STEM: educational initiative focused on the domains of science, technology, engineering and mathematics
Simulation: a representation of real life that accurately demonstrates a physical or simulated process or phenomenon
Games: deliberately simplified representations of phenomenon based on goal-directed and competitive activities conducted within a framework of established rules
Serious Games: Game technology used for other than purely entertainment purposes such as strategic messaging, training and education and mission planning and rehearsal. Serious games operate at the nexus of where gaming and computer graphics technology meet with instructional design and the needs of modeling and simulation.
Multi -User Virtual Environments (MUVEs): MUVEs enable multiple simultaneous participants to:
access virtual architectures configured for learning
to interact with digital artifacts
represent themselves through graphical "avatars,"
communicate both with other participants and with computer-based agents
enact collaborative activities of various types.
Virtual Worlds A ‘virtual world’ is a computer-based simulated environment intended for its users to inhabit and interact via avatars. This habitation usually is represented in the form of two or three-dimensional graphical representations of humanoids (or other graphical or text-based avatars). Some, but not all, virtual worlds allow for multiple users.
