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Education Sciences
Special Issues
Digital Twins and Future Intelligent Educational Environments
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Digital Twins and Future Intelligent Educational Environments

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102). This special issue belongs to the section "Technology Enhanced Education".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 5818

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Anasol Peña-Rios

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
BT Research Labs, Adastral Park, Martlesham, Ipswich IP5 3RE, UK
Interests: mixed, augmented and virtual reality (MR/AR/VR), digital twins, artificial intelligence (AI), ambient intelligence (AmI), internet-of-things (IoT), cyber-physical systems (CPS), intelligent environments, pervasive computing, computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW), technology-enhanced learning (TEL), and human-computer interaction (HCI)
Dr. Wulfrano Arturo Luna-Ramirez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Information Technologies. Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM). Prol. Vasco de Quiroga 4871, Col. Santa Fe. Deleg. Cuajimalpa de Morelos, 05348 CDMX, Mexico
Interests: artificial intelligence; multi-agent systems; machine learning; natural language processing; intelligent systems applied to education
Dr. Emmanuel Ferreyra-Olivares

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
BT Group, One Braham, London E1 8EP, UK
Interests: artificial intelligence; data security; machine learning; robotics; data science; computational intelligence; human-computer interaction (HCI); multimodal systems; learning analytics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Digital twins are fast becoming a key component of digital transformation in multiple areas. They are built on the concept that it is possible to connect the physical world to a virtual representation of it—i.e., twins. Digital twins allow us to model and visualise outcomes before they happen, enabling better-informed decision making, improved safety, and increased productivity and collaboration.

In education, they have been used to enhance intelligent learning environments, allowing physical learning spaces to be augmented with multiple capabilities towards creating personalised learning, virtual labs, smart classrooms and intelligent campuses. Digital twins could help us shape expert systems to identify knowledge gaps and customise education objectives.

Digital twins are a confluence of several different technologies, rather than a technology in and of itself. One of the challenges is seamlessly integrating technology to create practical learning experiences and foster participation, collaboration, creativity, and engagement. Achieving this goal requires a wealth of knowledge that spans many topics, including ubiquitous computing, artificial intelligence, learning sciences, immersive technologies, and human-computer interactions.

This Special Issue aims to showcase research papers, reviews of research studies and technical reports about innovative research on digital twins and future intelligent educational environments, uncovering and discussing emerging trends and technologies, sound research, and best practices.

This includes (but is not limited to) smart campuses and classrooms, virtual labs, immersive intelligent environments and multidimensional spaces, wearable technology, virtual, augmented and mixed reality for education, context-aware computing in educational settings, machine learning and analytics in assessment, multimodal learning environments, adaptive recommender learning technology, intelligent tutoring systems, collaboration and social computing in education, and nonleisure games and gamification.

Dr. Anasol Peña-Rios
Dr. Wulfrano Arturo Luna-Ramirez
Dr. Emmanuel Ferreyra-Olivares
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • digital twins
  • intelligent environments
  • ambient intelligence
  • artificial intelligence
  • learning analytics
  • virtual reality
  • augmented reality
  • mixed reality
  • pervasive computing
  • technology-enhanced learning
  • smart classrooms
  • machine learning

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 3552 KiB  
Article
Embedding Civil Engineering Understanding through the Use of Interactive Virtual Reality
by Daniel William McCloskey, Emily McAllister, Ryan Gilbert, Connor O’Higgins, Darragh Lydon, Myra Lydon and Daniel McPolin
Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14010006 - 20 Dec 2023
Viewed by 941
Abstract
Recent skills surveys of engineering graduates have highlighted a deficit in critical thinking among graduates. A possible solution to this is to increase the number of hands-on exercises in the curriculum. This could be carried out through the integration of 3D learning tools, [...] Read more.
Recent skills surveys of engineering graduates have highlighted a deficit in critical thinking among graduates. A possible solution to this is to increase the number of hands-on exercises in the curriculum. This could be carried out through the integration of 3D learning tools, specifically a virtual reality (VR) program, to effectively teach civil engineering practical studies and allow repeatable and measurable exercises for students. This study aims to assess the suitability of the VR program as an additional resource alongside existing learning exercises or a substitute for hands-on experiments when needed. The methodology involved creating a VR program, compatible with VR headsets to replicate an engineering experiment, namely the loading of a concrete beam to observe its failure. Students’ understanding of the virtual experiment was evaluated through end-of-experiment questions. The findings indicate that the VR learning tool was successful in enhancing students’ understanding of the civil engineering experiment. The immersive and interactive nature of VR contributed to a solid grasp of the concepts presented, proving its potential as a valuable educational resource. By leveraging VR technology, educational institutions can provide an engaging and effective alternative to traditional laboratory sessions, ensuring uninterrupted and high-quality learning experiences for civil engineering students. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Twins and Future Intelligent Educational Environments)
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15 pages, 2915 KiB  
Article
Educational Seismology through an Immersive Virtual Reality Game: Design, Development and Pilot Evaluation of User Experience
by Vaia Maragkou, Maria Rangoussi, Ioannis Kalogeras and Nikolaos S. Melis
Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(11), 1088; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13111088 - 27 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1033
Abstract
Virtual Reality (VR), especially in its immersive form, is a promising technology employed to support education and training in various fields. VR offers unique opportunities to experience situations and environments that are otherwise inaccessible or risky. Educational Seismology aims to inform and educate [...] Read more.
Virtual Reality (VR), especially in its immersive form, is a promising technology employed to support education and training in various fields. VR offers unique opportunities to experience situations and environments that are otherwise inaccessible or risky. Educational Seismology aims to inform and educate the public on earthquakes; to this end, the use of VR is investigated as an attractive solution. VRQuake is an immersive VR application designed and developed for Educational Seismology purposes. VRQuake is structured in five consecutive scenes and is organized as a game. It allows users to interact with virtual objects in real time and apply learned rules and good practices in reaction to an earthquake, thus providing a dynamic learning environment. A pilot evaluation of VRQuake is performed by volunteer university students who play the game and then answer a questionnaire with closed- and open-type questions referring mostly to the user experience. Analysis of the answers has shown positive results regarding usability, clarity and acceptance of the application. Answers are also encouraging as to the educational potential of VRQuake. Furthermore, qualitative analysis of open-type questions has contributed user suggestions and demands that point to interesting new directions for further improvement of user experience and learning outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Twins and Future Intelligent Educational Environments)
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22 pages, 25976 KiB  
Article
SmaEPho–Smart Photometry in Education 4.0
by Lena Geuer, Frederik Lauer, Jochen Kuhn, Norbert Wehn and Roland Ulber
Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(2), 136; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13020136 - 28 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1535
Abstract
Digitization offers new perspectives for educational research to identify the effects of visualizations regarding cognitive processing. In addition, new types of data can be generated, expanding the possibilities for visualizing cognitive processes and understanding human learning. Digital twins are already used in Industry [...] Read more.
Digitization offers new perspectives for educational research to identify the effects of visualizations regarding cognitive processing. In addition, new types of data can be generated, expanding the possibilities for visualizing cognitive processes and understanding human learning. Digital twins are already used in Industry 4.0, as an additional visualization to a real object, for data mining and data analysis for process optimization. The increasing integration of digital twins in the industrial sector requires the formulation of corresponding educational goals to ensure high-quality and future-oriented education. Therefore, future generations must be introduced to technologies from industry during their education. In this paper, an intelligent photometric measurement system called SmaEPho with a digital twin for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning is presented. In addition to its function as a photometric measurement device, an intelligent sensor technology allows for data generation on the user’s usage behavior. The digital twin reflects and visualizes these data in real-time. This enables a variety of new didactic and methodological approaches in teaching. A first study evaluating the hardware and tracking components of SmaEPho shows that the deviation accuracy of the measurement system is sufficient for experimental applications in schools. Another study with n=52 students confirmed the excellent usability of the SmaEPho hardware platform. These research results lay the foundation for a variety of future research questions on data analysis and machine learning algorithms with the aim of increasing the quality of education. The use of intelligent digital twins as an element of digitization in educational contexts offers the extended possibility of identifying cognitive processing steps using this technology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Twins and Future Intelligent Educational Environments)
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