DigitalEE: A Support System for Collaborative EnvironmentalEducation Using Distributed Virtual Space

Masaya Okada,1 Tetsuhiko Yoshimura,1 Hiroyuki Tarumi,2 Kazuyuki Moriya,1 and Tetsuro Sakai1

1Department of Social Informatics, Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8501 Japan

2Department of Reliability-Based Information Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kagawa University, Kagawa, 761-0396 Japan

SUMMARY

We have developed “DigitalEE,” a system that sup-ports collaborative environmental education via distributedvirtual space accessible from real and virtual worlds. WithDigitalEE, learners in the real world and environmentalspecialists in virtual worlds can make interactive commu-nication via “3D virtual nature,” which is a VRML worldthree-dimensionally representing real forest, while mutu-ally sharing learners’ achievements and environmental spe-cialists’ knowledge that are accumulated in commonknowledge databases on the server. Our system realizesvarious unique functions such as accumulation of environ-mental knowledge derived from real natural experiences,education supported by specialized knowledge of environ-mental specialists from all over the world, virtual tours tothe natural environment that is not easily accessible, andglobal arguments on environmental issues with worldwideparticipants. The system aims at enlightening learners’ con-sciousness of environmental preservation by realization ofthese functions that have been difficult to support withconventional methods in environmental education. © 2002Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Comp Jpn, 33(8): 51–63, 2002;Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/scj.10039

Key words: distributed virtual space; mobile com-puting; collaborative environmental education; distanceeducation; virtual tours.

1. Introduction

Recent rapid developments of information technolo-gies such as the Internet, mobile computing, virtual reality,and augmented reality have been remarkable, and the tech-nologies deserve our attention as basic technologies realiz-ing new application to research areas that have had littlerelationship with the information technologies so far. Thisresearch proposes a support system for environmental edu-cation to which these information technologies are applied.

The widely recognized objective of environmentaleducation is development of the ability to take steady andappropriate actions to control and regulate the surroundingnatural environment within the range of one’s capability(the United Nations Conference on Environment and De-velopment, 1972). The United Nations Conference on En-vironment and Development, and the InternationalConference on Environmental Education have already in-dicated the importance of environmental education sincethe early 1970s, but there is still a recognition that environ-mental education is not necessarily well disseminated anddeveloped after more than 20 years [1].

It has recently been suggested that functions sup-ported by Internet technologies such as exchange, acquisi-

© 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Systems and Computers in Japan, Vol. 33, No. 8, 2002Translated from Denshi Joho Tsushin Gakkai Ronbunshi, Vol. J84-D-I, No. 6, June 2001, pp. 936–946

Contract grant sponsor: Supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for ScientificResearch (B) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (No.11460152).

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tion, and release of information are useful for practice ofenvironmental education [2]. However, few specific andconcrete principles to make effective use of the functionsfor environmental education have been established, andboth the implementation and examination of environmentaleducation based on these functions have been insufficient[2]. GLOBE [2], which is an environmental educationprogram using the Internet technologies, has aspects closeto conventional “scientific education,” aiming at conduct-ing environmental education with scientific data, and theprogram is under development as environmental education.On the other hand, present environmental education haspotential needs for not only a system that supports virtualvisits to inaccessible natural environments such as rainforests, but also a system that supports learners’ under-standing by supplementing real experiences in the visitednatural environment [3], but no system satisfying suchpotential needs has been developed so far. Considering thepotential of information technologies in environmentaleducation, we have developed a support system for envi-ronmental education that adopts functions of supportingglobal communication by Internet technologies, offeringpseudoexperiences by virtual reality technologies, and sup-plementing real direct experiences by augmented realitytechnologies. The objective of this research is the designand implementation of a system supporting a new style ofenvironmental education with these approaches, whichhave not been proposed by any other conventional researchon environmental education.

2. Environmental Education Based onMutual Supplementation of Direct

Experiences and Indirect Experiences

There are two types of environmental education:environmental education based on indirect experienceswith teaching materials like textbooks or videotapes, andenvironmental education based on direct experiences suchas an outdoor learning program. However, environmentaleducation mainly adopting either direct experiences or in-direct experiences alone cannot be effectively practiced,and successful environmental education essentially re-quires mutual supplementation of the two kinds of experi-ences [4].

2.1. Environmental education based onindirect experiences

It is realistically impossible for learners to conductdirect investigation on all worldwide environmental issuesthrough actual visits to the stricken areas, and it is indispen-sable for them to obtain environmental information by

indirect experiences with some media. However, it is sug-gested that abstract concepts and symbolized knowledge,which are given learners as indirect experiences, oftencannot correspond well with the reality that is fundamentalto the concepts and knowledge, and they frequently cometo be like ready-made labels [5]. If they cannot providelearners with a sense of reality, environmental educationbased on indirect experiences cannot function except as theimplantation of knowledge and a sense of values. It isthought that the solution of this problem requires not onlyimprovement of the quality of indirect experiences but alsothe introduction of realistic contexts of direct experiencesinto environmental education based on indirect experi-ences.

2.2. Environmental education based on directexperiences

In environmental education, it is obviously importantfor learners to deepen their understanding of natural eco-systems by outdoor learning through direct experiences innature [4, 6, 7]. However, outdoor learning through onlydirect natural experiences cannot necessarily achieve desir-able educational effects, and realization of effective outdoorlearning essentially requires improvement of the quality ofindirect experiences that support the direct experiences [8].Outdoor learning without support by indirect experiencesis just “recreation” [8], and if learners cannot properlyrecognize relationships between local natural ecosystemsand global environmental issues through outdoor learning,the outdoor learning cannot function as environmental edu-cation. Considering past failed research in which there wasno change of environmental attitude after outdoor learningprograms [9–11], it is vitally important to realize effectiveoutdoor learning by making maximum use of indirect ex-periences for appropriate support of direct experiences.

2.3. Core ideas for realization of effectiveenvironmental education

The core ideas of this research are discussed below.

2.3.1. Utilization of environmental knowledgederived from direct experiences

Figure 1 illustrates core ideas to support environ-mental education based on mutual supplementation of di-rect experiences and indirect experiences. Learners’knowledge obtained through firsthand experiences in out-door learning includes awakening their candid thinking andopinions in the learning process, and is expected to havemore reality than conventional teaching materials stronglyreflecting educators’ absolute sense of values. Therefore,accumulating firsthand knowledge in shared databases on

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the server and having learners acquire environmental infor-mation from the databases are expected to achieve desirableeffects on both environmental education based on directexperiences and environmental education based on indirectexperiences.

On the other hand, if people who are not able toparticipate in an outdoor learning program can utilize vir-tual reality technologies to make a virtual visit to theoutdoor learning area, and can achieve interactive real-timecommunication with people who are actually exploringnature at the area, both people can share realistic directexperiences that cannot be obtained except in the naturalenvironment. Realization of such a virtual visit to realnature can introduce contexts of real experiences into envi-ronmental education based on pseudoexperiences (i.e., en-vironmental education through indirect experiences), andthe realization is expected to heighten educational effectsof environmental education. In this research, the term “vir-tual tour” is defined as a virtual visit to real nature from adistant location, and the term “virtual tourist” is defined asa learner who makes the virtual tour.

2.3.2. Utilization of expertise of environmentalspecialists

Considering quality of knowledge and information,the knowledge of environmental specialists is regarded ashigh-quality environmental information, but generally such

specialists seldom are present near learners, and their sup-port to learners is not easily available in reality. However,as shown in Fig. 1, effective environmental education isexpected to be realized if learners and virtual tourists canobtain various kinds of expertise and a wide range ofinformation from environmental specialists as indirect ex-periences in real time. Moreover, achievement of desirableeducational effects is also expected if knowledge and infor-mation of environmental specialists can be databased asshared common knowledge resources that are freely avail-able to learners and virtual tourists.

3. Design and Implementation of DigitalEE

Figure 2 illustrates our support system for collabora-tive environmental education that has been developed torealize the basic ideas mentioned above. The system digi-tally realizes environmental education, and is named “Digi-talEE” (Digital Environmental Education). DigitalEEenables participants from real and virtual worlds to makemutual communication via shared “3D virtual nature,”which is a VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language)world three-dimensionally representing an outdoor learn-ing area in a real forest. The system also makes it possibleto record and accumulate environmental knowledge that isobtained through the DigitalEE program (an environmentaleducation program with DigitalEE). The DigitalEE pro-gram assumes the participation of learners, environmentalspecialists, and virtual tourists, and our system is designedto enable environmental specialists and virtual tourists toparticipate in the program from all over the world via theInternet without actual visits to the outdoor learning area.The system design of DigitalEE is based on the followingsuggestions: environmental specialists usually have diffi-culties in participation in outdoor learning programs; edu-cator-oriented instruction and too much direct instructionare not necessarily desirable for learners’ independent out-door learning [8]; and there are potential needs for virtualtours to the natural environment where the general publiccannot actually visit [3].

3.1. An overview of DigitalEE

Each learner deepens his or her understanding ofnatural ecosystems through direct experiences in real naturewhile using a mobile computer equipped with a GPS(Global Positioning System) receiver, a PHS (PersonalHandyphone System), and a digital camera (Fig. 3). On theother hand, both environmental specialists and virtual tour-ists participate in the DigitalEE program from a distantlocation with a standard Windows computer. All partici-pants can simultaneously enter 3D virtual nature, which isa distributed virtual space generated by DigitalEE from real

Fig. 1. Environmental education based on mutualsupplementation of direct experiences and indirect

experiences.

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and virtual worlds, and can make real-time communicationwhile virtually sharing an outdoor learning area in realnature. Distributed virtual space [12] is a system based onthe integration of virtual reality technologies into networkcomputing technologies, and the main concept of the sys-tem is that of enabling many users to simultaneously gatherand to interactively communicate in the same virtual spaceon the computer network. Participants in the DigitalEEprogram are provided with 3D virtual nature representingreal nature, 2D interfaces including both a normal map anda vegetation map, and an interface for text-based commu-nication (Fig. 2).

DigitalEE is designed with a client–server model,and the distributed virtual space is maintained by the serv-er’s concentrated control of all clients’ information, such aspositions, text-based communication, events, login/logout,and awareness (Fig. 2). Each participant obtains 2D mapfiles, a VRML file of 3D virtual nature, and a user ID at thefirst establishment of the TCP/IP connection with the serv-er. All clients share the same 3D virtual nature withoutinconsistency by exchanging information necessary forcontrol of the distributed virtual space between the serverand the clients. Each learner is drawn as an avatar at thecorresponding position in the 3D virtual nature accordingto positional information obtained by the GPS receiver viaa serial port. Both the environmental specialists and virtualtourists explore 3D virtual nature with a mouse or a key-board, and the avatar of each is controlled by positionalinformation obtained by a VRML browser. All participantsare expressed in 2D and 3D interfaces as avatars createdwith their portrait photographs, and they can communicatewith each other while virtually sharing the real world andidentifying faces and positions (Figs. 4 and 5). Incidentally,trial experiments found the problem that learners’ avatarswere sometimes unintentionally moved within the range ofGPS positioning error and were lost from the view of thecommunicators even if the learners had not moved at all.However, this problem was solved after minor alterationsof system design such as restriction of control of the learn-ers’ avatars with GPS positional information during learn-ers’ communication. The alteration was based on otherexperimental findings that learners had often been makingcommunication while standing still.

Fig. 2. System structure of DigitalEE.

Fig. 3. Participation in the DigitalEE program from realnature with a mobile computer.

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3.2. Three- and two-dimensional interfaces

Plants and flowers actually occurring in nature arerepresented as VRML objects in 3D virtual nature (top leftin Fig. 4) using the method of expressing a real plant withtwo superimposed transparent GIF photographs [13].Spherical objects in 3D virtual nature are linked to pano-ramic photographs that can be seen in all directions, andparticipants can obtain detailed and realistic environmentalinformation derived from real photographs. For example,the panoramic photograph at the top right in Fig. 4 isavailable by clicking the sphere object at the top left in Fig.4. On the other hand, participants can view the distributionof vegetation at an arbitrary scale by referring to a vegeta-tion map included in the 2D map interfaces (Fig. 5), and

Fig. 4. Information available via 3D virtual nature.

Fig. 5. A 2D interface with a vegetation map on thebackground.

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participants can view panoramic photographs via sphereobjects in the 2D interfaces similarly via 3D virtual nature.

Incidentally, the area targeted for construction of the3D virtual nature, the vegetation map, and the panoramicphotograph, which are shown in Figs. 4 and 5, is part (anarea measuring about 200 m by 80 m) of a plant-learningcourse (total length: about 2 km) in Kamigamo Experimen-tal Forest, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto Univer-sity. The experimental forest maintains about 750 treespecies (from 350 genera, 99 families) for the purpose ofscientific research, and each of about 30 kinds of plantsliving in the targeted area has been created as a kind of webpage. Each web page, which includes two through fivepictures and about three pages of text explanation, has beencreated so that the page can have quality and quantityenough for learners to acquire overall environmentalknowledge such as names, features, botanical values, eco-logical meanings, and seasonal changes of plants. Further-more, ten movie files (about 10 seconds) containing themovement and sound of pond water have been prepared, inaddition to ten panoramic photographs taken from placeswith especially beautiful views.

There is no general quantitative standard of theamount of content required in environmental education, butthe content used in the DigitalEE program has been madefrom the viewpoints of both forest ecology and botany, sothat the contents can exhaustively cover all objects in thearea with educational values and can provide sufficientquality and quantity to conduct effective environmentaleducation.

3.3. Real-time record of participants’information in shared 3D virtual nature

After data compression of a photograph file and amovie file, learners can collectively transfer the photographfile, the movie file (including sound), text description (in-cluding their environmental observations), and GPS posi-tional information to the server. Similarly, environmentalspecialists can transfer a photograph file, a movie file, andtext description (including their expertise) to the server.Web pages reflecting the transferred files and contents areautomatically created on the server, which also functions asthe web server. In order to enable all participants to refer tothe web page from the 2D and 3D interfaces, the serverpastes the obtained photograph file as an object at theposition where the information sender exists in the inter-faces, and creates a link between the object and the webpage (Fig. 4). Pasting learners’ and environmental special-ists’ photograph files in a “shared” virtual space requiresthat all participants share one file of 3D virtual nature andupdate it in real time to avoid inconsistency. All participantsin the DigitalEE program virtually share one file of 3Dvirtual nature that is stored on the server, and when theserver gets files and contents from participants, the serverinserts necessary codes into suitable positions in the 3Dvirtual nature file after an exclusive lock and sequentialanalysis of the file (Fig. 6). The inserted codes includedeclarations of objects’ models and positions, designationsof necessary files, creation of a link to a web page, anddescription of event dispatch to a Java program that isrelated to 3D virtual nature. After the server rewrites the

Fig. 6. Server’s process for updating the codes of shared 3D virtual nature.

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parts of the code surrounded by small colored squares inFig. 6, code insertion is performed.

Participants can get the latest 3D virtual nature re-flecting learners’ and environmental specialists’ pastedphotograph files by downloading both photograph files andcode sections that are not locally stored and reloading themwith a VRML browser. Thus, not only the learners’ achieve-ments but also the environmental specialists’ expertise (in-cluding answers to learners’ questions) can be recorded in3D virtual nature, and all participants can communicatewhile sharing them as communication contexts in semirealtime. Incidentally, for discrimination between learners’ ob-servations and records of environmental specialists’ exper-tise in 3D virtual nature, blue cones are displayed to markthe former, and yellow ones are displayed to mark the latter.

3.4. Support of awareness

When a participant clicks on an object in the 2D or3D interface, a linked web page is shown via a web browser,and both the ID of the participant and the URL of the webpage are simultaneously sent to the server. The servercollectively stores the relationship between the ID and theURL in memory, and the participants can acquaint them-selves with the web pages that other participants are view-ing by inquiry using the ID as a retrieval key (Fig. 7).

3.5. Four-dimensional management of 3Dvirtual nature

The real-time record of learners’ achievements andenvironmental specialists’ knowledge continuously addsseasonal information to 3D virtual nature. The server man-ages files of 3D virtual nature along the time axis, andenables participants to refer to 3D virtual nature at anarbitrary time from the VRML space for file retrieval,whose horizontal axis indicates the passage of time (Fig. 8).Time series management of 3D virtual nature enables learn-ers to make observations on seasonal changes of the natural

environment, which is important to make a deep impressionon children [14].

3.6. Free online release of environmentalinformation

All files and contents on the server that are created orupdated through the repeated DigitalEE programs (e.g.,time series databases of 3D virtual nature and web pages ofparticipants) are automatically released to the public via theInternet. People who view the released files and contentscan enter 3D virtual nature as virtual tourists, and can freelyadd their own information in it.

3.7. A simple function of modeling 3D virtualnature

With DigitalEE, photographs taken in the real worldcan be pasted at the corresponding positions in virtualspace. By this function, plants actually existing in naturecan be expressed as photograph objects in virtual space.Modification of the background of the pasted photographswith an image editor enables construction of 3D virtualnature reflecting plant objects that are created with realphotographs. If DEM (Digital Elevation Model) data areavailable, the spatial model of the 3D virtual nature can becloser to the reality. In the practical use of DigitalEE, staffmembers of schools can practice the DigitalEE programafter construction of 3D virtual nature with this function. Infact, the function contributed to creation of some parts ofthe 3D virtual nature introduced in this paper.

3.8. An instructional function with atelepointer

For improvement of learning effects, it is desirablefor environmental specialists in distant locations to be ableFig. 7. Mechanism of support of awareness.

Fig. 8. Four-dimensional management of 3D virtualnature.

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to tell learners what to notice and observe in the realenvironment. Thus, we have been developing a functionthat enables environmental specialists to instruct learnersby pointing out a panoramic photograph (Fig. 4) with atelepointer.

3.9. The current state of implementation

DigitalEE is designed with a server computer (OS:Solaris 7, CPU: 333 MHz, RAM: 256 MB, HDD: 9 GB),and five client computers (OS: Window98, CPU: PentiumII 400 MHz, RAM: 128 MB). The behavior of the serverand clients is described with Java (JDK1.1.8 andJDK1.2.2), and most of the system development has beencompleted. The server’s program consists of about 4000lines of Java code (number of classes: 14, number of meth-ods: 61), and the client program consists of about 5000 linesof Java code (number of classes: 20, number of methods:72). The model of 3D virtual nature is described withVRML97, and a free VRML browser, Community PlaceBrowser Version 2.0 (Sony Corporation), is used to displaythe model. All objects in 3D virtual nature such as plantobjects are described with 5000 lines of VRML code. Asalready mentioned, we have been creating 3D virtual natureand web content targeting a part of the plant-learning coursein Kamigamo Experimental Forest. Incidentally, we plan tocreate 3D virtual nature and educational contents targetingall parts of the course for about a year in the future.

4. Unique Advantages of DigitalEE

4.1. Environmental education through globalinteraction

An example of the interaction that can be supportedwith DigitalEE is shown below. Learners make environ-mental observations while comparing actual nature with avegetation map and referring to other learners’ achieve-ments that are updated in semireal time. On the other hand,environmental specialists provide environmental informa-tion to the learners while viewing the learners’ continuouslyupdated achievements and their real-time questions. Forexample, environmental specialists can give the knowledgeillustrated at the bottom left in Fig. 4 to learners who makeenvironmental observation through comparison betweenpresent natural conditions and past environmental condi-tions shown by 3D virtual nature. Furthermore, environ-mental specialists tell the learners what to notice andobserve in real nature by pointing out panoramic photo-graphs with a telepointer. Figure 9 is an example of aconversation concerning a process in which a learner withonly a slight interest in the name of a butterfly gets to obtain

knowledge on the ecological meaning of the insect throughconversation with an environmental specialist. The figurealso shows that the environmental specialist teaches theability to consider the future of natural ecosystems fromobservations of natural life around us (i.e., the ability toconsider global environmental issues through local naturalecosystems) while inspiring the learners’ actions in the realworld. Although it is suggested that present environmentaleducation lacks ecological viewpoints [15], this problem isattributable to a lack of educators with sufficient ecologicalknowledge at ordinary schools where environmental edu-cation is conducted. However, this system contributes tosolution of the problem by realization of a situation thatenables environmental specialists with ecological knowl-edge all over the world to participate in environmentaleducation via the Internet.

Moreover, people who have difficulties in an actualvisit to real nature can participate in 3D virtual nature viathe Internet as virtual tourists, and can indirectly obtainenvironmental information through virtual exploration ofreal nature. They can interactively communicate not onlywith learners who make direct observation on real naturebut also with various environmental specialists. For in-stance, practitioners of environmental education in foreigncountries can show their own activities, experiences, andpractical examples to other participants. People living indistant locations who have interest in the local naturalenvironment and people who are shut in by chronic illness

Fig. 9. An example of conversation between anenvironmental specialist and learners.

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can exchange opinions and information while sharing spiri-tual knowledge and physical experiences. Thus, partici-pants in the DigitalEE program can come to understandlocal natural ecosystems from global viewpoints and candeepen discussion of environmental issues.

4.2. Accumulating and sharing environmentalinformation

In contrast to conventional teaching materialsstrongly reflecting educators’ absolute senses of values, 3Dvirtual nature and web pages include quite useful informa-tion such as realistic achievements derived from learners’direct experiences and environmental specialists’ answersto learners’ questions. This content is automatically re-leased to the public via the Internet, and learners canactively communicate their activities by means of multime-dia content. Active communication of learners’ achieve-ments is important for the purpose of adding social meaningto their activities [8], and provision of environmental infor-mation with multimedia content helps the information re-ceivers to feel a sense of closeness to nature [16]. Bothlearners and the public who are not able to participate in theDigitalEE program can refer to the released online contentsvia the Internet, and can accumulate their own environ-mental knowledge in 3D virtual nature. Accordingly, sharedknowledge resources on the web server increase in propor-tion to the number of participants and the use of the pro-grams (Fig. 10), and databases on the various environmentare constructed in the form of 3D virtual nature. Globallyaccumulated environmental knowledge derived from realnatural experiences becomes material for heightening peo-ple’s environmental consciousness.

4.3. Enlightenment of consciousness ofenvironmental preservation

Figure 11 illustrates the process by which the Digi-talEE program heightens learners’ consciousness of envi-ronmental conservation. The DigitalEE program fosters

environmental education through collaborative outdoorlearning and environmental education through an interac-tive virtual tour. The program possesses various advantagessuch as (i) education supported by knowledgeable environ-mental specialists all over the world, (ii) interactive com-munication with worldwide participants, (iii) globaldiscussions on environmental issues, (iv) actively inform-ing learners’ achievements, and (v) accumulation of envi-ronmental knowledge. On the other hand, past research onenvironmental education has indicated the following prac-tical knowledge and essential requirements that have beenimportant for the success of environmental education.

1. There is a positive statistical correlation betweenenvironmental knowledge and environmental attitude, andprovision of sufficient environmental knowledge for learn-ers improves their environmental attitude [17].

2. Effective environmental education cannot be real-ized without mutual and proper supplementation of bothdirect experiences and indirect experiences [4].

3. Involvement of educators who possess comprehen-sive and abundant environmental knowledge as well asgeneral pedagogical skills is an essential factor in successof environmental education [18].

4. The process of conveying the learners’ environ-mental values to others refines and reinforces the sensesthemselves. Environmental education mainly adoptingcommunication and discussion strongly requires learners’construction of their own logic, and plays important educa-tional roles in learners’ acquiring desirable environmentalvalues [8].

Fig. 10. Environmental knowledge being accumulatedthrough the repeated DigitalEE programs.

Fig. 11. The process for enlightening consciousness ofenvironmental conservation through the DigitalEE

program.

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5. Metacognition is an important factor in learningactivities, which exerts a beneficial influence on learners’motivation for the activities. Metacognition is a cognitiveprocess that clarifies the goal of problem solving and moni-tors cognitive activities to achieve the goal. Mutually shar-ing achievements and experiences fosters learners’metacognitive experiences such as reconsideration of theirown learning through others’ experiences, and has impor-tance in environmental education [8].

It is thought that the advantages of the DigitalEEprogram can sufficiently satisfy these past suggestions andrequirements that are essential for success of environmentaleducation. Therefore, the program is expected to realizeeffective environmental education that achieves sufficienteducational effects to heighten learners’ consciousness ofenvironmental conservation.

5. Preliminary Experiments

We now report several preliminary experiments thatwere conducted before verification on educational effectsachieved with DigitalEE. The experiments were performedin cooperation with two learners (PHS: 64 kbit/s, GPS:point positioning), two virtual tourists (LAN: 100 Mbit/s),and an environmental specialist (PHS: 64 kbit/s). The learn-ers and the virtual tourists were undergraduate students andgraduate students who did not have special knowledge onenvironmental education, and each learner participated inthe experiments with a mobile computer placed on a smallwearable board. The participants were not given specialinstructions, and they freely used the system after receivinga short explanation of its functions. The objective of theexperiments was to investigate the smoothness of datacommunication with a PHS having narrow bandwidth, theappropriateness of the system’s provision of communica-tion contexts for the participants, and the functions of theparticipants’ positional information that was shared in realand virtual worlds as spatial contexts. Incidentally, no prob-lem of data communication over a LAN having wide band-width was found in the experiments.

5.1. Results of the preliminary experiments

1. The data connection between the PHS and theserver was broken several times during the experiments,and every broken connection required reestablishment ofthe data connection. The present performance of the PHScaused this problem, and further improvement of perform-ance was needed. However, as noted below, there were noother problems with data communications.

2. The data size of the information on the participants’positions, text-based communication, events, and aware-

ness was small, and there was no problem in exchange ofthe information.

3. There was no problem in viewing web pages andmovie files because the time to download a web page (aphotograph file: about 12 kbyte; a text description: about3.2 kbyte) was short enough (about 2.3 seconds), and astreaming process enabled a movie file to be simultane-ously played during download. Although complete displayof a panoramic photograph (about 166 kbyte) requiredabout 25 seconds, no serious problem was caused owing toa design that allowed viewers to freely move their view-points in the panoramic photograph even when the photo-graph was being shown as an interlaced image.

4. The time required to upload a photograph file(about 12 kbyte) to the server was about 1.8 seconds, andthe time did not significantly increase even if text observa-tions were simultaneously sent to the server. Althoughupload of a movie file (about 60 kbyte) to the serverrequired about 9.2 seconds, no critical problem was causedbecause the file transfer process was designed to be done inthe background.

5. The server was able to update codes of 3D virtualnature in a negligibly short time. Although the arrangementof one photograph object in 3D virtual nature increased thefile size of the virtual world by about 0.5 kbyte and thetransfer time of the file by 0.06 second, there was noproblem with file transfer time owing to the system designenabling participants to download only code sections thatwere not locally stored.

6. Acquisition of the latest information on 3D virtualnature from the server required participants’ collectivedownload of all photograph files that were not locallystored, and it took a time equal to the product of thedownload time of a photograph file (about 12 kbyte: about1.8 seconds) and the number of downloaded files. However,downloading was designed to be done in the backgroundwith another data stream different from the data streamsused for exchange of information on the participants’ posi-tions and text-based communication, and DigitalEE wasimplemented to work normally during the download proc-esses. Owing to this system design, the file transfer timerequired to update 3D virtual nature did not seriouslyinfluence the performance of the system.

7. Virtual tourists asked learners about their observa-tions, and learners asked environmental specialists aboutother learners’ observations during lulls in conversation. Onthe other hand, although learners in the real world did notfrequently view movie files, it was observed that the moviefiles provided virtual tourists with communication contextsbecause the virtual tourists addressed questions about themovies to other participants.

8. Accurate pinpointing of learners’ positions anddefinite determination of trees around the learners weremade difficult by GPS positioning error (about several

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meters). This was due to limitations of the accuracy of GPSpoint positioning, and we are considering future improve-ment of positioning accuracy with a differential GPS or ahigh-performance dual-frequency GPS receiver. However,there was no serious problem in terms of communicationamong participants because sharing of awareness informa-tion enabled the participants to easily acquaint themselveswith the web pages that others were viewing.

9. A learner pulled out an aquatic plant living in apond in order to ascertain whether the plant was growingfrom the bottom of the pond or was just floating on thewater. The experiments found that the learner’s behaviorbecame a target of criticism and small arguments about thebehavior broke out at the time.

10. It was observed that during communication, vir-tual tourists moved to positions where they were able to facethe avatars of learners who existed in the real world. It wasalso observed that learners moved in the real world and triedto approach the avatars of virtual tourists who existed invirtual worlds while viewing the display of their mobilecomputers. The experiments found that people in the realworld and people in virtual worlds engaged in communica-tion while gathering close together in one virtual world.

5.2. Discussion of results and subjects offuture work

The above results of the experiments indicated thepractical usefulness of DigitalEE because it was confirmedthat DigitalEE achieved sufficient response speed and real-ized communication based on the use of objects in the realworld as communication contexts. Furthermore, becauseparticipants’ positional information shared in the twoworlds provided spatial contexts, it was indicated that avirtual world representing the real world can properly func-tion as an interface to bridge real and virtual worlds.

In the future, we would like to conduct further veri-fication of the practical usefulness of the system by investi-gating not only the maximum number of clients supported bythe bandwidth of mobile communication, but also physicaland mental stress caused by using a mobile computer in thereal world. We would also like to conduct further verificationof the ability of 3D virtual nature to serve as an interfacebridging the two worlds through additional investigation ofcommunication and interaction conducted with it.

6. Comparison with Related Research

6.1. As research on distributed virtual space

DigitalEE is a system of distributed virtual space towhich mobile computing technologies are applied. Thevirtual worlds used in most of the research on distributed

virtual space have been completely “virtual” worlds that didnot represent the really existing world. Although there havebeen a few systems that proposed a shared virtual spacerepresenting the real world, such as IBNR [19], the systemsdo not support real-time communication with people actu-ally existing in the real world represented by the sharedvirtual space. On the other hand, Benford’s group [20] triedto support interaction between poets in the real world andaudiences in virtual worlds via a distributed virtual space.Their research appreciated people’s positions shared in thedistributed virtual space as spatial contexts, but the sharedvirtual space was not a space representing the real world,and the positions of the poets in the real world did notcorrespond to those in the virtual worlds. No other researchthan ours has proposed a system that enables participantsfrom real and virtual worlds to share positional informationin two different worlds and to engage in mutual communi-cation via a 3D virtual world representing an actual place.

6.2. As research on digital cities

3D virtual nature as proposed in this research isthought to be a kind of “digital city” [21]. With our system,the achievements of learners in the real world and theexpertise of environmental specialists in virtual worlds arepasted into 3D virtual nature in semireal time, and conven-tional static digital cities are realized as dynamically chang-ing information spaces. Although there has been littleresearch supporting participation in digital cities from thereal world with mobile computers, the development ofDigitalEE also has importance in examining the effects ofparticipation in future societies realized in digital cities.

6.3. As research on CSCL

Most of the past research on CSCL (Computer Sup-ported Collaborative Learning) has supported learning inthe classroom, but little research has supported learningoutside the classroom. This is one of the innovative featuresof this research as related to CSCL.

7. Conclusions

We have designed and implemented a system sup-porting collaborative environmental education via a distrib-uted virtual space accessible from real and virtual worlds.The system allows not only interactive real-time educationsupported by knowledgeable environmental specialists, butalso various discussions of local natural ecosystems fromthe global viewpoints of worldwide participants. Further-more, the system makes it possible to accumulate environ-mental knowledge derived from real direct experiences as

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materials to enhance the participants’ consciousness ofenvironmental preservation. DigitalEE realizes global en-vironmental education based on mutual supplementation ofdirect experiences and indirect experiences, which is a newstyle of environmental education that has been difficult tosupport with conventional methods in environmental edu-cation. We hope to conduct verification of the educationaleffects achieved with DigitalEE by further experiments.

Acknowledgments. The authors express their sin-cere gratitude to Professor Toru Ishida of the Departmentof Social Informatics, Graduate School of Informatics,Kyoto University, for valuable advice. They extend theirdeepest thanks to members of the Division of BiosphereInformatics, Department of Social Informatics, GraduateSchool of Informatics, Kyoto University, for generous co-operation and helpful discussions. This research was partlysupported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (No.11460152).

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AUTHORS (from left to right)

Masaya Okada (student member) received his master’s degree in informatics from Kyoto University in 2001 and iscurrently a Ph.D. student there. His current research interests cover augmented reality, mobile computing, CSCL, communitynetwork, and environmental education. He is a member of ACM and the Information Processing Society of Japan.

Tetsuhiko Yoshimura studied forestry at Kyoto University, obtaining his Ph.D. degree in 1997. He was an assistantprofessor on the Faculty of Agriculture, Kyoto University, from 1993 to 1998. He moved to the Graduate School of Informaticsin 1998 as an assistant professor. His current research interests cover forest engineering, global forestry, and GPS in forestry.He is a member of the Japanese Forestry Society, the Japan Forest Engineering Society, and the Japanese Society ofEnvironmental Education.

Hiroyuki Tarumi received his Ph.D. degree from Kyoto University in 1988 and joined NEC Corporation where heengaged in R&D activities on graphical user interfaces, groupware, and workflow technologies. He moved to Kyoto Universityas an associate professor in 1997. He has been a professor on the Faculty of Engineering of Kagawa University since 2001. Hisresearch interests cover groupware, community computing, human interfaces, business processes, and network services. He isa member of the Information Processing Society of Japan, the Japan Society for Software Science and Technology, ACM, andthe IEEE Computer Society.

Kazuyuki Moriya received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in agriculture from Kyoto University in 1980 and 1990. From1982 to 1991, he was an assistant professor on the Faculty of Agriculture of Miyazaki University, and from 1991 to 1998, anassociate professor on the Faculty of Agriculture of Kyoto University. He has been a professor in the Graduate School ofInformatics of Kyoto University since 1998. His research interests include population genetics, genetic evaluation system ofdomestic animals, and so on. He is a member of the Japanese Society of Animal Science, the Information Processing Societyof Japan, the Japanese Society for Bioinformatics, and the International Biometric Society.

Tetsuro Sakai graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture of Kyoto University in 1972. He was an engineer in NaganoPrefecture from 1972 to 1975. After serving as an assistant professor (1975–1990), lecturer (1990–1993), and associate professor(1993–1997) on the Faculty of Agriculture of Kyoto University, and a professor in the Graduate School of Agriculture(1997–1998), he has been a professor in the Graduate School of Informatics since 1998. His current research interests coverforestry management, analysis of bioresource and environmental information, and outdoor activities. He is a member of theJapanese Forestry Society and the Remote Sensing Society of Japan.

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