Multi-User 3D Virtual Environment for Spanish Learning: A Wonderland Experience

Proceedings of: 10th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT 2010). Sousse, Tunisia, 5-7 July 2010.In this paper, we describe a 3D virtual collaborative system designed for the learning of Spanish as a second language. Several initiatives for second language learning in 3D virtual worlds exploiting immersive, interactive and motivating features of these worlds have been carried out successfully during the last years. However, these systems tend to be sometimes too rigid from a pedagogical point of view, requiring the presence of a teacher. We have used the Wonderland development toolkit to deploy a 3D virtual learning environment, which is flexible enough to allow learners to improve their language skills with minimum teacher's help, setting up an instructional sequence in which fostered, motivating, and pre-designed collaboration is the key for self-learning. The environment includes technical issues such as natural text chatting with synthetic characters, textual tagging of virtual objects, automatic reading of texts, and the integration of a 3D mouse in learning sequences in order to exploit the capabilities of 3D virtual worlds.This research has been partially supported by the following projects: The Spanish CDTI project “España Virtual” funded by the Ingenio 2010 programme, subcontracted by Deimos Space2. The Spanish project “Learn3: Towards Learing of the Third Kind” (TIN2008-05163/TSI) funded by the Spanish “Plan Nacional de I+D+i” of the Ministry of Research and Innovation. The project “eMadrid: Investigación y desarrollo de tecnologías para el e-learning en la Comunidad de Madrid” (S2009/TIC-1650) funded by the Government of the Region of Madrid.Publicad