Establishing an Online Virtual World for Education

Introduction

Although many schools are learning about the appeal of using multi-user, online, virtual reality worlds for education, few have the local expertise to establish one of their own. For this reason, Diversity University has prepared this document and established a service program that provides help at many levels to organizations wishing to use VR world systems to supplement their educational programs. Such assistance can range from simply providing consulting services, to having our staff establish and maintain the VR world for you with your guidance on policy matters. The Diversity University staff first developed its skills through administering its own Diversity University Main Campus, running now for more than four years. The DU Main Campus has become the premier site for teachers seeking to learn more about using online VR worlds for education, and has served hundreds of classes as the first VR world to which teachers have brought their students. Diversity University offers both free and reasonably priced services to aid all organizations seeking to use online VR worlds for education. DU also provides the "eDUcore," a core database that may be used to establish a virtual world, and that is available free for schools and other non-commercial users.

A person or group wishing to establish an online VR world must be familiar with the requirements for this process, in order to judge the scale of the project and determine where they might desire assistance from Diversity University staff. Therefore, this document describes the steps required for establishing an online virtual reality world. The virtual world system presented here is based on "MOO" software, using the LambdaMOO Server along with Diversity University's eDUcore database. The eDUcore provides numerous features especially designed for educational use, and supports a multimedia Web-based interface as well as the regular text-based system. This document supplements a related and excellent text, "Reflections Onna MOO" (not by Diversity University), that is written for people who will be setting up such a system entirely on their own. In this text, it is assumed that Diversity University will be assisting you in some capacity with settin up the virtual world system. It therefore describes where DU can provide assistance, where you may want your own personnel to perform some functions, and where your direct participation is critical. Although written as a guide to people who will be having DU assist them, it provides a complete outline of steps and guidelines for policy development, which may be of use to anyone establishing a MOO-based virtual world system.

It is assumed here that you already have some basic familiarity with MOO systems, including having visited a MOO and possibly having created some rooms or other objects. Several introductory texts are available elsewhere for those completely new to using MOOs. Also, it is assumed that the initial administration of the MOO will be by personnel with experience in managing an online virtual world of this type. Administrators may be provided by Diversity University during the period when your own staff will be receiving training as administrative assistants, be provided by DU on an ongoing basis to some degree, and be drawn from your own personnel who have the needed experience in administering a MOO-based VR world. Administrative assistants can be given incremental access to managerial tools as their training proceeds, and as they assume more administrative responsibilities.

We'll proceed by listing the critical steps for founding an online virtual world, and then expand upon each individually in turn. For each step, we will identify the questions that you must answer and the issues that must be settled to complete that step. The critical steps to be performed by anyone establishing a successful online VR world program are:

A list of additional resources for those establishing and maintaining a MOO-based virtual world is available at the end of this document.

Perform a General Needs Assessment, and Develop a Schedule and Service Plan

The key element of this very first step is to identify the goals and purpose behind establishing the online VR world. Simply creating a virtual space so that people can explore what is possible there will not lead to constructive use of this powerful medium to support your overall educational program. As with any significant educational project, you must identify your needs and goals, establish a schedule, and, if you wish to have DU assist you, arrange a service plan. Diversity University is available to assist you in each of these areas, drawing on its staff's strong experience in exactly these matters.

Schools have used online VR worlds for many different purposes, sometimes establishing them for a single specific function and in other cases seeking to explore the widest possible range of applications. Some examples of purposes for which VR worlds have been used are:

This list is not exhaustive, and new frontiers in the application of online VR worlds to education are being continually explored. In fact, an additional purpose for such systems at many schools is to research new ways in which such environments may be used effectively to support learning. Identifying specific initial and long-term goals for your program is critical, because they will form the basis for the theme, structure, policies, and pedagogical philosophy underlying all that happens in the VR world.

Once the purposes for establishing a VR world are clearly identified, it is appropriate to develop a plan and a schedule for proceeding. This document is intended to identify the tasks that need to be performed, and to give some guidelines on how much time they are likely to take. However, any reasonable schedule is closely tied to the commitment of time and other resources by the people who are responsible for the project. Establishing a realistic schedule will help insure that tasks are performed correctly, help the project build momentum, and promote a successful outcome. You can generally expect to spend at least three weeks and up to eight weeks or more determining the goals, developing a plan, and establishing the policies you will require to establish a successful virtual world for education. Diversity University can assist you in these matters.

Some questions you should answer include:

Once a schedule is determined, you should arrange for Diversity University to provide assistance in any areas you feel would benefit from this. By preparing an arrangement in advance, you insure that our staff will be at your side when you need them to lend their experience and help.

Identify a Theme and Underlying Pedagogical Philosophy for the VR World

This step is the one most often forgotten or performed in a cursory fashion by those unfamiliar with the needs of using online virtual reality worlds for education. Unfortunately, it is probably the one most critical for the long-term success of such a project. There have been too many such programs established with high hopes, only to languish due to unfocused goals, a poor match between theme and purpose, ignorance of effective pedagogical methods for online education, and absent or even destructive policies. There is no good reason for this besides ignorance, and careful attention to this step will insure your VR world has a strong foundation for growth.

A critical aspect of the VR world's foundation is determining the pedagogical philosophy or philosophies that it will follow. The two major philosophies that most online VR worlds have been established to follow are either the traditional lecture/discussion/textbook methodology, or a constructivist approach. Both of these may be applied within a single VR world, but it is important that teachers be made aware of the implications of both in order to chose the most suitable methodology for a particular application.

The advantage of using the traditional teaching methodology in the virtual world environment is its familiarity to teachers and students. Most of the elements of traditional teaching may indeed be carried into virtual space. Note, however, that lectures are typically not suitable for text-based conferencing environments like MOOs, as the absence of a physical speaker tends to make this format (even) less engaging for students. Virtual worlds may be used to support the traditional lecture/discussion methodology by presenting pre-established learning materials to students, generally as exhibits. Such material must be prepared in advance by students, teachers, or professional developers like Diversity University. Simulations, in which the student learns by walking through and interacting with the exhibit, are made more exciting by the multi-user nature of the virtual world system. Teachers can lead classes through such exhibits, and use them as a basis for promoting discussion and other deeper exploration of the subject material. The major drawback of the traditional methodology is that it may not promote full involvement by all students in the learning process.

Probably the most exciting application of MOOs in education has been their use as the most effective constructivist learning environment yet identified. The system has the ability to provide a virtual space for students to create simulations and other projects based on material learned both in class and independently. In seeking to create virtual spaces that are accurate reflections of the underlying material, students are driven to ask and answer critical questions, which many believe leads to more effective learning. Although some online VR worlds are used for both traditional and constructivist pedagogical methods, most experienced teachers recommend the latter as the most effective application of this new medium. The main drawback of the constructivist methodology is that it is sometimes unfamiliar with teachers and students, and can require the teacher to spend more time with individual students (which can be prohibitive in a large class).

The theme and structure of the virtual world establishes the basic tone of the environment, and permeates every activity that goes on inside. For instance, at one extreme such worlds have been established to simulate a particular school's physical campus, providing a virtual space to exactly parallel the physical space. The underlying statement is that the virtual world is an extension of the school into an area that happens to have somewhat different "physical" properties, but is essentially the virtual reflection of the physical school. On the other hand, virtual world's have been established that either correspond to some nonexistent but realistic environment (e.g. a forest clearing), have a basis somewhat in fantasy (e.g. a space station), or have no physical equivalent (e.g. spaces with more than three dimensions, or structured in other physically impossible forms). Many hybrid forms are also possible. The theme and structure must be sufficiently flexible to accomodate all the activities for which the virtual world is likely to be used, while promoting the organization of its elements in a functional manner.

The degree to which the virtual world incorporates physically possible or impossible reality, and appears like a traditional or unusual learning environment, can send a strong message to its users about how closely the educational projects done there are expected to conform to traditional work. Generally, one should avoid either extreme, although there is probably a place for every possible design. Once established, it is not generally possible to restructure the major structures of the VR world, so careful consideration of the central layout is essential.

Establish the Policies That Will Govern the Virtual World's Community Development

Another critical aspect of preparing your educational VR world program is the establishment of policies that will govern its administration and growth. Since these policies have an important role in setting the tone for the community, they must be carefully crafted to effectively support the goals of the program. The primary questions that such policies must address are listed below.

Who will be permitted to have a character in the VR world?

Will characters be granted only to support staff, teachers and students at your school? Will they be restricted to members of your department and students currently enrolled in your courses? Will people from outside your school be invited to develop projects in your virtual world? Will guest access, using temporary characters not assigned to any particular person, be allowed? Is guest access to be only allowed from sites on your school's network?

Who will be given a permanent character and who will get a temporary one?

Although regular registered characters are permanent unless specifically destroyed, the eDUcore provides a system for temporary characters that are automatically destroyed at a pre-established time. Objects that they have created may optionally be destroyed at that time also, or their ownership transferred to a permanent character. This system (the "VSPO" system) is commonly used to provide characters for students in a particular course with an established term. Groups of VSPO characters are assigned to teachers, who are able to initialize them and are provided with many administrative abilities that are normally available only to the VR world administrators. Such administrative abilities for VSPO group owners may only be used specifically otward VSPO characters for whom the owner is responsible.

What behaviors are not acceptable in the virtual world, and how will they be identified and resolved?

The freedom from many physical restrictions typically lends a certain exuberance to teachers and students working in this new medium. They may rightly question which regular rules and manners should apply to a space without the usual physical limits. It is your responsibility to provide a clear and flexible set of guidelines to insure that the VR world is used appropriately and effectively. You may with to review the DU Main Campus Manners Policy as an example, and the @witness and @knock systems in the eDUcore.

Who will be permitted to build rooms and objects in the VR world, and what requirements if any must they satisfy?

Although virtual space is apparently endless, rooms and other objects created in a VR world take up real space in RAM and disk memory on the computer where the world is running. Since such resources are typically limited, you will want to carefully regulate the growth of the virtual world. Often, the primary guidelines for developing such regulations is that work done in the VR world must be themely, must promote the purpose of the program, and that student work should be destroyed at the end of the course if it is not to be specifically retained to showcase the class's projects. This last policy can be enforced through features of the eDUcore's VSPO system.

You must determine who will be allowed to build in the virtual world, how much building quota they will be given initially, and how they should request more quota from either administrators or from the teacher controlling their VSPO group if they have a temporary character. Note that the eDUcore provides either byte-based quota, which measures the actual space in memory taken up by objects, or object-based quota, which simply counts the number of objects a person owns. It is critical that either one or the other is chosen in advance for the entire virtual world, since it is complicated to change this later.

What are the rules to which builders must adhere to insure the theme and purpose of the VR world is maintained?

Builders must be given guidelines to insure that work created in the virtual world furthers the purpose for which it was established. In addition, if you have established certain rules concerning the structure of the world and its expansion, these must be clearly conveyed to your community and applied fairly.

What are the conditions and procedures for obtaining permission for and performing MOO programming?

What are the roles of administrators, assistant administrators, and technical support staff in managing the virtual spaces and the community?

Three different types of administrative roles are available in an eDUcore-based virtual world. One is for "VSPO group owners," who are generally teachers that are given a set of temporary VSPO characters to be distributed to their students. VSPO group owners have a set of administrative tools available to help them in managing their classes. Generally, you can leave the administration of such groups to the teachers, but you should establish some sort of guidelines regarding the conditions under which teachers should give building ability and quota, and programming ability, to their students. Teachers typically share in the responsibility for insuring their students obey the VR world's policies.

Secondly, there are "wizards" who generally serve a technical support role, although they may also have administrative responsibilities. "Wizards" are able to modify and access everything in the virtual world, and in some cases can access resources outside the virtual world on the computer where the system is running. Careless or malicious actions by a wizard can damage the virtual world severely, requiring reversion to a backup copy of the database and possibly causing significant amounts of work to be lost. For this reason, only the most trusted, experienced, and responsible people should be given wizard characters.

Finally, "manager" characters are given the ability to perform the administrative tasks required for day-to-day operation of the virtual world. The eDUcore system provides a set of "areas of responsibility," one or more of which may be assigned to a manager, that provide access to the tools needed for fulfilling such responsibilities. Because managers typically have limited security-related abilities, the risks associated with giving someone a wizard character apply to a much lesser extent, so students and teachers without the technical expertise needed to safely be an effective wizard may be assigned manager characters if you wish. Different areas of responsibility require different commitments of time, and have different degrees of security risk associated with them, so a careful match between the person and their responsibilities is needed. Sometimes, the term "administrators" is useful to refer to people who have been given access to all the managerial tools, while "administrative assistants" can refer to those given only a subset of responsibilities and abilities.

Who are appropriate individuals to provide the administrative and technical support services the VR world requires, and how are they to be chosen?

A review of the areas of responsibility available for managers will help you determine which of your available personnel would be appropriate for different roles. The "manager-summary" topic of the eDUcore's internal help system provides a complete list of managerial tools and the areas of responsibility that include them. If you are going to be recruiting administrative assistants from the student population, you may want to establish some guidelines for how students may request and be given status as an administrative assistant.

What policy texts must be written, where should the be found in the virtual world, and how will people be informed of their existence and application?

Policies may be presented as note objects in the virtual world, extensions of the help database system, as outside Web pages, or in several formats. The text initially sent to people who are granted new characters should include instructions on how to find such written policies.

Develop a Central Floor Plan for the VR World, Providing the Public Spaces to Which User-Generated Extensions Will Be Added

Once the basic theme of the VR world has been established, you will need to create a central floor plan. The spaces that constitute the initial world must reflect the theme, but also provide sites where extensions of the VR world may be added both as additional public spaces and also for class projects. The fact that hallways and other passages may be infinitely extended provides a simple mechanism for expansion of the virtual world, but such passages should be easy to find and navigate.

Organization of the virtual world's spaces is critical if people are to be able to find significant resources by walking through the virtual world, as is commonly desired. This "walking" system, using rooms and exits, is often supplemented by a variety of "teleporting" systems. Teleporting systems include the "@go" and "@rooms" systems in the eDUcore, as well as any of a variety of "teleporting doors" that can take people directly to rooms that would be several walking steps away within the world's basic layout.

Virtual world structures that will have physically impossible structural aspects must be carefully evaluated in terms of ease of use. Your community members can't use the excellent materials you've provided if they aren't able to find them.

Determine if Any Supporting MOO Objects Not Provided with the eDUcore Will Be Required

In general, the eDUcore supplies all the "generic" objects (i.e. templates) and tools needed to establish a virtual world for education. In some cases, your community members (both teachers and administrators) will have previous experience with MOOs and desire that particular tools that they've used elsewhere be available in your virtual world. Permission to "port" such objects and tools to your world must be established in advance with the authors. Some such tools might be found at virtual worlds that DU operates, in which case we can assist in contacting the authors and obtaining permission.

In addition, you may desire some custom tools be developed for your use. Organizations each have different needs and yours might require features that the eDUcore doesn't normally provide. The Diversity University staff includes experienced MOO software developers who can work with you to identify your requirements and create MOO objects and tools to satisfy them. Such custom programming is available at affordable rates.

Set Up the MOO Server, and Establish a Database Backup and Technical Maintenance Plan

MOO systems have been established under many different UNIX operating systems (including Linux), Windows 95 and NT, and the MacOS. Since the LambdaMOO Server must generally be compiled for a specific UNIX system, if you are using that OS then you'll need to have this task performed before you can operate a MOO-based virtual world. Diversity University staff can do this work for you, or provide consulting services to help you or your technical support staff perform it. A pre-compiled version of the LambdaMOO Server is available for Windows 95 and NT systems. Although a version of the LambdaMOO Server compiled for the MacOS is available, DU does not have any experience working with it, and few MOOs have been established using that operating system. Obtaining and compiling a LambdaMOO server for a UNIX system and setting up technical support mechanisms typically takes 2-4 hours, and can be performed by DU staff.

Note that Diversity University does not provide a copy of the LambdaMOO Server, and it must be obtained from one of the sites where this software is available. The server is required for running a MOO database, including DU's eDUcore database. If Diversity University staff will be setting up your MOO server, we can obtain a copy of it for you.

As with all computer-based resources, certain technical support tasks, including and especially making backup copies of files, must be performed. Plans for regular backups of the MOO database, including tape and off-site backups, must be established to insure the long-term health of your virtual world. DU is able to provide on-going maintenance services for UNIX-based systems, and appropriate consulting assistance, in conjunction with your regular technical support staff.

If you will be using the eDUcore's Web access system, you will generally want to be able to use the "integrated interface," which requires that you place a Java Telnet client on a Web server with the same address as that of the virtual world. Note that because of security restrictions in contemporary Web browsers, the Telnet client may only connect to resource on the same server from which it is obtained. For this reason, the same computer where the virtual world is running must also offer the Java applet that provides a Telnet client, and there must be a Web server there to send it.

Install a MOO Database, and Initialize Its Basic Properties in Accordance with Local Requirements

Once a LambdaMOO Server is set up on your computer, you can obtain and run an eDUcore MOO core database. Other databases are available, but Diversity University recommends the eDUcore as we have developed it over many years specifically for educational usages. Once loaded, there are several properties in the new virtual world that must be initialized to conform with your local hardware, network, and established policies. Also, the MOO's web support system must be configured. In the eDUcore, there is a "setup" note describing these procedures in the room where you will first connect to the virtual world. This process usually takes 1-3 hours and can be performed by DU staff.

Build the Rooms and Other Objects of the Central Floor Plan

At this point, your virtual world is ready for use, and the first task is to establish the basic layout that you previous determined will provide the initial public spaces. Rooms must be built and descriptions added, and multimedia resources must be attached as needed. Diversity University staff can perform this task or assist you with it as needed.

If tutorial rooms or other objects providing general assistance to the virtual world community are to be available, they must also be created and placed appropriately.

Process Applications From Administrators, Administrative Assistants, and Teachers, to Create Their Virtual World Characters

The eDUcore includes a "character application" system, by which a person may connect as a guest and request a permanent character be created for her or his use. The application system asks a series of questions, and posts the completed questionnaire to an internal mail-folder where administrative personal can review and either approve or reject it. A character is automatically created upon application approval. You will need to decide what questions should be on the application, as this information will remain associated with the newly created character, and may be useful for your administrators and for better understanding the composition of your online world's community.

Processing character applications is one of the areas of responsibility to which a manager may be assigned. DU staff can serve this role early in the project and train your staff to use the character application system, or perform this task on a long-term basis.

Train Administrators and Administrative Assistants in the Use and Management of the VR World

A virtual world is not a simple system. It is best thought of as a city, with analogues to infrastructure, administration, and community services, all of which must be established and operated effectively if the community is to flourish. Your policies and choice of administrators will determine if these requirements are successfully fulfilled. Diversity University is able to provide experienced administrative staff, both to train your own personnel and to provide long-term administrative support or consulting. It is strongly suggested that you begin your project with at least one highly experienced MOO administrator.

Administrative tasks include such functions as:

This is certainly not an exhaustive list of administrative tasks, and the roles of the virtual world administrators and the complexity of their tasks expands with the community. Diversity University's experienced staff can provide administrative services for your newly established virtual world, and train your own staff in performing some or all of these functions as needed. In addition, DU may be retained for long-term administration, consulting, and other services. Most virtual worlds will need at least one and up to four months of relatively close monitoring by experienced administrative staff, before administrative assistants can confidently assume full responsibility for at least some of the required tasks.

In addition, the presence of helpful staff members to provide assistance to new users of the virtual world can play a tremendous role in developing the confidence and effectiveness of your virtual world's community members. Such assistance can help a virtual world program gain momentum quickly, or conversely, the lack of such support can so dismay teachers and students that they conclude the virtual world system not a useful medium for learning. For this reason, we recommend that you have at least one experienced person online in the world for as much time as possible in the early stages of the program, to provide basic assistance to people when they visit, and help them become comfortable with the virtual world environment. DU staff can serve in this role at very reasonable rates, or provide such assistance at the outset and train your own staff to provide this service.

Train Teachers in the Use of the System, Including the Tools Especially Provided for Student Management, and Provide an Appropriate Pedagogical Background

As in other major educational projects, providing adequate training and support for teachers is absolutely critical. If your teachers are not enthusiastic and well prepared, the students will of course immediately perceive this and all subsequent development of the program will have to work against this. For this reason, most schools initiate a educational program using virtual worlds with a small development group of teachers who are particularly enthusiastic about using this medium. This also provides a chance to test your policies against actual circumstances, and develops a group of teachers and students from which future administrative assistants and other helpers may eventually be drawn. Peer-to-peer training and support is typically critical for the successful growth of a virtual world's program, so your initial group of teachers should understand they may be asked to help teachers joining the program later.

Teachers will need to be trained in each of four subjects:

It is impossible to overstate the importance of providing teachers with training in every one of these areas if your program is to succeed. In addition, although your initial group of teachers may be able to provide support for teachers joining the program later, those later teachers will also benefit from formal training in each of these areas before turning to their peers for ongoing assistance.

Diversity University can provide experienced instructors for training your teachers to effectively teach students online in virtual worlds. Our staff includes teachers who have been doing exactly this for many years, and who have trained others to emulate their success. Although later in the program your own staff and teachers will have the experience necessary to provide such training themselves, it is critical at the beginning of the program that you secure expert staff to provide this training to your initial group.

Process Applications From Other People Who Will Be Getting Permanent Characters, and Create Groups of Temporary Characters for Students

Once you have your administrators and the initial teacher group established, you are ready to open the virtual world for general use. At this time, other people who will be getting permanent characters should submit applications using the virtual world's application system (through a "guest" character), and teachers should inform administrators of how many VSPO groups they will need, and how many student characters will be needed in each group. Administrators will process the applications and create the VSPO groups as required. Some teachers are likely to need assistance in setting up their VSPO groups, and you should arrange for staff who can answer questions.

The email message that goes out to people given new permanent characters should provide a brief introduction to the virtual world's purpose and policies, and describe how new community members can get assistance. In the case of temporary VSPO characters, the VSPO group owner is responsibly for insuring their students are able to find assistance.

Provide Initial Training to Students in Using the Virtual World, Including Basic Usage, and, if Needed, in Building Objects and Otherwise Extending the Environment

New students and other members of the virtual world community will require some form of training in using the basic functions of the virtual world. Although the built-in help database system provides a comprehensive resource, and a useful way to learn about specific functions, some additional forms of instruction through formal classes and self-directed tutorials are extremely useful. In addition, although the basic usage of the virtual world for text-based conferencing and accessing established resources are typically learned quickly, additional training is usually required for advanced activities such as building new rooms and objects, and using the MOO programming language to create objects with new behaviors. Some of your community members are likely to be highly self-motivated, and will expand their knowledge of the virtual world system on their own, but others learn best when given more directed instruction.

During the initial four to eight weeks of the virtual world's opening, you will probably want to arrange some formal classes in some or all of the following areas:

Diversity University can provide staff who are experienced in providing instruction in each of these areas. In addition, we can train your support personnel in these areas, and they can in turn provide assistance to others. We have found that teachers bringing classes into the virtual world for the first time are very appreciative if an experienced staff member can provide the basic training in using the system's resources for the class. Providing such training is critical if students are to effectively use the virtual world environment for learning.

Perform Day-to-Day Administrative Functions While the Online Community is Early in Its Development

The first one to four months after the virtual world opens for use will likely be a somewhat exciting but chaotic time. Many new people will be joining your community, your policies will be tested against developing circumstances and may need refining, and the virtual world's community will be establishing its social character. Your own personnel will still be expanding their understanding of how the virtual world system works, as well as how to best utilize it.

During this critical period, you may find it especially useful to have experienced Diversity University staff perform the basic administrative functions needed for supporting the virtual world. In the course of this period, they can train your own staff in these tasks. Typically, the pressures of a newly opened virtual world ease during this period, and a more relaxed ongoing administrative environment will be achieved. Once this is established, many schools will want their own staff to take over major roles in administrating the virtual world, although DU's staff may be retained for some roles and to provide ongoing consulting or other services.

Provide Regular Support and Consulting for Administrators and Administrative Assistants, Teachers, and Students While the Online Community is Early in Its Development

During the critical first one to four months of your virtual world's existence, administrators from your staff will be learning the special needs of an online community. During these early stages, it is important that your virtual world's staff is properly trained, including knowing what kind of problems to expect and how best to solve them. Leadership and management skills will be tested, and your administrators will learn how to best help the community to grow in accordance with the virtual world's purpose.

Typically, a new virtual world will have a large population of inexperienced community members, and lack a foundation of people with established skills who are available to help those new to the environment. During this period before peer-to-peer training and assistance is possible, it will be up to the virtual world's staff and the teachers bringing classes online to provide the guidance and training needed to insure effective use of the virtual world for learning.

Diversity University staff can provide a core of experienced personnel that will both assist the members of your virtual world's community as needed, and develop your own staff's expertise in handling the day-to-day problems that arise. It is probably inevitable that unexpected circumstances will arise as your teachers and students explore what it means to develop a community online. Experience, communication skills, and understanding are critical for promoting healthy development within the rapidly developing society of a new virtual world, and an experienced staff can insure that your project has a good start.

Provide Long-Term Consulting, Administration, and Other Support for the Duration of the Virtual World Program

As your virtual world grows and its community develops, you will need to expand your administrative support accordingly. In addition, there will always be new teachers to train, students who will need an introduction to using the virtual world system, and new administrators to replace those leaving. Continuing education for instructors and students will help insure the development and vitality of your program.

Diversity University staff are available to assist in all the long-term support functions required for maintaining your virtual world.

Conclusion

As we hope you've seen, establishing a virtual reality world for education is not simply a matter of installing software and teaching people to use it (although those tasks are critical too). The invisible but critical part of any such system is the community that inhabits it, and by developing a theme, structure, and policies that are conducive to the growth of a community that uses the virtual world effectively for education, you will establish your virtual world as a success or not. This document was written to help insure that all the small pieces of the mosaic are in place to support a strong community and successful project.

We at Diversity University hope that his document has helped you learn more about establishing a successful online, virtual reality world for education. This document, others like it, and our public mail-folders and periodic training sessions at the DU Main Campus are all provided for free to promote the use of these exciting new tools for teaching and learning. As a nonprofit educational organization, Diversity University exists to help schools, teachers, administrators, and learners of all sorts to find out more about using online VR worlds, and our staff are eager to help you with your own projects. We hope you decide to explore this new educational medium, and find our services useful.

Selected Additional Resources

Resources for Education and General Information

MOO Technical Resources

Other Diversity University Resources


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Main DU Web page: http://www.du.org
Last modified 21Oct97