PHILLIP D. LONG, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

      Virtual Learning Environments in 3D. We’ve passed through Web 1.0, entering the architecture of participation. Wikis and other read/write Web 2.0 capabilities provide a collective voice and opportunities for collaboration. They remain, however, fundamentally textual. Emerging now is the Web with shape and form—the 3D virtual world (VW). As education becomes global, will immersive 3D VW learning spaces provide a persistent new home campus? Where do 3D environments add value to collaboration and learning? Does the future of immersive learning environments further isolate learners in a synthetic world or transform and extend the notion of community?