Tech Circles
MOO/MUD links
Original proposal for project: I propose to conduct
more in-depth research into the concept of virtual environments and virtual
teaching/teaching tools; MOOs, MUDs, etc. I will research the use of virtual
environments in various academic settings and communities and how it might be a
beneficial addition to Bluffton College technological instruction in the
future. I will also research the steps involved in creating, developing, and
implementing a virtual environment that would be open to BC students, faculty
and staff, and/or a virtual environment designed for specific course use.
-Virtual environment simulations
-Interestingly enough, there are several books available on Amazon.com about this subject of virtual environments.
-One page mentioned Alias/Wavefront software, the SVE (Simple Virtual Environment) Toolkit, and VR hardware.
http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperVis/virtual.env/virtual.htm : Website by ACM SIGGRAPH, a company dedicated to the generation and dissemination of information on computer graphics and interactive techniques.
My
opinion: very good site
for background information and history of virtual reality
http://www-vrl.umich.edu/intro/ :
Website developed by Dr. Klaus-Peter Beier of the University of Michigan,
director of college of engineering.
My
opinion: Another virtual
reality introduction site for beginners. Appears to have some interesting
visuals and even an interactive demo or two.
http://tecfa.unige.ch/moo/paris96/papers/daniel.html#SECTION00020000000000000000
Website
by Daniel K. Schneider, faculty member at the University of Geneva.
My
opinion: Looks like an
excellent source explaining the various uses of MUDs and also provides numerous
links to what appear to be other intermediate/advanced sites.
http://tecfa.unige.ch/edu-comp/WWW-VL/eduVR-page.html
: A website created by TECFA Education & Technologies. It is a research and
teaching unit at the University of Geneva and is primarily MUD-oriented.
My
opinion: This page
contains a mind-boggling amount of information with links to general index
& information pages, a list of educational MUDs, publications,
bibliographies, guides, FAQs, and technical MUD research. It might be difficult
to wade through but I might find some valuable information here.
http://userpage.chemie.fu-berlin.de/~sunny/vr/VRStart.html
: This website is a little older (1995) but contains links to some of the “big
names” in virtual environments. If the links still work, then the page could
prove useful.
http://www.hitl.washington.edu/kb/onthenet.html
: One of the pages available on the Human Interface Technology (HIT) lab at the
University of Washington. Contains a wide variety of links to virtual reality
resources available on the Net. Includes links to virtual reality in education
issues and possible links to multimedia demos. There is also a link to “sci-fi
virtual worlds,” whatever that means!
http://www.hitl.washington.edu/magicbook/media.html
: This site probably isn’t all that relevant to my research project, but it is
just an interesting example of what can be done through virtual reality. It
describes the process of the “MagicBook” project conducted by HIT lab at
University of Washington and also by the SIGGRAPH people. Some possibly
interesting downloads available.
http://www.hitl.washington.edu/publications/r-97-19/
: A website explaining a case study conducted—instructing middle-schoolers in
building their own virtual environments.
http://www.accad.ohio-state.edu/~mlewis/VRML/Class/syl.html
: This is an online syllabus to a 3D-virtual environment-building course.
Potentially helpful, if any of particulars of MUD building are actually posted
online. At any rate, the links may be useful.
http://www.soe.ecu.edu/VR/6242/edtc6242hp.html
: An online course offered for building virtual environments.
http://www.cs.ndsu.nodak.edu/~slator/abstracts/ictai-99.html
: Tools for Building Virtual Worlds for Education. This website describes a
tool called the Integrated Virtual World Building Tool, developed by the North
Dakota State University World Wide Web Instructional Committee (WWWIC).
Although the website describes the tool in detail, it doesn’t say anything
“technical” about it—like how to get it, where to get it, what system
requirements might be, if it is part of a software program, etc.
http://ftp.hitl.washington.edu/people/dace/vrguide/
: This page looks like some sort of complete guide to building virtual
environments details, (or at least some good tips) although I am not familiar
with some of the terminology used and it is not very beginner-friendly.
http://www.mudconnector.org/mudfaq/mudfaq-p1.html#q13:
(www.cybertown.com): The MUD Resource
Connection. Lots of links including MUD FAQs, how to connect to MUDs, MUD
etiquette, etc.