Remy Malan uses the three-point communication model (speech-gesture-sketch) to illustrate the capabilities as well as shortcomings of 3D web as a collaborative space. It’s generally agreed that in most collaborative settings or online learning systems, speech is preferable to text. But of course, speech alone isn’t sufficient for optimal communication.

According to anthropologist Edward T. Hall, 60 percent of all our communication is nonverbal. And studies show that gestures serve both speaker-internal and communicative functions. Gesturing not only helps listeners listen, but it also helps the speakers speak.

In online learning systems, using Web 2.0 technologies like video conferencing is extremely helpful for both group collaboration and instruction. Learning systems like 3D web can also involve gestures, though avatar body language doesn’t quite match up to human body language.

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