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MIWoSE: Monthly International Workshop on Science Exhibits
in online 3D environment

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MIWoSE
Virtual World Teacher Training Project (Orientation Tower for VW Educators)
Overview 1.Advantage 2.Demo 3.Tutorial 4.Lesson Plan 5.Tools 6.Community 7.Build
MIWoSE's detail
MIWoSE is a workshop on visualization of science contents and contexts for educational use in online 3D environment, mainly not from view point of educators but from view point of scientific contents providers or curators.
Of course, we hope many educators and students will participate in MIWoSE.

Purpose
- to establish a Science Exhibits Network among various fields in SL with regards the provision of educational resources.
- to share best practices in visualization, not only of Science Content, but also Science Contexts.
- to create new scientific value through interdisciplinary collaboration using Multi-user online 3D Environments.
- to encourage the providers of science exhibits through communication with educators and students.

Science Related Places in SL (Google documents)

Starting Time
Summer Time (winter time in Australia): 07:00 west coast of USA (PDT), 15:00 UK (BST), 23:00 Japan, 24:00 Austraria (AEST)
Winter Time (summer time in Australia): 06:00 west coast of USA (PST), 14:00 UK (GMT), 23:00 Japan, 25:00 Austraria (AEDT)

- Time Zone/ Time Zone Converter ? Time Difference Calculator

Remark
- In each MIWoSE, basically 1 group presents in 1 hour and has short field trip, and MIWoSE will be held on every month at science related places in SL.
- Speakers use voice chat in English and participants use text chat in English to ask questions.

Future & past workshop (Mar.2013 - Sep.2014)
NoDateTitleSpeaker/ Avatar nameLacation
13thTBDTBDDoug Danforth (SL: DrDoug Pennell)OSU Medicine
12th27 Sep
2014
"Cross-disciplinarity in Second Life" (Chat-log)
Multi-user online 3D environment like SL has a possibility to help inter/ trans-disciplinary and cross world understanding through 3D objects which adequately visualize contents and contexts, because communication using language only has a barrier due to difference of language, discipline and culture.
The speaker is editing list of cross-disciplinary educational resources in SL at VW Education Wiki, providing one prime teleporter including more than 300 educational places in SL, and now, curating the Modern Museum as a cross-disciplinary collaboration platform.
Hajime Nishimura (SL: Yan Lauria)The Modern Museum, STEM Island
11th3rd May"Virtual Ability and Healthinfo Island: How Information Is Transmitted to People with Disabilities"
Download transcript PDF
Persons with disabilities are not uncommon in virtual worlds. What issues do they have functioning in these environments? How do they use assistive technologies to interact with their computers? How can those of us presenting information in virtual worlds make this information more accessible to persons with disabilities?
Alice Krueger (SL: Gentle Heron)Virtual Ability
10th22 Feb
2014
"Multiplayer Unity 3D and Oceanography" (log download)
Current Second Life/ OpenSimulator doesn't have enough capability for precise 3D modeling of ocean creature's soft body such as squids and Jelly fishes.
On the other hand, Unity 3d allows us to create complex simulations of a variety of science fields and explore them in a multiplayer environment using additional software such as jibe or extreme realities Software Development Kit.
The simulations we create in Unity contain no adult content which is ideal for professional presentations. They can be accessed easily via a simple web browser on a pc or mac.
The user interface is easy to change. We can add GUI pop-up questions for students, and sonar or GPS displays. It is very easy to display data in unity which makes it ideal for scientific studies. Students can get feedback on their work easily and keep track of their score. It is no surprise that student understanding of science increases after using unity based software.
In this presentation, we will discuss further the benefit of unity in science presentations and take a virtual field trip to the bottom of the oceans in unity. We will start in second life and then assemble in Unity.
Dr. William F. Schmachtenberg (SL: Dae Miami)Abyss Observatory and Unity 3D
Science Circle Seminor15 Feb (Sat)
2014
"How to make a Museum" Transcript and Presentation Sheets
As part 2 of gVisualization for Collaboration and Discoveryh, at first, wefll have several observations and experiments to discover physical laws in SL, such as secrets of SL materials and SL geography and astronomy.
Subsequently, Ifll talk about how to make a museum as examples of visualization of relations and contexts, including collaboration with creators and Guidelines of Navigation/ Wayfinding in SL museum. Ifll also demonstrate how to create seaweed forest.
Hajime Nishimura (SL: Yan Lauria)STEM Island, Pyramid Auditorium
9th9th Nov (Sat)"Oddprofessor's Science Center" (Chat log and snapshots pdf)
Oddprofessor's Museum and Science Center began as one activity on a tiny plot of land at RIT Island. After 5 years the Science Center comprises over 23,000 square meters and more than 20 activities.
Deaf students from the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester NY do homework and take exams in Second Life, using lab activities that echo the real-life labs that they have done. Where they may have dropped a 10 cm^3 cylinder into a graduated cylinder of water in the lab, in Second Life they drop giant granite spheres into 9-m tall tanks of water.
Owner Oddprofessor Snoodle (Prof. Vicki Robinson) will lead a tour of the Science Center activities and discuss its evolution.
Vicki Robinson (SL: Oddprofessor Snoodle)
National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology
Oddprocessor's Museum
8th12 Oct (Sat)"Cats, Codons and Chromosomes: Teaching Real Science in a Virtual Laboratory" (Chat log and presentation sheets)
Genome Island has been used for teaching genetics since 2006, both for my own students and for classes from other institutions. I have also duplicated many of the activities found on Genome Island in VIBE: an Open Sim grid managed by Stephen Gasior at Ball State University.
A User's Guide to Genome Island can be seen here: http://faculty.txwes.edu/mclark/Genome/Guide.htm. A User's Guide to the VIBE Islands can be seen here: http://faculty.txwes.edu/mclark/VIBE/Genome_at_VIBE.pdf. Genome Island is public access and anybody teaching genetics to students 16 and up is welcome to use it. Sample assignments are included in both web documents.
There is no fixed path through Genome Island, so instructors can adapt its activities to meet the needs of their own classes. Each activity includes written instructions for the activity and in some cases, a spreadsheet for data analysis is offered. My genetics class for nonmajors is taught entirely on the island, with links to external resources. Blackboard is used for assignments and assessment.
During the presentation, we will visit activities of several types around the island, including Mendelian genetics, molecular genetics and bioinformatics.
Dr M. A Clark (SL: Max Chatnoir)
Texas Wesleyan University
Genome Island
7th28 Sep (Sat)"The Concept and Reality of STEM Island"
STEM(*) Island is a concept in development. The reality is a bit different right now so I would invite you during this event to brainstorm with me about ways to make it the reality it can be. Following this discussion we will visit some of the exhibits around the sim. Some of my co-builders and students may join us. STEM Island is one of two sims owned by my university. We are celebrating our 5th year in Second Life.
*: STEM = (S)cience, (T)echnology, (E)ngineering, and (M)athematics
Sites we may visit (in order of priority, as time allows): - Great Pyramid Auditorium (at the top of a half-scale abstraction of the Khufu Pyramid of Giza)
- Stonehenge (full-scale interactive simulation)
- Hydroelectric Dam (featuring a cutaway generator and fish ladder)
- Underground caverns and "Biosphere" Science Building
- UIW School of Optometry
- SciLands Map and NASA Mars Exhibit - Petra Treasury (a full-scale reproduction of the outside)
- Maglev train and HMS Beagle (rescued from MacMillan/Nature's sims)
- Nuclear reactor and "Fortress of Solitude" (within and under the pyramid)
Phillip D. Youngblood (SL: Vic Michalak)
University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio
STEM Island- Piramid Auditorium
Science Circle Seminor21 Sep (Sat)"Visualization for Collaboration and Disovery in Online 3D Environment" (Transcript and presentation sheets/ Snapshots)
The speaker will talk about how to visualize scientific knowledge and provide to society or educational use.
Second Life provide us object oriented intuitive 3D modeling method which enable us to express own idea by ourselves, and enable us to collaborate inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary beyond distance and time zone difference.
On the other hand, although we are living in 3D environment, we are mainly depending on non-3D method for communication, such as speech, writing and 2D drawing. We don't develop 3D communication skill so well than language communication. Due to SL residents don't like taking notecards and URL jump, exhibits in SL becomes ineloquent then RL exhibits.
We also need to integrate science exhibits of various field to provide as social knowledge.
The speaker will try to formulate advantages and problems of online 3D environment through various demonstrations of my challenges in SL.
Hajime NishimuraSTEM Island
6th3 Aug (Sat)"The Splo"
The Splo is the Exploratorium's first experiment on how to create an interactive science museum in a virtual world. Launched on April 1, 2006 it is the oldest interactive science museum in Second Life. Exhibits were created by a team of scientists and artists and allow visitors to explore models of scientific phenomena. The museum includes many exhibits that poke fun at real life interactive science museum exhibits. Join the director of the Splo Patio Plasma for a visit to a few of the Splo's most interesting exhibits.
Paul Doherty (SL: Patio Plasma)
Exploratorium in San Francisco
SploLand
VWBPE27 July (Sat)"Designing and Depicting Cetacean Interactions and Ecosystems"(pdf download)
This session will use the example of the Abyss Observatory at Farwell as a case study of the thinking and decision-making behind the conceptualization, design and development of a learning installation within Second Life which specifically depicts interactions within ecosystems in true-scale.
Since 2007, the Abyss has sought to provide vicarious experiences for visitors, regarding various aspects of oceanographic and atmospheric study. Now in its fourth iteration, the Abyss Observatory at Farwell is designed by a team of architects primarily from Japan and Singapore. This session will be suitable for anyone thinking deeply about designing for similar immersive museum experiences for learning.
Hajime Nishimura (SL: Yan Lauria)
JAMSTEC/DrC
VWBPE 2013
5th6 July (Sat)"Physical Science Exhibits at the Exploratorium" (Chat log: pdf download)
As we visit the exhibits I'll discuss how the exhibit is used in RL physics classes at the Exploratorium Museum in RL.
We'll visit: a simulation of a meteorite impact on Mars, which is timely because one may happen in 2014, we'll ride galaxies in a model of the Big Bang, we'll ride molecules in a simulation of Brownian motion, we'll launch the classic illustration of ping-pong balls on mousetraps to model a nuclear chain reaction, tour interactive illusions, and visit illustrations of total solar eclipses. We'll also visit our lecture theater.
Paul Doherty(SL: Patio Plasma)
Exploratorium in San Francisco
Exploratorium
4th29 June (Sat)"Seeing Through Water. Whatfs undersea and why it matters" (Chat log: pdf download)
Because we live in an inter-connected world, what happens in one area of the globe directly or indirectly affects conditions in other areas. Oceans are particularly affected and affective yet the enormity of human impacts on the seas is either unrecognized or discounted by most of the world's population. Oceans span the globe. They are crucial shared resources, for people but not only for people. Coastal fishing supports millions of people worldwide, but the stock of wild fish is falling. Yet governments are continuing to promote and subsidize increased fishing of over-fished economically desirable species.
The care of shared resources is a shared responsibility. Today we will explore three issues of critical importance: Pollution, Acidification and Heating.
The Question we face as scientists and educators, and as concerned citizens of the world is gHow do we engage people who can make a difference to work on issues that really matter?h
Delia LakeBetter World
3rd16 May (Thu)"A Site Visit to the Field Studies Centre at Bowness" (Chat log: pdf download)
As a follow up to Dr Minocha's talk and geology field trip on 20th April, you are invited to Bowness Island in Second Life, where you have the opportunity to visit the Field Studies Centre there.
The Centre is open to the public and affords opportunities for visitors to interact with installations through which one can learn about the weather, different coastal environments, and tectonic forces.
Throughout the visit, we will discuss some of the considerations underlying the design and layout of the Centre, as well as its siting on the mainland of Second Life. It is anticipated that this visit will complement and add texture and nuance to your reflections from Dr Minocha's talk and field trip.
Kenneth Y T Lim(SL: Veritas Raymaker)
National Institute of Education, Singapore
Bowness
2nd20 April (Sat)"A 3D virtual geology field trip: Opportunities and Limitations"
As a part of The OpenScience Laboratory, an initiative of The Open University, UK and The Wolfson Foundation, we are developing a 3D simulation of a Geology field trip based around Skiddaw in the Lake District of UK, using the Unity 3D software.
During the session and through (video) demonstration of the 3D field trip, I plan to address: the role that a 3D virtual geology field trip can play in terms of preparation and reflection before and after a real field trip; and whether and how a 3D simulation helps in gaining geological fieldwork skills and what are the limitations of 3D virtual geology field trips. I will invite participants to comment on their individual perceptions of the opportunities, challenges and limitations of 3D virtual geology field trips.
Dr. Shailey Monica(SL: Shailey Garfield)
The Open University, UK
Second Earth 3
1st15 March (Sat)"Abyss Observatory"
- Finding SL physical laws and astronomical laws by experiments in SL. (Slide)
- Display of Earth simulation animation on a sphere using "shared media".
- Creating Science Exhibits Network by using one prim Teleport Hub System.
Hajime Nishimura (SL: Yan Lauria)
JAMSTEC/DrC
Akemi Mochiduki(SL: Draceina Pinion)
Degital Hollywood University, Japan
Second Earth 3


Organized by Abyss Observatory