Third-space architecture for learning in 3D

Learning can be increasingly untethered to home, work or school spaces by means of integrative cloud services coupled with 3D worlds, and mobile, collaboratively driven use of digital "third space." A 3rd-space, portable and modular design is described and demonstrated for use in administering and supporting learning in 3D. 3rd-space environments can be designed for enabling multi-purpose, multifunctional devices and tools for learner-centered design and collaborative social learning. The framework offered in this paper supports multiple delivery options involving offline and online access to an OpenSim platform for learning in 3D and the use of Drupal modules for administering and supporting collaborative peer-based social learning. The architecture is demonstrated in two learning in 3D prototypes: a 4-H regional youth leadership robotics project involving a collaborative model-based reasoning simulation game on geothermal energy and a lesson on the early history of the U. S. Constitution involving the Thomas Jefferson Dinner Bargain of 1790.