Design and Development of Medical Simulations in Second Life and OpenSim

Abstract

Let’s be honest, our physical classrooms haven’t changed a lot over the years as a result of technology. In fact, technology has actually interrupted some of the powerful interactive dynamics that have historically been a part of good teaching - wandering around the classroom interacting with students, looking directly into eyeballs! PowerPoint education has tied teachers to a menudriven podium, and ever-increasing class sizes have cast students into even larger ’seating batteries’ where they can be fed. But we can do better. In her book, Designing Learning Spaces, Diana Oblinger provides a wonderfully clear view of what we could accomplish:

The key, therefore, is to provide a physical space that supports multidisciplinary, team-taught, highly interactive learning unbound by traditional time constraints within a social setting that engages students and faculty and enables rich learning experiences.

However, what if we use virtual space rather than physical space? Can we apply the same concepts? These are early days, but we are becoming convinced that we can. It is now possible to construct unique and detailed virtual environments that rival real physical teaching spaces, and in some cases to even surpass that which is possible in reality. We can construct learning spaces that are unbound by physical and geographical constraints, presenting to students experiences that would be too dangerous or unacceptable in reality. In virtual learning spaces we can stand inside an active volcano, experience and respond to natural disasters, or practice laparoscopic surgery on simulated patients. Our only limits seem to be those of imagination.

This paper presents the current work of the Academic and Collaborative Technologies group at the University of Auckland. The paper describes the conceptual design and construction details of the University’s Second Life simulation island, Medical Centre and Emergency Room simulations. The paper also discusses the University’s involvement in the development of a National Virtual World Grid based upon the OpenSim platform (a collaboration between Otago University, Canterbury University, The University of Auckland, and Telecom New Zealand).