We first gathered at the Welcome Center and got our navigation in order in terms of walking and running through the environment.
Next we practiced different first-person and third-person views so we could acclimate to the 3D virtual immersive environment. Here I am looking at the class through a first-person perspective. I prefer third-person (over-the-shoulder-view) was the best for me.
We had some fun in a number of different classrooms and boardrooms. Here we are checking out the Telepresence room. Interesting to consider the merging of video, 3D spaces and 2D-computer applications.
One fascinating aspect of ProtoSphere is the ability to "visualize" data. Information saved in various data bases can be "socialized" in a 3D graphical rendering which allows learners to all view the same data and experience the data in 3D instead of on a 2D spreadsheet or computer screen.
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16 comments:
ProtoSphere was a very cool place to visit. The first thing I noticed was my computer was not running slow. Second Life and VirtualU all made my computer run very slow. At some points in VirtualU and Second Life I could not find my way around because the graphics would not load fast enough. ProtoSphere graphics were just as good or even better as Second Life. The small autioriam was so cool! It was so life like I felt like I could actually be there. I enjoyed the overall tour of ProtoSphere. I can see it being a great place to hold conferences and to discuss business relations. The truck was a neat thing to see. I was able to see how a truck would look like if it was to smash head on into something. There was a lot of blue circles that let avatars speak without anyone else hearing unless they were in that circle. ProtoSphere really focused on letiting business happen by making little private sectors like that. I would love to go back into ProtoSphere and learn more!
I thought ProtoSphere was definitely different than the other virtual worlds we visited. Yet, like VirtualU, it was also really easy to navigate throughout the program/worlds. (I'm starting to think Second Life is probably the most frustrating out of all the virtual worlds, so far at least.)
On a technical note, I automatically noticed how limited the features were. Unlike Second Life, it was really easy to customize your own avatar, yet limited. Also, there weren't as many "gestures", but I'm assuming these two things were limited because we were only using the demo version?
I also noticed some similarities from VirtualU, like the conference "circles" where you could hold private conversations. I really like this approach and glad to see it used in another virtual world.
I think this program's usability level is high up there, everything was very easy to comprehend; I wasn't frustrated and I didn't get lost. All of the rooms and worlds we visited were really neat, but I'm not sure which I like better yet, VirtualU or ProtoSphere...
Protosphere was much more structured than I've experienced previously. The graphics were only marginally richer than Virtualu, but the greater sophistication of the textures made the overall experience better. This type of controlled environment would be excellent for a corporate environment.
Protosphere was very easy to use and navigate through, much like VirtualU. I also like that you could click on documents and that there were avatars that talked to you about different stations.
I agree with Lauren in the fact that the avatars were not very customizable...there didn't seem to be much variation between the choices and even the women in this world seemed to have masculine features (i.e. broad shoulders).
I think that Protosphere would suit the needs of a business very well.
I think that Protosphere was MUCH easier to navigate around than Second Life was to me. For some reason, I was having the worst time ever trying to get my avatar to move the way I wanted or to even walk a straight line. Also, like Jordan mentioned, I really think that Second Life slowed down my computer and it eventually kicked me out of the program because too many applications were running.
I did think the graphics had a sharper texture to them than they did in Second Life. I believe that due to my lack of confusion and frustration that I have previously experienced in SecondLife, Protosphere will be an essential asset in the corporate world.
At first I was very hesitant of ProtoSphere because the environment's graphics and chat/control panel seemed outdated. Once I began to interact in ProtoSphere I found that it was perfectly designed for the business world.
There were a few quarks when it came to camera movement like turning on and off certain settings but overall ProtoSphere was easy to navigate and use.
My favorite part would have to be the interactivity of it like posting PowerPoints, writing notes, and 3D model interactivity. The models we saw in ProtoSphere were helpful but I wish some of them were a little more interactive or did more. We saw a burning house but basically it was just a house burning. (I think it was to teach fire safety or something). Overall I think it would be a great place for meetings and training with 3D models.
Protoshpere was awesome. Easy to use and maneuver around. Didn't have any trouble creating an avatar or locating information. The avatars need a little tweeking, fewer choices disproportionate.
The avatars that were there to explain different aspects were quite helpful. Another part I enjoyed were the 3D simulations. This virtual world was very interactive and provided a variety of beneficial activities.
This would work well for education and business training modules.
Well, unlike most others, Protosphere was problematic for me. Got kicked out often, but when I was in movement seemed to be smooth. I missed the Second Life 'teleporting' sound effect, though!
I do like the 1st person, 3rd person option. It is especially interesting to think about this in reference to the lecture for this week and how watching one's avatar do something impacts real-life actions. Knowledge like that could really be useful in motivating yourself and becoming more productive in real life. Interesting!
Protosphere was a very cool place! It was much more professional than Second Life, but it is not as "fun" as Second Life. This was my favorite space in terms of business because you have many options that you can be at for meetings or business gathering. Even the clothes of the avatars are very business like. All avatars look professional and dress professional as well.
There were many rooms very interesting and with a purpose: all rooms were either meeting room, or a classroom, or a common place for people to meet.
I liked that we could visualize the data in 3D! I also liked the merging of video, 3D spaces and 2D-computer applications.
It was really cool to see the difference between all the three places that we visited: Second Life, VirtualU, and Protosphere. Each one has its own purpose, its own way to dress and its own way to look. Now, I know when to use one if I will have fun, or when I will use another one if I need to do a meeting, a business gathering or have a classroom experience.
I think Protosphere would be ideal for those wishing to add a little spice into the world of virtual corporate worlds. I think the ability to edit areas with text on the walls is one of Protosphere's strong attributes. It offers easy collaboration and it's better than text chat in my opinion.
The avatars too were very professional looking. I think in Second Life, where you have the ability to customize your avatar to look like anything, could take away from the professionalism that Second Life can offer. From a business perspective, I'm not sure if I'd want vampires and superheros walking into my virtual office.
Protosphere seemed to be exactly what I would look for in a corporate virtual world. I look forward to having the opportunity to work in Protosphere in the future.
I agree that Protosphere seems a bit more professional than Second Life in terms of a corporate setting. Perhaps it is just that I am new to Second Life that I feel this way. Exploring Protosphere in class though, I was just struck by how everything was professional and there were no extra silliness all over the place.
Although I enjoyed some of the ease of navigation in ProtoSphere, I found it to be a little less exciting than Second Life. This could have been due to the fact that it crashed several times on me during the course of the class, so my experience may have been tainted a bit by my frustration with my laptop. Overall, I enjoyed how Protosphere was set up. The different classrooms, meeting rooms, office space, dataspace, and even the auditorium provided great places for people to meet and interact without having to be in the same room together.
I felt that protosphere and virtual u had many good things in common.
Tthey offer such great abilities as allowing you to obtain documents just by clicking on them. I feel that this could be very useful in large corporate meetings. As for the avatars, I would have to agree with everyone else that they were limited in customization, but to be honest I enjoyed this fact. I'm not a huge person when it comes to customization so it was nice to be able to easily pick an avatar and not have to worry about a million different factors.
Overall protosphere could definitely be beneficial to a workplace in my opinion. It has the essentials that are needed in order create an interactive and interesting learning experience.
I really enjoyed the Protosphere experience. However, there did seem to be a lot of bandwidth problems with audio especially when we were all together. What did turn me off was the fact that all the avatars looked very robust. What I mean by that is they all looked quite similar. This however could be an advantage for settings such as corporations. A lot of times people spend to much time customizing there avatar when instead they should be concentrating on the content and presentation itself.
In closing I would give Protosphere 4 out of 5 starts. The program needs a little more work, but can definitely be effective if used correctly. One very positiive aspect that did help separate this 3d virtual world from the rest was the ability to add images, content, powerpoints etc on certain rooms. This was VERY user friendly and I think will help propel Protosphere into a successful 3d virtual training environment.
When the first time I logged in the Second Life, I often got lost and I didn’t know where my instructor and classmates were going. I felt pretty frustrated. Comparing with the Second Life, I think Protosphere was much easier to use and comprehend.
It looks like Protosphere is more professional. When I visited in the Second Life, I find many locations designed for amusement or concerned with profit. But based on my experience that I visited the rooms or world in Protosphere, I think the Protosphere is designed mainly for business or education. Instructors can teach their students in a virtual classroom, with the interactivities of posting PowerPoint, uploading or downloading documents, and writing notes. Protosphere, it’s a good location to train employees, to meet people or have a conference. All of the rooms and worlds look neat and comfy. In a word, it would be a good choice for meetings and training with 3D applications.
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