The increasing incorporation of ICTs in education is generating a series of changes and transformations in the ways we represent and carry out teaching and learning processes. These changes can be seen in the traditional environments of formal education but also in the arrival of new educational environments totally or partially based on ITCs. This document discusses the design, creation and coordination of a 3D virtual teaching and learning environment for UNNOBA. With that aim, the definition and deployment of a 3D virtual environment [3DVE] focuses not only on technological and pedagogical aspects but also on a transition methodology to improve the quality of teaching methods and techniques.XI Workshop tecnología informática aplicada en educaciónRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Alonso, Nicolás

Esnaola, Leonardo

Fochi, Maximiliano

Padovani, Franco

Ramón, Hugo Dionisio

Russo, Claudia Cecilia

SEDICI - Repositorio de la UNLP

Implementation of a 3D Virtual Environment at the National 
University of the North West of the Province of Buenos Aires 
Hugo Ramón
1
, Claudia Russo
1
, Leonardo Esnaola
1
, Nicolás Alonso
1
,  
Maximiliano Fochi
1
, Franco Padovani
1
 
1 Institute of Research and Technology Transfer (ITT), University of the North West of the Province of Buenos 
Aires (UNNOBA), Junín, Buenos Aires, Argentina  
{hugoramon, crusso}@unnoba.edu.ar, {leonardo.esnaola, nicolas.alonso, maximiliano.fochi, 
franco.padovani}@nexo.unnoba.edu.ar 
Abstract. The increasing incorporation of ICTs in education is generating a series of changes and 
transformations in the ways we represent and carry out teaching and learning processes. These 
changes can be seen in the traditional environments of formal education but also in the arrival of new 
educational environments totally or partially based on ITCs. This document discusses the design, 
creation and coordination of a 3D virtual teaching and learning environment for UNNOBA. With that 
aim, the definition and deployment of a 3D virtual environment [3DVE] focuses not only on 
technological and pedagogical aspects but also on a transition methodology to improve the quality of 
teaching methods and techniques. 
Key words. 3D virtual environment, PACIE,  OpenSim, ICTs. 
1 Introduction 
In the past few years, we have seen that education has been transformed as a result of the advent and 
introduction of new technologies, especially since the introduction of LMS (Learning Management 
Systems). These systems favored the growth of distance learning and helped to improve teaching and 
learning processes. Despite these advances, LMS providers compete to place their tool as the central 
element of e-learning [1] leaving aside what should be the main objective i.e., allowing students to 
assume more responsibility for their learning processes. 
In the traditional approach of current LMS, teachers design courses and activities with a student-
centered vision but this does not allow students to set their own goals and terms, manage their work, 
assess their use of time and work in collaboration with their classmates [2]. 
The impact of these new technologies has a lot to do with the advent of a new generation, born with 
technology at their fingertips, known as digital natives [3], who prefer to learn in an ICT tool-based 
environment. This is a challenge for traditional teachers who need to generate new methods or adapt their 
old ones so as to exploit students potential through new technologies [4].  
As a result, we believe that, in order to design, create and coordinate a 3D virtual teaching and learning 
environment for UNNOBA, we should not focus on technical or pedagogical aspects only.  We need to 
consider a transition methodology to improve teaching methods and techniques. For future 
implementation purposes, we will base part of the design and creation of our 3DVE on the PACIE 
method (Spanish acronym for presence, scope, training, interaction and e-learning) developed by Pedro 
Camacho [5]. 
2 Key concepts and aspects of the PACIE method 
PACIE is a method to use ICTs as support for learning and self-learning processes that enhances a 
pedagogical framework of real education. This method differentiates three aspects that should be taken 
into account in the transition process for a 3DVE, as follows:  
 
 The image to be given to our 3DVE 
 
 Information management and organization within the 3DVE 
594
  Virtual education management, organization and administration. 
 
 Our 3DVE proposal will focus on these three fundamental aspects. Other aspects will be open to 
inquiry until we have carried out different experiences after the 3DVE start-up [6]. 
2.1 3DVE image 
The environment needs to be friendly and attractive. The following should be taken into consideration:  
 
 Using the same typography and text size for titles. 
 
 Using the same font for information. 
 
 Highlighting relevant information by using different fonts and colors. 
 
 Using the same size for all images. 
 
 Using links with images to facilitate access to different items of the University. 
 
 Including attractive web 2.0 resources such as animations, videos and other. 
 
 Creating the need to discover new and appealing ways in 3DVE to motivate students to continue 
exploring and using it. 
 
 Having and keeping an identity. This means making students feel that each virtual classroom is 
part of a single virtual education center [7]. 
2.2 Information Management and Organization 
Now we should consider the importance of managing and organizing information inside our virtual 
classroom.  
Based on the idea that to let students learn, the aims should be clear, we decided to use SBS 
(Standards, Benchmarks and Skills) in the proposed model. By using them, we can determine what skills 
the students need to acquire, develop or improve when they complete the educational process and achieve 
certain aims or products by meeting certain requirements and being ready to face new situations. All these 
skills are grouped into patterns or academic benchmarks with similar characteristics.  All of them have 
been customized for our subject in an exclusive way. Once we have the academic benchmarks, we aim at 
certain standards that need to be established by the related academic department [8] [9].  
2.3 Virtual Education Management, Organization and Administration 
Following the PACIE method, to implement the proposed 3DVE, we believe that it is very important to 
have a specialized area of distance learning to manage and organize all the aspects related to virtual 
education, with decision-making powers over the 3DVE.   
As stated in the PACIE method [10], the minimum human resources requirements include a teaching 
expert, an IT expert and a social communication expert. This allows us to divide tasks in a better way. 
 
 The social communication expert should manage communication of virtual learning processes as 
well as any general aspect related to the 3DVE and the virtual classrooms. This person should be 
the link between the teaching expert and the IT expert. 
 
 The IT expert should provide support in all aspects related to technology and the teaching and 
learning environment by providing solutions for the 3DVE to work properly. 
 
 The teaching expert should be in charge of implementing learning methods suitable for the 3DVE 
and thus generate better learning techniques within the 3DVE and a teaching method especially 
designed for this specific 3DVE. 
595
3 Identification of the main aspects of the proposed 3D virtual environment 
As a result of the research process, a series of issues and specific solutions for the model have been 
identified: 
 
 Administrative aspect: A 3DVE is a system that integrates different solutions but its main 
objective is to provide adequate support to the teaching and learning activities of the main 
players: teachers and students alike. They need strong guidance to be provided by people who 
are highly trained and supported by well-defined processes. 
 
 Information management aspect: We should put special emphasis on information management 
and organization, analyze what is done with such information and how to use it to generate 
learning. We can manage and organize information using current standards or methodologies 
and using SBS is one of them. 
 
 Educational aspect: Teachers need to break with the traditional teaching scheme, they should 
guide students toward self-learning, make the environment a door to contents students find 
interesting so that they will continue exploring them and learning autonomously. This is done by 
developing adequate contents for the environment and guiding students through it [11].  
 
 Technical aspect: A good 3DVE should be accompanied by people who are trained to use it and 
can coach those who have not learned how to use it. 
 
 Evolutionary aspect: Any virtual system should take into consideration a potential evolution if it 
aims at being effective in changing times such as the present. Control and update process are 
necessary to adapt the system to new tools and create a virtuous circle to have it permanently 
optimized. 
 
 Graphic aspect: Nowadays, the design and visual aspect of the 3DVE needs to be attractive to 
students, otherwise, they are likely not to access it very frequently and, as a result, they will not 
make use of its advantages. 
 
 Functional aspect: Necessary tasks such as the management of virtual classrooms: their creation, 
enrolment process, teacher appointments and role allocation, etc., should be standardized and 
carried out by specific personnel. On the one hand, because these tasks should not be part of the 
teacher’s responsibilities, the teacher is a user and not an administrator of the virtual 
environment but on the other hand, because the performance of these tasks needs to be uniform, 
since a diverse environment looks messy.  
4 Choosing a tool to implement the proposed 3DVE 
To implement the proposed 3DEV, we needed to go through a selection process for the IT tool to be used 
as a server for the 3D applications. One of the requirements in the process was that the tool needed to be 
open source. OpenSim1 and OpenWonderland were among the 3D application servers we surveyed and 
researched into. 
OpenSim and OpenWonderland are 3D servers that allow virtual environments (also known as virtual 
worlds) to be created.  These environments can be accessed from a wide range of viewers, also known as 
clients. Singularity2 and Imprudence3. are two of the most popular OpenSim viewers. In the case of 
OpenWonderland, the web server acts directly as a viewer.  No additional software to act as a client and 
interact with the 3DVE is needed. 
When we chose the tool, we tried to meet the requirement that the 3DVE could connect to the virtual 
teaching and learning environment (EVEA) currently in use at UNNOBA, known as UNNOBA Virtual 
[12]. OpenSim had existing modules that allowed us to meet this requirement. This, and its excellent 
graphic quality, the possibility of making synchronic voice communication, its various repositories and 
documentation available made OpenSim the best option to be used as a 3D application server. 
                                                         
1 OpenSim official site, http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Main_Page 
2 Imprudence official site, http://wiki.kokuaviewer.org/wiki/Imprudence:Downloads 
3 Singularity official site, http://www.singularityviewer.org 
596
After choosing the tool, we continued working on the installation stage.  To do so, we downloaded the 
latest version available on the official website (we are currently working on the 0.7.5 version) and we 
consulted the official documents available on the site so as to install it correctly. 
After completing the installation, we started working on modeling a virtual world.  The first step was 
to create a conference room for UNNOBA. To do, we downloaded a base building and free objects from 
different websites, such as FleepGrid4, OpenSim-Creations5 and Zadaroo6, among others, to give it the 
current look and feel through different modeling and object options associated with the viewers, as shown 
in figures 1 and 2. 
 
 
Figure 1. Conference room outside view. 
 
Figure 2. Conference room inside view. 
 
                                                         
4 FleepGrid official site, http://fleepgrid.com/store 
5 OpenSim-Creations official site, http://opensim-creations.com 
6 Zadaroo official site, http://zadaroo.com 
597
As second stage of the virtual world modeling, we worked on the idea of recreating one of UNNOBA's 
buildings. For such purposes, we had already obtained a blueprint of the building.  
During this stage, research was conducted on the ways in which OpenSim would allow buildings to be 
created in its virtual worlds. Therefore, three ways of modeling and building were assessed using 
OpenSim. These are: 
 
 Building them with a 3D modeling program and saving them in an extensible markup language, 
in the .XML format, compatible with OpenSim. 
 
 Building them in a 3D modeling program and saving them with the .DAE format, also known as 
mesh, as this format is also compatible with OpenSim imports. 
 
 Building them manually, object by object, using the viewer. 
 
 Out of these three options, we opted for a 3D modeling program that allows exporting .DAE files, 
because we had experience using programs with this format, such as Blender y Google Sketchup7, and, 
the Singularity viewer, that is the one used by the 3DVE, supported .DAE files. 
 We did not choose to create models manually because of the complexity of the task of creating 
buildings using primitive objects such as the spheres, squares and cylinders available on the viewers. The 
option of creating models and saving them on an extensible markup language was discarded because the 
tool we had, SolidWorks8 , presented us with several inconveniences when importing the model into the 
3DVE during the technical assessment stage. 
 Using the selected option, we managed to import, inside the 3DVE, a model based on a blueprint of 
one of UNNOBA's buildings. This is shown in figures 3 and 4. 
 
 
Figure 3. UNNOBA’s building constructed from Google Sketchup already imported into OpenSim. 
 
                                                         
7 Google Sketchup official site, http://sketchup.google.es/index.html  
8 SolidWorks official site, http://www.solidworks.com  
598
 Figure 4. Library UNNOBA’s building constructed from Google Sketchup already imported into OpenSim. 
5 Integration and technical assessment of the proposed 3D virtual environment 
Once the virtual world mentioned above was created, we started its technical assessment. 
One of the aspects we analyzed and assessed was real-time voice interaction. This was one of the 
requirements to be met. In these communication modes i.e., open voice interaction and close voice 
interaction, for public and private communication respectively, we detected that open voice 
communication can be configured so as to listen within a set distance, which would allow splitting 
working stations and allow only the avatars in the area to listen and be listened. "Avatar" is the name 
given to the virtual representations of the human body of the user in the environment. 
Another aspect to be taken into consideration was the possibility of integrating the 3DVE into 
UNNOBA's teaching and learning environment, UNNOBA Virtual [12]. To do so, we used a module 
known as Sloodle9 that allows integrating a Moodle10 based  LMS, the one used  in UNNOBA Virtual, 
and OpenSim, the tool selected for the implementation of the proposed 3DVE. By using Sloodle, any 
component created on UNNOBA Virtual could be accessed from the 3DVE. The main technical 
assessments and trials conducted in connection with this integration were as follows: 
 
 Access using existing access credentials from the the 3DVE to the virtual teaching and learning 
environment used at UNNOBA. 
 
 Creating presentations in a virtual classroom of the environment and being able to access them 
from the 3DVE. 
 
 Taking exams or assessments in a virtual classroom used at UNNOBA allowing students to 
complete them from the 3DVE, thus enriching the virtual assessment experience. 
 
 Integrating a synchronic communication tool, as the chat used at UNNOBA’s virtual 
environment, with the 3DVE, which gives the possibility of starting a synchronic written and 
verbal communication among the participants in a virtual classroom. 
                                                         
9 Sloodle official site, http://www.sloodle.org 
10 Moodle official site, https://moodle.org  
599
6 Conclusions and future work 
One of the aims we seek to attain by using the 3DVE is to introduce and generate innovative strategies to 
meet the need to improve the teaching and learning process, allowing students to be involved in their 
academic education and favoring open and dynamic communication. 
We believe that although we are still on an assessment and continuous improvement stage, the 
proposed 3DVE, thanks to its real-time interaction capacity and its "face-to-face" feel, adds a social 
dimension to the teaching and learning environment similar to the one of "face-to-face" education which 
makes our distance learning proposal richer and more dynamic. 
However, we are aware of the fact that to improve this process, having and implementing a 3DVE is 
not enough. Having a transition methodology to improve the quality of teaching methods and techniques 
is not enough either. The design of educational activities and the generation of specific content for the 
3DVE is an emerging perspective in the practice and research of the e-learning community.  
Therefore, we should focus on generating and designing specific content for this kind of environments 
and, as a result, in the future we will attempt to design specific content for the 3DVE to be used at 
UNNOBA. 
In connection with our future work, with the integration of the teaching and learning environment used 
at UNNOBA and the 3DVE, we aim at creating a collaborative learning environment and designing 
specific content and activities suitable for both environments and also at assessing, measuring and 
comparing the impact of the introduction of a 3DVE into the different teaching modes at UNNOBA. 
References 
1. Alan Palme. Enhancing learning and teaching through the use of technology: a revised approach to HEFCE’s 
strategy for e-learning. HEFCE. United Kingdom, 2009 
2. Master’s Degree in Instructional Design by José Luis Córica, 
http://cvonline.uaeh.edu.mx/Cursos/Maestria/MGIEMV/DisenoProgramasEV12/materiales/Unidad%204/Cap4_D
isenoInstruccional_U4_MGIEV001.pdf  
3. Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon , 9 (5), 1-6. 
4. Journal  La educación y la Virtualidad Editorial: Grupo Dseta Editora: Francia Tovar Romero (Education and 
the virtual world Journal), http://www.youblisher.com/p/173589-Please-Add-a-Title-La-Educacion-y-la-
Virtualidad 
5. The PACIE method, essay published by Luis Oñate for FATLA, 2009, 
http://iuetaebvirtual.wikispaces.com/file/view/22234756-La-Metodologia-Pacie.pdf 
6. Essay Plataformas de educación a distancia, (“Distance learning platforms”) Rambo Alice, 
http://exa.unne.edu.ar/depar/areas/informatica/SistemasOperativos/Educacion__Distancia_Alice_2009.pdf 
7. PACIE methodology applied to virtual environments, http://pacie-en-muves.wikispaces.com/home 
8. Presentation Aplicación PACIE en los Estándares Académicos de la Educación Virtual (Applying PACIE to 
academic standards in virtual learning) by Deizi Carolina De Jesús Lobo, 
http://pacieeducavirtual.jimdo.com/aplicaci%C3%B3n-de-pacie-en-los-est%C3%A1ndares-acad%C3%A9micos-
de-la-educaci%C3%B3n-virtual-aula-virtual-moodle/ 
9. Educational experience with 3D environments, UPEL (Universidad Pedagógica Experimental Libertador), 
http://www.ugr.es/~sevimeco/revistaeticanet/numero10/Articulos/Formato/articulo5.pdf  
10. Module implementation based on the PACIE method, 2011, 
http://www.moodlemoot.org.uy/moodlemoot_2011/moodlemoot/moodlemootuy2011_submission_25.pdf 
11. Essay Entornos Virtuales 3D, Alternativa Pedagógica para el Fomento del Aprendizaje Colaborativo y Gestión 
del Conocimiento (3D virtual environments, an educational alternative to foster collaborative learning and 
knowledge management), http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=s0718-50062011000200006&script=sci_arttext 
12. UNNOBA’s virtual teaching and learning environment, http://virtual.unnoba.edu.ar/ 
600


English

Implementation of a 3D virtual environment at the National University of the North West of the Province of Buenos Aires

El Servicio de Difusión de la Creación Intelectual

Servicio de Difusión de la Creación Intelectual

Implementation of a 3D Virtual Environment at the National University of the North West of the Province of Buenos Aires Hugo Ramón1, Claudia Russo1, Leonardo Esnaola1, Nicolás Alonso1,  Maximiliano Fochi1, Franco Padovani1 1 Institute of Research and Technology Transfer (ITT), University of the North West of the Province of Buenos Aires (UNNOBA), Junín, Buenos Aires, Argentina  {hugoramon, crusso}@unnoba.edu.ar, {leonardo.esnaola, nicolas.alonso, maximiliano.fochi, franco.padovani}@nexo.unnoba.edu.ar Abstract. The increasing incorporation of ICTs in education is generating a series of changes and transformations in the ways we represent and carry out teaching and learning processes. These changes can be seen in the traditional environments of formal education but also in the arrival of new educational environments totally or partially based on ITCs. This document discusses the design, creation and coordination of a 3D virtual teaching and learning environment for UNNOBA. With that aim, the definition and deployment of a 3D virtual environment [3DVE] focuses not only on technological and pedagogical aspects but also on a transition methodology to improve the quality of teaching methods and techniques. Key words. 3D virtual environment, PACIE,  OpenSim, ICTs. 1 Introduction In the past few years, we have seen that education has been transformed as a result of the advent and introduction of new technologies, especially since the introduction of LMS (Learning Management Systems). These systems favored the growth of distance learning and helped to improve teaching and learning processes. Despite these advances, LMS providers compete to place their tool as the central element of e-learning [1] leaving aside what should be the main objective i.e., allowing students to assume more responsibility for their learning processes. In the traditional approach of current LMS, teachers design courses and activities with a student-centered vision but this does not allow students to set their own goals and terms, manage their work, assess their use of time and work in collaboration with their classmates [2]. The impact of these new technologies has a lot to do with the advent of a new generation, born with technology at their fingertips, known as digital natives [3], who prefer to learn in an ICT tool-based environment. This is a challenge for traditional teachers who need to generate new methods or adapt their old ones so as to exploit students potential through new technologies [4].  As a result, we believe that, in order to design, create and coordinate a 3D virtual teaching and learning environment for UNNOBA, we should not focus on technical or pedagogical aspects only.  We need to consider a transition methodology to improve teaching methods and techniques. For future implementation purposes, we will base part of the design and creation of our 3DVE on the PACIE method (Spanish acronym for presence, scope, training, interaction and e-learning) developed by Pedro Camacho [5]. 2 Key concepts and aspects of the PACIE method PACIE is a method to use ICTs as support for learning and self-learning processes that enhances a pedagogical framework of real education. This method differentiates three aspects that should be taken into account in the transition process for a 3DVE, as follows:    The image to be given to our 3DVE   Information management and organization within the 3DVE 594  Virtual education management, organization and administration.   Our 3DVE proposal will focus on these three fundamental aspects. Other aspects will be open to inquiry until we have carried out different experiences after the 3DVE start-up [6]. 2.1 3DVE image The environment needs to be friendly and attractive. The following should be taken into consideration:    Using the same typography and text size for titles.   Using the same font for information.   Highlighting relevant information by using different fonts and colors.   Using the same size for all images.   Using links with images to facilitate access to different items of the University.   Including attractive web 2.0 resources such as animations, videos and other.   Creating the need to discover new and appealing ways in 3DVE to motivate students to continue exploring and using it.   Having and keeping an identity. This means making students feel that each virtual classroom is part of a single virtual education center [7]. 2.2 Information Management and Organization Now we should consider the importance of managing and organizing information inside our virtual classroom.  Based on the idea that to let students learn, the aims should be clear, we decided to use SBS (Standards, Benchmarks and Skills) in the proposed model. By using them, we can determine what skills the students need to acquire, develop or improve when they complete the educational process and achieve certain aims or products by meeting certain requirements and being ready to face new situations. All these skills are grouped into patterns or academic benchmarks with similar characteristics.  All of them have been customized for our subject in an exclusive way. Once we have the academic benchmarks, we aim at certain standards that need to be established by the related academic department [8] [9].  2.3 Virtual Education Management, Organization and Administration Following the PACIE method, to implement the proposed 3DVE, we believe that it is very important to have a specialized area of distance learning to manage and organize all the aspects related to virtual education, with decision-making powers over the 3DVE.   As stated in the PACIE method [10], the minimum human resources requirements include a teaching expert, an IT expert and a social communication expert. This allows us to divide tasks in a better way.   The social communication expert should manage communication of virtual learning processes as well as any general aspect related to the 3DVE and the virtual classrooms. This person should be the link between the teaching expert and the IT expert.   The IT expert should provide support in all aspects related to technology and the teaching and learning environment by providing solutions for the 3DVE to work properly.   The teaching expert should be in charge of implementing learning methods suitable for the 3DVE and thus generate better learning techniques within the 3DVE and a teaching method especially designed for this specific 3DVE. 5953 Identification of the main aspects of the proposed 3D virtual environment As a result of the research process, a series of issues and specific solutions for the model have been identified:   Administrative aspect: A 3DVE is a system that integrates different solutions but its main objective is to provide adequate support to the teaching and learning activities of the main players: teachers and students alike. They need strong guidance to be provided by people who are highly trained and supported by well-defined processes.   Information management aspect: We should put special emphasis on information management and organization, analyze what is done with such information and how to use it to generate learning. We can manage and organize information using current standards or methodologies and using SBS is one of them.   Educational aspect: Teachers need to break with the traditional teaching scheme, they should guide students toward self-learning, make the environment a door to contents students find interesting so that they will continue exploring them and learning autonomously. This is done by developing adequate contents for the environment and guiding students through it [11].    Technical aspect: A good 3DVE should be accompanied by people who are trained to use it and can coach those who have not learned how to use it.   Evolutionary aspect: Any virtual system should take into consideration a potential evolution if it aims at being effective in changing times such as the present. Control and update process are necessary to adapt the system to new tools and create a virtuous circle to have it permanently optimized.   Graphic aspect: Nowadays, the design and visual aspect of the 3DVE needs to be attractive to students, otherwise, they are likely not to access it very frequently and, as a result, they will not make use of its advantages.   Functional aspect: Necessary tasks such as the management of virtual classrooms: their creation, enrolment process, teacher appointments and role allocation, etc., should be standardized and carried out by specific personnel. On the one hand, because these tasks should not be part of the teacher’s responsibilities, the teacher is a user and not an administrator of the virtual environment but on the other hand, because the performance of these tasks needs to be uniform, since a diverse environment looks messy.  4 Choosing a tool to implement the proposed 3DVE To implement the proposed 3DEV, we needed to go through a selection process for the IT tool to be used as a server for the 3D applications. One of the requirements in the process was that the tool needed to be open source. OpenSim1 and OpenWonderland were among the 3D application servers we surveyed and researched into. OpenSim and OpenWonderland are 3D servers that allow virtual environments (also known as virtual worlds) to be created.  These environments can be accessed from a wide range of viewers, also known as clients. Singularity2 and Imprudence3. are two of the most popular OpenSim viewers. In the case of OpenWonderland, the web server acts directly as a viewer.  No additional software to act as a client and interact with the 3DVE is needed. When we chose the tool, we tried to meet the requirement that the 3DVE could connect to the virtual teaching and learning environment (EVEA) currently in use at UNNOBA, known as UNNOBA Virtual [12]. OpenSim had existing modules that allowed us to meet this requirement. This, and its excellent graphic quality, the possibility of making synchronic voice communication, its various repositories and documentation available made OpenSim the best option to be used as a 3D application server.                                                          1 OpenSim official site, http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Main_Page 2 Imprudence official site, http://wiki.kokuaviewer.org/wiki/Imprudence:Downloads 3 Singularity official site, http://www.singularityviewer.org 596After choosing the tool, we continued working on the installation stage.  To do so, we downloaded the latest version available on the official website (we are currently working on the 0.7.5 version) and we consulted the official documents available on the site so as to install it correctly. After completing the installation, we started working on modeling a virtual world.  The first step was to create a conference room for UNNOBA. To do, we downloaded a base building and free objects from different websites, such as FleepGrid4, OpenSim-Creations5 and Zadaroo6, among others, to give it the current look and feel through different modeling and object options associated with the viewers, as shown in figures 1 and 2.   Figure 1. Conference room outside view.  Figure 2. Conference room inside view.                                                           4 FleepGrid official site, http://fleepgrid.com/store 5 OpenSim-Creations official site, http://opensim-creations.com 6 Zadaroo official site, http://zadaroo.com 597As second stage of the virtual world modeling, we worked on the idea of recreating one of UNNOBA's buildings. For such purposes, we had already obtained a blueprint of the building.  During this stage, research was conducted on the ways in which OpenSim would allow buildings to be created in its virtual worlds. Therefore, three ways of modeling and building were assessed using OpenSim. These are:   Building them with a 3D modeling program and saving them in an extensible markup language, in the .XML format, compatible with OpenSim.   Building them in a 3D modeling program and saving them with the .DAE format, also known as mesh, as this format is also compatible with OpenSim imports.   Building them manually, object by object, using the viewer.   Out of these three options, we opted for a 3D modeling program that allows exporting .DAE files, because we had experience using programs with this format, such as Blender y Google Sketchup7, and, the Singularity viewer, that is the one used by the 3DVE, supported .DAE files.  We did not choose to create models manually because of the complexity of the task of creating buildings using primitive objects such as the spheres, squares and cylinders available on the viewers. The option of creating models and saving them on an extensible markup language was discarded because the tool we had, SolidWorks8 , presented us with several inconveniences when importing the model into the 3DVE during the technical assessment stage.  Using the selected option, we managed to import, inside the 3DVE, a model based on a blueprint of one of UNNOBA's buildings. This is shown in figures 3 and 4.   Figure 3. UNNOBA’s building constructed from Google Sketchup already imported into OpenSim.                                                           7 Google Sketchup official site, http://sketchup.google.es/index.html  8 SolidWorks official site, http://www.solidworks.com  598 Figure 4. Library UNNOBA’s building constructed from Google Sketchup already imported into OpenSim. 5 Integration and technical assessment of the proposed 3D virtual environment Once the virtual world mentioned above was created, we started its technical assessment. One of the aspects we analyzed and assessed was real-time voice interaction. This was one of the requirements to be met. In these communication modes i.e., open voice interaction and close voice interaction, for public and private communication respectively, we detected that open voice communication can be configured so as to listen within a set distance, which would allow splitting working stations and allow only the avatars in the area to listen and be listened. "Avatar" is the name given to the virtual representations of the human body of the user in the environment. Another aspect to be taken into consideration was the possibility of integrating the 3DVE into UNNOBA's teaching and learning environment, UNNOBA Virtual [12]. To do so, we used a module known as Sloodle9 that allows integrating a Moodle10 based  LMS, the one used  in UNNOBA Virtual, and OpenSim, the tool selected for the implementation of the proposed 3DVE. By using Sloodle, any component created on UNNOBA Virtual could be accessed from the 3DVE. The main technical assessments and trials conducted in connection with this integration were as follows:   Access using existing access credentials from the the 3DVE to the virtual teaching and learning environment used at UNNOBA.   Creating presentations in a virtual classroom of the environment and being able to access them from the 3DVE.   Taking exams or assessments in a virtual classroom used at UNNOBA allowing students to complete them from the 3DVE, thus enriching the virtual assessment experience.   Integrating a synchronic communication tool, as the chat used at UNNOBA’s virtual environment, with the 3DVE, which gives the possibility of starting a synchronic written and verbal communication among the participants in a virtual classroom.                                                          9 Sloodle official site, http://www.sloodle.org 10 Moodle official site, https://moodle.org  5996 Conclusions and future work One of the aims we seek to attain by using the 3DVE is to introduce and generate innovative strategies to meet the need to improve the teaching and learning process, allowing students to be involved in their academic education and favoring open and dynamic communication. We believe that although we are still on an assessment and continuous improvement stage, the proposed 3DVE, thanks to its real-time interaction capacity and its "face-to-face" feel, adds a social dimension to the teaching and learning environment similar to the one of "face-to-face" education which makes our distance learning proposal richer and more dynamic. However, we are aware of the fact that to improve this process, having and implementing a 3DVE is not enough. Having a transition methodology to improve the quality of teaching methods and techniques is not enough either. The design of educational activities and the generation of specific content for the 3DVE is an emerging perspective in the practice and research of the e-learning community.  Therefore, we should focus on generating and designing specific content for this kind of environments and, as a result, in the future we will attempt to design specific content for the 3DVE to be used at UNNOBA. In connection with our future work, with the integration of the teaching and learning environment used at UNNOBA and the 3DVE, we aim at creating a collaborative learning environment and designing specific content and activities suitable for both environments and also at assessing, measuring and comparing the impact of the introduction of a 3DVE into the different teaching modes at UNNOBA. References 1. Alan Palme. Enhancing learning and teaching through the use of technology: a revised approach to HEFCE’s strategy for e-learning. HEFCE. United Kingdom, 2009 2. Master’s Degree in Instructional Design by José Luis Córica, http://cvonline.uaeh.edu.mx/Cursos/Maestria/MGIEMV/DisenoProgramasEV12/materiales/Unidad%204/Cap4_DisenoInstruccional_U4_MGIEV001.pdf  3. Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon , 9 (5), 1-6. 4. Journal  La educación y la Virtualidad Editorial: Grupo Dseta Editora: Francia Tovar Romero (Education and the virtual world Journal), http://www.youblisher.com/p/173589-Please-Add-a-Title-La-Educacion-y-la-Virtualidad 5. The PACIE method, essay published by Luis Oñate for FATLA, 2009, http://iuetaebvirtual.wikispaces.com/file/view/22234756-La-Metodologia-Pacie.pdf 6. Essay Plataformas de educación a distancia, (“Distance learning platforms”) Rambo Alice, http://exa.unne.edu.ar/depar/areas/informatica/SistemasOperativos/Educacion__Distancia_Alice_2009.pdf 7. PACIE methodology applied to virtual environments, http://pacie-en-muves.wikispaces.com/home 8. Presentation Aplicación PACIE en los Estándares Académicos de la Educación Virtual (Applying PACIE to academic standards in virtual learning) by Deizi Carolina De Jesús Lobo, http://pacieeducavirtual.jimdo.com/aplicaci%C3%B3n-de-pacie-en-los-est%C3%A1ndares-acad%C3%A9micos-de-la-educaci%C3%B3n-virtual-aula-virtual-moodle/ 9. Educational experience with 3D environments, UPEL (Universidad Pedagógica Experimental Libertador), http://www.ugr.es/~sevimeco/revistaeticanet/numero10/Articulos/Formato/articulo5.pdf  10. Module implementation based on the PACIE method, 2011, http://www.moodlemoot.org.uy/moodlemoot_2011/moodlemoot/moodlemootuy2011_submission_25.pdf 11. Essay Entornos Virtuales 3D, Alternativa Pedagógica para el Fomento del Aprendizaje Colaborativo y Gestión del Conocimiento (3D virtual environments, an educational alternative to foster collaborative learning and knowledge management), http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=s0718-50062011000200006&script=sci_arttext 12. UNNOBA’s virtual teaching and learning environment, http://virtual.unnoba.edu.ar/ 600

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Implementation of a 3D virtual environment at the National University of the North West of the Province of Buenos Aires

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