PC operation system.

For more information, see: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Sound_Clips

Streamed audio (any length)
It can be streamed live to the 3D environment creating a background sound (e.g. music)

The recording is similar like the short audio clips (see above), but it is delivered using a web streaming service.

For more information, see:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ34pB39GCQ

Streamed video clips  (this method is rarely used because the stream is hard to control and has a significant latency)
It can be streamed live to the 3D environment creating a framed video on a wall.

A special format and streaming service is needed, for details see

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/How_To_Show_Video_in_SL

 

Live production of streaming media

 

WHAT ?
WHY ?
HOW ?
Video clips 
There are several reasons why to produce a video of a live event: For documentation purpose, for giving feedback to the participants (maybe including annotations), for producing machinimas, etc.

There are different tools on the market, like fraps, camtasia, IshowU (Mac).

 

Check out this page on the Avalon-wiki for more information:

http://avalonlearning.pbworks.com/w/page/33047585/Machinima%20-%20Recording%20in%20Second%20Life

Streaming video
Live broadcasting of an event is a great way to include people from 'outside', e.g. for mixed-reality events.

There are several ways how that can be done. The simplest way is that on in-world participant screen-shares with a web conferencing tool (e.g. Elluminate). The other way is to use a streaming service like e.g.

UStream.com.

 

For more information see WP4 GUI configuration handbook

 

 

Key 3D scenarios provided by AVALON for reuse by educators

 

In this section you will find a short overview and illustration about the key contents available. It does not describe every detail but shall provide a first impression about the most important 3D scenarios.

 

Avalon Island

 

The Avalon island is an entire region, devoted to education. You can access and use it and it's contents following this link: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/AVALON%20Learning/23/223/58

 

Impression  Description 
  Overview about the region from the initial meeting point. You will start there if you follow the link above. 
  The central AVALON town which served most of the pilot courses well. It includes the "business barn" and a lot of different locations to explore. 
The meeting room where all the project meetings took place. Accomplished with some whiteboards and media-prims all relevant project information are available when needed.
The sandbox area where everyone can build and create individual scenarios. It was used for the big conferences like SLanguages, hands-on workshops and for the use of the holodeck scenarios.

 

Educational Holodeck Scenarious

 

Scenario  Description 
  3D contents of a team room, which is a multi purpose scene facilitating project work in an informa
  The UKnow stage has been used for the graphical user interface configuration demonstrator which allows people new to virtual worlds to participate. It is a typical TV set stage and may be used for all kind of quizzes.
  The conference room is used for negotiation training, meetings and discussions. 
   
   
   
   

 

 

 

Teacher Tools

 

 

 

 

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