Final Report EP 1169
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
EP 1169 Learning and communication in 3D ”CAMO – Cultural Awareness in Military Operations” Final report Version 1.0 UNCLASSIFIED Table of contents 1. Summary, conclusions and recommendations ............................................................................. 3 1.1 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Conclusions and recommendations .............................................................................................. 4 2. Background ................................................................................................................................. 6 2.1 Learning in 3D worlds .................................................................................................................... 6 2.2 What are 3D virtual worlds? ......................................................................................................... 7 3. Project design and implementation ............................................................................................. 8 3.1 Motives and goals ......................................................................................................................... 8 3.2 Topics for the experiments ........................................................................................................... 8 3.3 Organization .................................................................................................................................. 9 3.4 Practical implementation ............................................................................................................ 10 4. Experiment design and scenarios ............................................................................................... 12 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 12 4.2 Methodology: overview .............................................................................................................. 12 4.3 Role play ...................................................................................................................................... 14 4.4 Learning goals with corresponding cues, reactions, typical mistakes and responses ................. 23 4.5 Future work ................................................................................................................................. 27 4.6 References ................................................................................................................................... 28 5. Evaluation of the experiment .................................................................................................... 29 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 29 5.2 Method and data collection ........................................................................................................ 30 5.3 Qualitative and quantitative data ............................................................................................... 31 5.4 Suggestions for technology improvements ................................................................................. 44 5.5 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................. 45 Appendix 1: Observation of the experiment and reflections on the concept of "cultural awareness" ..................................................................................................................................................... 47 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 47 About cultural awareness ................................................................................................................. 47 Operational culture and scenarios - Afghanistan .............................................................................. 48 Evaluation of the experiment November 25th ................................................................................. 48 General evaluations of the project ................................................................................................... 49 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................................... 50 Appendix 2: Afghan Village Design and Implementation ................................................................ 51 2 UNCLASSIFIED 1. Summary, conclusions and recommendations 1.1 Summary ADL-office at the Norwegian Defense University College received funds from the Norwegian Defense CD&E-council for 2011, to experiment on the use of 3D virtual worlds for learning. In terms of research, the major motivation behind the CAMO project has been the following: • To obtain first-hand experiences with pedagogical use of the technology (possibilities, usage areas and limitations) within the context of the activities of the Norwegian Armed Forces. • To develop necessary competencies internally in the Norwegian Armed Forces to facilitate further efforts in this direction in the future. Nevertheless, the major research goal has been rather simplified and limited: To what extent do 3D virtual worlds create/facilitate learning for the users? The experiment did not aim at measuring relative effects, such as comparing with traditional classroom education or e-learning at the moment. Rather, the goal of the experiment has been to study whether 3D virtual worlds contribute to learning, based on the participants’ experiences during the experiments. The major focus has been on cultural awareness, with language training and gender-perspective as sub-topics. To make the experiment as realistic and concrete as possible we chose Afghanistan as the setting. ADL-office at the Norwegian Defense University College has been coordinating the project. Other participants include Norwegian Military Academy, Norwegian Defense Language and Intelligence School, Telemark Battalion and Norwegian Defense Media Center. In addition, researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and University of Oslo (UiO), as well as some other external resources, took part in the project. The major experiment was carried out at the Norwegian Military Academy on November 25th 2011. The evaluation shows that the cadets of the Norwegian Army War Academy participating in the experiment were positive to the use of 3D virtual worlds for training cultural awareness. It also provides indications that the cadets’ understanding of cross-cultural issues has improved. Second Life platform has been used for the experiment, especially for economical and time- related/practical concerns. At the same time, the major focus has been on the general aspects of using 3D virtual worlds for learning and communication, so the conclusions in the report can be mostly considered as platform-independent. The advantages of a platform such as Second Life appear to be numerous, including availability, the possibility for modeling of avatars and artifacts, low entry level, some degree of security (the possibility for restricted access to virtual spaces) and especially low development and usage costs. At the same time, it cannot fully replace ordinary cultural awareness training in a classroom and associated practical training sessions. Nevertheless, in comparison with traditional learning arenas, such platforms, especially when configured/modeled for the actual operational areas represent exciting solutions serving as a supplement to traditional learning and education modes. 3 UNCLASSIFIED 1.2 Conclusions and recommendations This section is written on the basis of the experimental findings and the follow-up discussions in a joint concluding project seminar on February 13th 2012. ADL-office is however responsible for the conclusions and recommendations. Experiment design and didactics • The experiment in this project showed clearly the necessity of throughout planning and design of the scenarios to be played. This is quite consuming but as a result the Norwegian Armed Forces has now a methodology that can be used as a basis for further simulations on such platforms. • Raising awareness of learning goals in advance is important for those who will participate in such experiments. Adequate education prior to practical cultural awareness simulations will contribute to enhanced learning. These simulations will then be a practical exercise in the topics the participants have already been introduced to. • There are a number of cases / scenarios in the different units in the Norwegian Armed Forces that can be transferred more or less directly to the scenarios in such platforms. Usage and potential reuse: short term As a part of the experiment, a virtual Afghan village has been created in Secod Life, including avatars representing Norwegian soldiers and Afghan civilians. These resources are still available and can be used freely for day-to-day educational purposes by different units within the Norwegian Armed Forces. For example, Norwegian Defense Language and Intelligence School has expressed the interest in using this virtual arena further for roleplay and language training involving their students. Similar usage is also relevant for the Norwegian Defense University