The force that drives innovation in technology is human sensitivity, perception and enlightened thoughts. As we herald a new age of vLearning or learning within Virtual Worlds like Second Life, we face a wild and wide open domain of alternate reality. But alternate reality in itself is nothing new. 'Virtual Worlds' is our answer to the question posed above.
The extended entry follows:
C. S. Lewis, the author of the seven Narnia books can be easily said to be a pioneer of Virtual Worlds, along with contemporaries like JRR Tolkien (Lord of the Rings). Yes, what they built was virtual worlds in within the computing resources of the reader's brain. And what a fascinating way! One would expect the worlds they created to be inaccessible to adults who cannot learn through reading. And in part that is true. Children absorbed Narnian concepts more easily than a distracted busy adult would. The child's mind would do the necessary computing with relative ease to create the virtual worlds in the mind... rendering imagery more vivid than any computer can generate. If you have the right imagination and experience. I would like to quote two paragraphs from Lewis's biographical worl, "Surprised by Joy" to illustrate the genuis' process of conjuring virtual worlds. This was way before he created Narnia. In his childhood he created "Animal-Land" and "India". He later combined them into a single world with but still, two administrative divisions: Boxen.
"And now that I have opened the gate, all the Boxonians, like the ghosts in Homer, come clamoring for mention. But they must be denied it. Readers who have built a world would rather tell of their own than hear of mine; those who have not would peraps be bewildered and repelled." (Chapter V, Suprised by Joy, Lewis).
Lewis says a lot above with reference to creation of virtual worlds: Virtual worlds, once created, need to address the individual stories of all and any creatures within it. This is impossible to address in the written word. But if he were alive to see that every resident of Second Life can live and experience their own storyline within the virtual world, that would have greatly amazed him.
Yesterday I stumbled upon the "Last Lecture of a Dying Professor", Randy Pausch of Carnegie Mellon, who could be called a pioneer, not just of building virtual worlds, but more importantly an educator who has helped many others learn this craft in the best way possible. Through a course in virtual world, taught for ten years, Randy has addressed the eternal child within all his students who shared that timeless urge with writers like Lewis and Tolkien. That intense desire to tell a story in their own world, not in this disorderly and fate-controlled real reality. Here is the video that tells all, famously titled "Last Lecture of a Dying Professor":
Randy's accomplishments include being an imagineer who created the Alladin virtual reality ride for Disney. With the advent of Virtual Worlds, the time has come to pay tribute into that 20th century tradition of fantasy and rededicate it to learning objectives.
Vic Divecha
April 12th, 2008
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Footnote:
My introduction to virtual reality was through Michael Crichton's book, 'Disclosure' which was later made into a hit movie starring Michael Doughlas and Demi Moore. It was a fascinating but not an awe inspiring presentation of the basic capabilities of augmented reality and relied heavily on a virtual guide within the world. This remains true today in Second Life, with the difference that the helper avatars are for most parts driven by real people, self-driven and localized to their parts of the world.
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