at the classroom level, educators deal with the reality of small budgets. the average teacher in the US spends over $400 a year out of their own pocket for classroom related supplies
so when i see education journals going on and on about 3D learning and fancy 3D projectors and 3D glasses, i get frustrated because that’s not the reality for most teachers (or students)
today i saw a post about the 3DAVRover which is a server on wheels that is so expensiive that they don’t even list a price online but they do have links on using grant money to purchase one
how expensive is something that it assumes you have grant money?
the 3DAVRover comes with more than an overpriced server on casters – it includes a 3D projector, software, speakers, some content, and 25 sets of 3D glasses
granted, 3D is very cool but it is also very expensive – too expensive to reach many students and completely out of the reach of home schooled kids
you know my opinion and solution – Sim-on-a-Stick!
this better drive me around for what it costs!
it’s not true 3D as in the 3DAVRover, but it is an immersive environment (a term tossed around with 3DAVRover) and it’s also something that can be put directly in the hands of students, both in the classroom (as Kate Booth and Lisa Jacka outline in their published paper) and at home
3D educational materials purport to increase student retention by 35% and i bet that learning by students using, and creating in, OpenSim is higher than that! all you need to do is look at Coffs Harbour Public School blog and see the videos of students using OpenSim to judge for yourself if they learning =)
does every student have access to a PC suitable for running SoaS? no, but certainly a great many more can access SoaS than something needing a grant to fund!
I did a quick search for various bits to make your own version of the 3DAVRover. My pricing came to: $1,258.
Computer: Pentium G645, 4GB Ram,500GB HDD, DVD Burner drive, 500w power supply: $429
Projector: Acer X1270P 3D Ready DLP Data Projector: $560
Trolley: Basic garage style cabinet from local hardware store: $269
Mind you, this was just a very quick search and at retail prices so you could definitely get a lower price with a bit more effort (but you will need to buy more glasses).
Sure, this is out of the price range of your typical teacher buying it out of their own money. But a school might be able to afford one of these if they had a fundraiser.
What this does show is that you wouldn’t need grant money (necessarily) to get a system like this up and running yourself. With a bit of know-how, a fundraiser and an evening with Google you could certainly get something like this for a classroom.
Paul
16 Jan 13 at 4:20 pm
good job on the research but i bet you that the package costs you at least $15,000 through that group
plus they have the 25 3D glasses
stuff made for specific educational use is like textbooks – crazy expensive because they know an institution is paying for it
the key here would be for schools to have a person like you who is knowledgeable to pull something like this together but it’s easier for them to just pay a company like this to bundle it all up with the promise of easy use!
unfortunately, in the US anyway, there are loads of schools that bought “hi-tech” stuff that now sits unused in a closet because no one knew how to update it or change out parts
on the other hand, you have educators like Kate Booth and Lisa Jacka (and people like you Paul who are resourceful) that work with what they have at hand and share great learning with their students
i count myself lucky in having had a fantastic graduate program chair who thought that even the poorest school districts should be able to do quality experiments and that you did not need the latest and most expensive stuff
Sim-on-a-Stick, and subQuark’s Enclave Harbour, try to do the same
but people like you Paul (and Lisa and Kate) are the exception and not the norm. you all are people that have passion that extends beyond the end of the work day =)
i count myself very lucky to be in your company and am very proud of the virtual world community =)
Ener Hax
16 Jan 13 at 4:57 pm
it maybe would be more practical and cheaper to use a viewer that produces an anisotropic view to get 3D using the red and blue glasses like the kirsten viewer does, at least until 3D using the passive or shutter glasses has a significant drop in price. I had also come across an article several months ago that gave a link for a video driver that would convert normal video output to one that could be used with real 3D glasses like those used in theaters for a 3D effect.
joe
16 Jan 13 at 6:51 pm
Any projector can potentially produce anisotropic (two colour) 3d so long as the viewer supports it.
There is a very old (and I mean very old) second life viewer that should work with opensim (but it is so old this might not work) here: http://sl.daleglass.net/
I am sure there are other browsers (I think the Kirsten’s viewer has it but I haven’t tried it so I don’t know for sure) that are stereo 3D capable.
As for the price of the mobile 3D viewer cart, part of the cost that a commercial version has is that the manufacturer usually provides ongoing support like maintenance, trouble shooting, upgrades, etc. I say “should” because not all places do (or if they do only offer minimal support).
In IT, the major cost is not in the initial setup of a system, but in the maintenance of the system. So if someone is computer literate and has a good knowledge of OpenSim, then you would not need maintenance of the system and making it yourself becomes a viability, otherwise, the services provided by the higher cost will be needed to properly use the system.
Paul
19 Jan 13 at 12:45 am
I just tested if Kirsten’s Viewer works with 3D, and it does.
I loaded up my kitely sandbox worls and put Kirsten’s Viewer into anaglyph 3D and this is the result:
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q308/Edtharan/3DLowRes_zpsd1b42275.png
Paul
19 Jan 13 at 1:24 am
i bet you are correct Paul on the pricing for that cart 0 that it includes a certain level of support for a certain time. it does need to be seen as a good and easy solution and that means support
very cool image Paul, do you have 3D glasses? are you able to look at your VWs in 3D?
Ener Hax
19 Jan 13 at 9:12 am