Learning to Program Collaborativelyin Open Wonderland
Jonathan KaplanOpen Wonderland [email protected]
Nicole YankelovichOpen Wonderland [email protected]
Kathryn AtenNaval Postgraduate [email protected]
Nina Nussbaum-JonesLockheed [email protected]
2Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
What is Open Wonderland (OWL)?100% Java, free, open-source toolkit for
creating 3D immersive virtual worlds
3Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
Wonderland Wednesdays
• Weekly in-world meetings> Began in February 2010 when
Sun Microsystems sponsorship ended
> Community organized based ondesire to help keep project going
• Main purpose> Help educate developers so more could contribute to
project, help fix bugs, and add new features
• Group decided best way to learn was to jointly develop a new Open Wonderland “module”
4Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
What is a Module?
• Modules are akin to “plug-ins”• Mechanism for packaging & sharing
Wonderland extensions written in Java> Can contain code, artwork, audio,
scripts, web management and web services> Also used for sharing whole worlds
• Almost all new Wonderland features and enhancements are created as modules, e.g.:> 2D apps (whiteboard, sticky notes, presentation viewer)> 3D apps (cone of silence, video recorder, piano)> Capabilities (portal, clickable link, security, etc.)
ModuleModule
CodeArtworkScripts
Assembled worldsOther resources
5Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
SubSnapshot Project
• Group decided on “SubSnapshots”> Useful feature for many users
• Snapshot> A saved version of an entire OWL world> Limitations of snapshots
• Difficult to share• No provision for saving a single space or
a collection of objects
• SubSnapshot> A saved version of a portion of an OWL world> Reusable on same or different server
6Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
SubSnapshot Sessions• Logistics
> Meets during Wonderland Wednesdays
> 2-3 times per month; 1 hour> Averages 8-12 participants> September 2010 – present
• Learning Community> No formal instructor> OWL architect defacto leader> Participants take turns driving> Focus on understanding, good
coding practices, not speed
7Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
Project Space Setup
8Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
Activities & Tools• Between sessions
> Asynchronous collaboration using Google Wave
> Setting up the environment
> Installing new code on community server
> Testing
• During the live sessions> Synchronous collaboration with high fidelity audio> Suite of collaboration tools support variety of activities
9Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
Activity: Organizing WorkTool: Card Wall
10Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
Activity: Planning & DesignTool: Multi-user Whiteboard
11Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
Activity: Collaborative CodingTool: NetBeans
12Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
Activity: DocumentationTool: PDF Viewer
13Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
Activity: Note TakingTool: Sticky Notes
14Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
Activity: Consulting the WebTool: Firefox
15Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
Activity: Unit TestingTools: NetBeans, Image Viewer
16Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
Activity: Testing the CodeTool: SubSnapshot Module
17Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
March 16, 2011: It Works!
18Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
Who Attends and Why?
19Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
Interaction, Collaboration, Learning
20Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
Impact of Tools on Collaboration
21Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
Best View Feature Added
22Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
Unique Aspects
23Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
Using OWL for Teaching & Learning
24Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
Thanks!
Special thanks to the SubSnapshot participants!
25Copyright 2011, Open Wonderland Foundation
Open Wonderland Resources• Open Source Project Site
> http://OpenWonderland.org> FAQ, download code, find documentation and discussion forum
• WonderBlog - Ofcial Wonderland Blog> http://blogs.openwonderland.org
• Facebook and Twitter> http://facebook.com/openwonderland> http://twitter.com/openwonderland - use hashtag: #openwonderland
• Workshops> “Learn to Build an Open Wonderland Virtual World”
http://www.eventbrite.com/s/3sUB> “Basics of Open Wonderland Development”
http://www.eventbrite.com/s/3sXd