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Discussion Groups — Day Two
Developing Resources
2 of the groups considered the nature of the pilot(s) which could be taken on to illustrate the range of materials and resources which could be created and linked.
Resources which could be included are:
raw materials - images, movies, VRML, scripts
linking text
annotated biography
links to projects/information sources
teaching datasets
multiple choice self assessment - QMWeb
FAQs - probably using AnswerWeb
The 2 groups suggested pilots in the following areas:
• visualization techniques
• colour
• animation
It was agreed that the topics which should form the basis of the pilots should be: visualization techniques and animation.
Image Resources and the Knowledge Gallery
The groups also discussed the resources which might be usefully placed in the Knowledge Gallery. Clips and examples from companies such as SoftImage, PIXAR, Alias Wavefront as well as SIGGRAPH examples and models including non-polygonal would be useful.
Teaching Virtual Environments
The key question is "can the UK afford to teach virtual environments?
the target audience is two-fold:
• teaching fundamentals of VE
• teaching the use of VE in applications
Resources are a problem:
• access to relevant facilities is not easy for all sites and many involved in teaching do not have sufficient facilities on site.
• worked examples can usefully be shared
• which tools are the right ones? we need evaluations and appropriate price agreements through CHEST
• models need to be created and shared
• filters and converters are needed
• both immersive and non-immersive facilities have value. Immersive facilities are expensive
The cost of equipment was discussed at some length. Possible options such as a "VR Bus" with state of the art equipment for loan were discussed. This is not really practical. We need to focus on the people and their training, awareness and support.
The issue of the need for students with suitable mathematical background was discussed and recognised as a common problem.
Graphics Multimedia Virtual Environments Visualisation Contents