In the recent past 3D and immersive technologies were not supported by standard business and educational computers. Yet new generations of Intel and AMD processors and improved networking provide a basis for the spread of immersive technologies, into all aspects of education, business and leisure. Consequently, it is critical that computer science and IT degree programs facilitate the graduation of professionals with an understanding of and experience in working with immersive technologies. The work reported in this paper addresses the need to support learning about how to develop, engineer, use and evaluate 3D and immersive systems. The Apollo Virtual World GRID [1] provides a platform designed to support collaborative learning and exploratory project work with 3D technologies. Apollo provides an environment for the creation of 3D content, a framework for the development of 3D systems and a platform for the delivery of distributed immersive systems. It is built around the open source and freely available OpenSimulator project and extends it by providing educational content, a rapid application development environment and a measurement infrastructure. Using the Apollo GRID student projects have expanded the scope of experiential learning by creating interactive 3D environments that simulate specific learning contexts. For example a Virtual WiFi laboratory supports exploratory learning and experimentation with WiFi network protocols and the LAVA virtual fieldwork resource supports archaeologists in learning how to manage archaeological excavations. This paper reflects upon experience in using Apollo for 30 collaborative projects involving more than 100 students over a period of four years.

As the Internet continues to establish itself as a utility, like power, transport or water, it becomes increasingly important to provide an engaging educational experience about its operation for students in related STEM disciplines such as Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. Routing is a core functionality of the global Internet. It can be used as an example of where theory meets practice, where algorithms meet protocols and where science meets engineering. Routing protocols can be included in the Computer Science curriculum in distributed systems, computer networking, algorithms, data structures, and graph theory. While there is a plethora of computer networking textbooks, and copious information of varying quality about the Internet spread across the Web, there is still an essential need for exploratory learning facilities of the type that support group work, experimentation and experiential learning. This paper reports on work using open virtual worlds to provide a multiuser interactive learning environment for Internet routing which exemplifies the capabilities of emerging immersive education technologies to augment conventional practice. The functionality of the learning environment is illustrated through examples and the underlying system which was built to support the routing simulations is explained.

Continuing advances and reduced costs in computational power, graphics processors and network bandwidth have led to 3D immersive multi-user virtual worlds becoming increasingly accessible while offering an improved and engaging Quality of Experience. At the same time the functionality of the World Wide Web continues to expand alongside the computing infrastructure it runs on and pages can now routinely accommodate many forms of interactive multimedia components as standard features - streaming video for example. Inevitably there is an emerging expectation that the Web will expand further to incorporate immersive 3D environments. This is exciting because humans are well adapted to operating in 3D environments and it is challenging because existing software and skill sets are focused around competencies in 2D Web applications. Open Simulator (OpenSim) is a freely available open source tool-kit that empowers users to create and deploy their own 3D environments in the same way that anyone can create and deploy a Web site. Its characteristics can be seen as a set of references as to how the 3D Web could be instantiated. This paper describes experiments carried out with OpenSim to better understand network and system issues, and presents experience in using OpenSim to develop and deliver applications for education and cultural heritage. Evaluation is based upon observations of these applications in use and measurements of systems both in the lab and in the wild.

Metaverses provide a framework for developing distributed 3D Internet applications where users gain presence through the proxy of an avatar. They offer much of the engagement of online 3D games but support heterogeneous applications. From the network perspective metaverses are similar to games in that timeliness is important but differ in that their traffic is less regular and requires more bandwidth. The motivation for our study flows from using virtual worlds to support experiential learning and to promote cultural heritage; the applicability of the results is wider. The responsiveness of the system is effected by interactions between avatar activity, application traffic regulation and network conditions. Through measurement and analysis current Virtual World traffic regulation is evaluated and compared with Transmission Control Protocol fair rate. The measurement study motivates the design of Mongoose, which adds measurement based packet regulation to Open Virtual World clients and servers. Mongoose combines isolating distinct functional components with efficient use of network resources and fairness to other traffic.

This paper evaluates metaverses as a platform for game based learning. Metaverses such as Second Life are a relatively new type of Internet application. Their functionality is similar to that offered by 3D multi-player online games, but differs in that users are able to construct the environment that avatars inhabit and are not constrained by predefined goals of the type found within a game environment. From a quality of service (QoS) perspective metaverses are similar to games in that the timeliness of network communication is important, but differ in that their demands upon host server systems and network traffic are more bandwidth intensive. This paper contributes to our understanding of metaverses by presenting a case study of the application of Game Based Learning (GBL) within a metaverse environment, by situating the case study within a survey of the state of the art in GBL in metaverses and by analysing the QoS delivered by the widely used Second Life metaverse under a range of evaluator-induced network conditions.

Metaverses such as Second Life (SL) are a relatively new type of Internet application. Their functionality is similar to online 3D games but differs in that users are able to construct the environment their avatars inhabit and are not constrained by predefined goals. From the network perspective metaverses are similar to games in that timeliness is important but differ in that their traffic is much less regular and requires more bandwidth

Computer Networking is the subject that enables us to build and understand the Internet which in turn lies at the heart of many social and economic transformations that are central to modern society. At the subject's core are the protocols for sending and receiving packets and reporting errors. Although it is a dynamic and naturally engaging subject there are significant barriers which make it difficult for a student to engage realistically with network protocols. These can be categorised as barriers of time, space and access. From the perspective of time, many of the interactions occur at timescales that are outside of the range of human perception; from the perspective of space, a student will be situated in one location which will often define their view of the network; from the perspective of access, interaction with network protocols is mediated through libraries provided by operating systems which in turn require the use of programming languages to manipulate. This paper advocates the use of disruptive technology, based on the PlanetLab overlay network to support explorative approaches to learning about Computer Networking.