VRML Ressource Center (VRC)

Introduction to the VRC

The VRC is basically designed to support tutor-student(s) and student(s)-student(s) distant collaborative learning. Different 'tools' or properties of the environment allow collaboration and multi-user interactions :

• Verbal interaction

  • Public chatting
  • Group chatting
  • Privat chatting

• Visual awarness and visual interactions

  • Peer seeing (motivation)
  • Gesturing (emoting)
  • Other user location awarness (limited awarness)
  • Other user activity awarness (limited awarness)
  • Other user workspace awarness (limited awarness)
  • Pointing awarness (not yet implemented because technology is not available in demo version of the Blaxxun server)
  • etc.

Although the multi-user environment promotes collaboration between students and guidance from a tutor, the VRC can also be used in a single-user mode. The ressources are then used in conjunction with the interest of the student who looks for specific information about a precise VRML topic, or ask someone to help him find a precise ressource.

Although the VRC was not build as a VRML manual

N.B. For the moment only ressource 'E.1.b.i' is available. More to come...

1. What's VRML?
2. Systems & environments for VRML
3. VRML lexicon
4. VRML syntax
5. VRML semantic
   1. Shapes
      1. appearance
      2. geometry
         1. primitive geometry
            • Box
            • Sphere
            • Cylinder
            • Cone
         2. complex geometry
            • extrusion
            • indexed face, line, point, ...
   2. Transforming
   3. Parametering
   4. Optimising
   5. Dynamic VRML
   6. VRML scripting
   7. Extras

Thematic Gates
Clicking on one of the thematic gates will lead you to plateform containing the ressources develloping this particular theme.

Pedestal
The pedestal is a standard object used for marking objects associated with some information related to a specific theme. In a future evolution of TECFASPACE the pedestal will be enhanced with an awarness tool enabling one pointing it making it glow for everybody to see. Wait and see...

Sketchbook
The sketchbook enables you to write some VRML code and visualise it while staying in the scene. The code stays them same as long that it's not changed, this enables you to show your production to other people. Writing the code is done by clicking on the paper-pencil part of the 3D icon, what opens an editing interface in a new browser window. Visualising your production can either be done by clicking on the sphere-box-cone color sculpture, or directly after editing your code. The visualisation takes also place in the new browser window.