Using virtual reality to learn in different languages

Delegates at the workshop grouped together on the terrace of the Innovation Centre at The Innovation Hub in Pretoria. Above and below: Brainstorming the future of using Virtual Reality in the field of education to assist the learning process of communities in Africa. A virtual reality image of the ventilated and improved pit latrine.

The implementation of interactive, Virtual Reality-based learning was taken one step further at a recent international workshop held at The Innovation Hub in Pretoria. Hosted by the Naledi3d Factory and UNESCO, delegates from Ethiopia, Mozambique Senegal, Sudan, Uganda and Zimbabwe looked at a new way to translate Interactive-3d Learning Objects into other local languages - a process that is now known as "localisation".

Dave Lockwood, CEO of the Naledi3d Factory, believes that text-based communication often creates significant stumbling blocks to unambiguous communication. "This is more so in Africa, where training is often negatively affected by language barriers and poor literacy skills amongst many (poorer) learners". Over the last five years, the company has used Virtual Reality (VR) to make strong inroads into the transfer of information and knowledge. During this time, the concept of the "Interactive-3d Learning Object" - a new, innovative and engaging way to transfer knowledge and skills - has also emerged from their offices.

A "Learning Object" is a concept that is gaining much popularity in the field of education and can be defined as a self-contained piece of learning material that can be reused in a number of ways. The Interactive-3d Learning Object links this concept with VR, or Interactive-3d, allowing it to convey a specific item of knowledge which can be reused in different learning contexts. These learning objects are built in such a way that end-users can change the language elements of text, video and audio without the need for the original VR authoring tool. This feature enables easy modification to suit local needs, making the material more understandable and acceptable by intended end-user communities.

According to Lockwood, the relevance of VR-based learning to community development is directly linked to its intensely visual, interactive and engaging nature. "An interactive 3D simulation creates an experience that is much closer to reality than one can currently get. It engages with the highly visual nature of the human brain and this enhances the learning process by orders of magnitude, which ironically is exactly what we try to achieve in communities where the biggest gaps between the so-called Information-poor and the Information-rich exist", he says.

Most of the Workshop participants have previously worked with the Naledi3d Factory in the implementation of VR-based learning material, either through the RINAF Virtual Multimedia Academy (VMA) or other parallel initiatives. For example, WorldLinks in Zimbabwe are implementing VR-based training material on bee-keeping for emerging farmers. Supported by the WK Kellogg Foundation, this material was developed by the Naledi3d Factory in 2004.

Main outcomes of this exciting week's events were not only the principles covered, but also the camaraderie and, most significantly, the start of a new, Pan-African network that over time will be able to translate hundreds of Interactive-3d Learning Objects into many local languages. This will create material that can, in turn, be disseminated through this network to local schools, community multimedia centres, and so on.

Following on from the Workshop, the teams in Senegal, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Mozambique have started to translate VR models on bee-keeping, pit latrines, hydro-electric power and PC literacy material.

To find out more, contact Dave Lockwood at dlockwood@naledi3d.com or
+27 12 844 1010, or Paul Hector at phector@uneca.org.

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