Repositories of Community Memory as Visualized Activities in 3D Virtual Worlds

In this paper, we propose that visualized activities and experiences created in 3D virtual worlds may provide a new type of learning community memory. We explore how such activities and experience can be captured, crystallized, and reused with this technology in three prototypes designed on two platforms. This approach can support learning communities by addressing the common challenge of acquiring and communicating tacit knowledge that resides in practices and relations developed by the participants. Based on our experiences, we discuss the possibilities and challenges for creating and using repositories of community memory as visualized activities in 3D virtual worlds, outlining a framework for capturing, visualizing, and accessing such activities. The results of our exploration demonstrated that repositories of the ´fluid´ community knowledge might be in fact created and used. At the same time, more extensive evaluation and further research are required for developing the approach suggested.