Ahmad F. Shubita
University of Petra, Faculty of Information Technology, Jordan
Title: Using 3D Virtual Environment as an Educational Tool in a Middle Eastern University
Biography
Biography: Ahmad F. Shubita
Abstract
Virtual environment is anything that the users desire it to be; it is their personal virtual life. Using the 3-D virtual environment for educational purposes, often managed over the Web, the users can interact via their own graphical, humanoid, self-representations known as ‘avatars’. The virtual world Second Life (SL) is used in this research where instructors can use SL as an environment to communicate with students, and to create objects that can be used to teach course content and skills. The idea of using the virtual environment for educational purposes will be the first applied in a Middle Eastern university, it resolved around building a virtual land for the Faculty of IT of one of the universities in Jordan (University of Petra) which will enable anyone to access and communicate with the faculty virtually from anywhere in the world. This virtual land may help in solving the students’ problems, providing details about contents and services the faculty provides, supporting social awareness of students, and increasing the communication and discussions possibilities on a wide scale.
