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Learning in virtual environments goes LiVE at Birmingham City University

383LP0308 19th March 2008

A Birmingham City University project is researching the use of a three-dimensional, virtual environment for learning and assessment. The Learning in Virtual Environments (LiVE) project will see students undertake film production exercises, using the internet-based virtual world, ‘Second Life’.

The study is led by Birmingham City University’s Technology Innovation Centre (TIC), together with the University’s Learning Technology Development Unit and technology partner, Daden Ltd, a leading specialist in virtual environments. The project is funded by the regional development agency, Advantage West Midlands, through its Interactive Digital Media initiative, which promotes the use of new digital technology.

As part of their BSc (Hons) Film Production and Technology degree course, students are required to ‘scout’ a filming location. This exercise determines the resources and risks involved in shooting a particular scene on location. LiVE Project Co-ordinator, TIC’s Jerry Foss, has over 30 years experience through research roles in the telecommunications industry, where he was instrumental in the development of virtual reality projects. Jerry says: “The location scout exercise enables us to assess problems and opportunities that we believe could benefit from a three-dimensional environment for collaborative working”.

A virtual environment enables camera angles, scenery alignment, actor positions and other items to be planned and experimented with in advance. Similarly, the crucial health and safety considerations of location filming can also be tested and assessed without risk, before the task is undertaken in the real world.

As well as supporting the existing exercise, it is hoped that the virtual environment will enrich and enhance the overall learning experience. Students could potentially collaborate on virtual location scouting exercises, via the internet, irrespective of their own physical location. Course tutors could also set exercises that may otherwise be impractical, such as different terrains, or highly complex films sets that would otherwise require the budget of a major Hollywood production.

The virtual environment in the trial re-creates TIC’s Millennium Point campus, where students will also undertake a real-world location scout. This has been constructed in the internet-based Second Life environment, by LiVE project technology partner, Daden Ltd. Second Life was selected by the LiVE project team for its accessibility and ease of use by trial participants. It also provides established tools for constructing virtual buildings and artefacts.

A key aim of the LiVE project is to explore how assessments in a virtual environment can be integrated into the University’s learning management system, which provides students with on-line access to learning materials and assessment information. Relevant tasks and appropriate assessment parameters will need to be developed for the virtual environment, using criteria ranging from simple pass or fail responses for some actions, through to variable degrees of success for other more complex parts of the task. The project team will then assess the means to record and transfer assessment details automatically between the virtual environment and the learning management system.

The LiVE project has attracted interest from Digital Birmingham, the initiative established by Birmingham City Council and BT to encourage businesses and the public in the City to exploit the benefits of digital technologies. Digital Birmingham is now working with the LiVE team to carry out preliminary research on further applications that could benefit from virtual environment technology.

Birmingham City University’s Vice Chancellor and TIC Chairman, Professor David Tidmarsh, said of the LiVE project: “I am delighted to see Birmingham City University’s commitment to teaching and learning quality reflected in this highly innovative project. As Birmingham makes the transition from an industrial to a leading digital city, we also look forward to working with Digital Birmingham to utilise virtual environment technologies for the benefit of the wider community”.

For further information please contact Birmingham City University Media Relations Office on 0121 331 6738, email press@bcu.ac.uk or out of hours on 07967 271 532.

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