Activity theory as a potential framework for human-computer interaction research
Context and consciousness
Community Building on the Web: Secret Strategies for Successful Online Communities
Community Building on the Web: Secret Strategies for Successful Online Communities
Minds in Play: Computer Game Design as a Context for Children's Learning
Minds in Play: Computer Game Design as a Context for Children's Learning
Avatars!; Exploring and Building Virtual Worlds on the Internet
Avatars!; Exploring and Building Virtual Worlds on the Internet
WETICE '01 Proceedings of the 10th IEEE International Workshops on Enabling Technologies: Infrastructure for Collaborative Enterprises
Student-Built Virtual Environments
Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments
A platform for virtual museums with personalized content
Multimedia Tools and Applications
Enhancing the educational value of video games
Computers in Entertainment (CIE) - SPECIAL ISSUE: Media Arts and Games (Part II)
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As a focus of its exploration of desktop 3-D environments for science outreach, the Cornell Theory Center (CTC), Cornell University's high-performance computing center, has been exploring the use of the Active Worlds client/server technology for implementation of a 3-D multiuser virtual science museum. SciCentr, that incorporates interactive simulation-based exhibits. We present here early lessons in accommodating the needs of several interconnected user groups as we move forward with establishing the SciCentr community within the greater educational community of Active Worlds Educational Universe (AWEDU) and the Contact Consortium's VLearn3D initiative. We learned that we must provide the user communities with both social and spatial frameworks within which to work and play. Social Support ranges from one-on-one, over-the-shoulder help, to guidance and training within the environment, to coordination of "inworld" activities and in-person pizza parties. Spatial design requirements depend on the activities of the user group and benefit from study of real and virtual world examples. Our experience to date with a pilot group of teenaged participants is encouraging, and we believe that this medium has potential as a resource for constructivist informal science and technology education.