Learning and Teaching in a Virtual World

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102). This special issue belongs to the section "Curriculum and Instruction".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 9648

Special Issue Editors

Éducation Cultures et Politiques, Université Lumiere Lyon 2, 69007 Lyon, France
Interests: e-learning; educational technology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered a new era in remote and hybrid learning technologies that gave us a renewed perspective on EdTech practices. The COVID-19 pandemic, with its requirements of social distancing, has accelerated the shift towards immersive experiences to optimize interactions and education. Virtual World (VW) has proven to be somewhat unique due to its interactive quality. While Virtual Reality primarily focuses on designing 3D immersive spaces and Artificial Life on the modelling and study of life-like systems, Virtual Worlds embrace both dimensions by synthesizing an entire digital universe. This call for papers aims to identify emerging developments in Virtual World features and, in particular, areas in need of pedagogical development of our interconnected world. Connecting physical and virtual worlds, exploring the multisensorial experiences, and the new configuration of the body are examples of the new challenges.

The Special Issue calls for original academic papers sharing insight into ongoing projects and research relevant to the development of persistent virtual realities and customized computer-generated environments and new possibilities and associated challenges appearing on the horizon. Notably, the Special Issue encourages submissions on technical and pedagogical transformation in educational practices, including considerations on social and ethical implications.

Keywords: educational scripts for virtual world and immersive experiences; video games in education; educational solutions; social and philosophical implications; virtual worlds and ecology; avatarization and imagination; human–machine interfaces; avatars; virtual creatures; intelligent agents

Dr. Maria Antonietta Impedovo
Dr. Rawad Chaker
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • virtual reality (VR)
  • augmented reality (AR)
  • mixed reality (MR)
  • extended reality (XR)
  • immersive live experience (ILE)
  • learning and teaching

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 2926 KiB  
Article
A Framework for Analysis and Development of Augmented Reality Applications in Science and Engineering Teaching
by Valerie Czok, Manuel Krug, Sascha Müller, Johannes Huwer, Stefan Kruse, Wolfgang Müller and Holger Weitzel
Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(9), 926; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13090926 - 11 Sep 2023
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1341
Abstract
As augmented reality (AR) becomes a promising technology for use in science and engineering teaching, the need for generally valid criteria and frameworks for the analysis, development, and setup of AR applications arises. In this article, we present an evaluations matrix to analyze [...] Read more.
As augmented reality (AR) becomes a promising technology for use in science and engineering teaching, the need for generally valid criteria and frameworks for the analysis, development, and setup of AR applications arises. In this article, we present an evaluations matrix to analyze current augmented reality approaches for life science teaching (biology, chemistry) and engineering and simultaneously provide directives for future augmented reality application designs. Based on an extensive literature review followed by focus group discussions with experts, the evaluation matrix combines domain-specific aspects, technical features, and subject and media didactical principles to determine seven select parameters. This ensures adequate coverage of the broad range of key considerations in the development of augmented reality technology for science and engineering teaching. Through cluster analysis, two groups of applications could be identified. The first group comprises applications whose development was more technology-driven. Applications in the second group take more didactic criteria into account and are to be considered more holistically from an instructional perspective. No correlation could be observed between the design of the AR application and the intended learning effects. The parameters derived for the evaluation matrix contribute to specifying relevant criteria for the development of AR applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Learning and Teaching in a Virtual World)
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13 pages, 1265 KiB  
Article
Material and Socio-Cognitive Effects of Immersive Virtual Reality in a French Secondary School: Conditions for Innovation
by Martine Gadille, Caroline Corvasce and Maria Impedovo
Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(3), 251; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13030251 - 27 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1129
Abstract
The dissemination of innovative pedagogies in French secondary education, under the effect of both educational policies and the spontaneous action of teachers, raises the question of the socio-cognitive and material conditions of the design, appropriation, and use of a 3D VW learning space [...] Read more.
The dissemination of innovative pedagogies in French secondary education, under the effect of both educational policies and the spontaneous action of teachers, raises the question of the socio-cognitive and material conditions of the design, appropriation, and use of a 3D VW learning space in school. To answer this question, we study the design of a learning space using a 3D VW and the interactions that emerge between the different actors involved in techno-pedagogical innovation. The case study included 22 5th grade students. The videos recorded concern the use of a scenario-based 3D VW for Mathematics, French and Second Language. The analysis of these scenarios based on co-presence, remote-learning and autonomy retrace the material and socio-cognitive conditions of a changing learning space that co-evolves with identities and the teachers’ intent to create meaning within a hybridised institutional and organisational framework. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Learning and Teaching in a Virtual World)
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18 pages, 1171 KiB  
Article
COVID-19 the Gateway for Future Learning: The Impact of Online Teaching on the Future Learning Environment
by Badr A. Alharbi, Usama M. Ibrahem, Mahmoud A. Moussa, Shimaa M. Abdelwahab and Hanan M. Diab
Educ. Sci. 2022, 12(12), 917; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12120917 - 14 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2323
Abstract
The COVID-19 virus has altered the nature of education. These modifications may be reversed once universities reopen. Nevertheless, a few of these modifications afford novel options to match pre-COVID-19 suggestions. This study’s purpose is to study staff members’ perceptions of online teaching during [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 virus has altered the nature of education. These modifications may be reversed once universities reopen. Nevertheless, a few of these modifications afford novel options to match pre-COVID-19 suggestions. This study’s purpose is to study staff members’ perceptions of online teaching during COVID-19, describe future projections regarding teaching, and identify the drivers of change in the future learning environment. The study community represents faculty staff in Saudi universities. The sample consisted of 127 faculty staff in nine Saudi universities. Participants had positive perceptions of the usage of e-learning platforms during COVID-19 according to data analysis (though negative experiences existed). Future research must focus on the subtle challenges of aligning theoretical and methodological designs to appropriately analyze the phenomenon under inquiry while contributing to a well-executed body of research in the field of educational technology. Future study is required to determine how teachers perceive information and communications technology (ICT) trading strategies in the light of COVID-19. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Learning and Teaching in a Virtual World)
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22 pages, 2692 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Machinima on Communication Skills in Students with Developmental Dyslexia
by Nikolaos Pellas and Athanasios Christopoulos
Educ. Sci. 2022, 12(10), 684; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12100684 - 08 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1619
Abstract
Many research efforts in the international literature have been conducted to investigate various fundamental issues associated with communication skills cultivation of students with developmental dyslexia. However, little is known when it comes to the impact that ‘immersive technologies’, such as three-dimensional virtual worlds, [...] Read more.
Many research efforts in the international literature have been conducted to investigate various fundamental issues associated with communication skills cultivation of students with developmental dyslexia. However, little is known when it comes to the impact that ‘immersive technologies’, such as three-dimensional virtual worlds, without considering any exploration of their impact to assist boys and girls with developmental dyslexia cultivate communication skills. Motivated by this inadequacy in the literature, the purpose of this study is to explore the effectiveness of the machinima approach, created via OpenSimulator and Scratch4SL, for students with developmental dyslexia in vocabulary learning and practicing. This embedded mixed-methods research was conducted over a four-week timetable in-class course, with forty students (n = 40) aged 10–12 years old. All students were equally separated into two groups in line with their gender. Boys and girls were encouraged to unfold the communication skills developed (i.e., spelling, writing, reading) by creating their own stories, after viewing educational videos and machinima scenes, before and after the treatment. The results indicate that machinima positively affected students’ learning outcomes and achievements. Machinima can improve immediate knowledge gains in boys compared to girls to purposefully translate their cognitive thinking into storytelling, when problem-solving situations through simulated realism are considered. This study also offers insights for educational implications and design guidelines for machinima creation, providing empirical evidence on its effect on the participants’ linguistics understanding and communication skills for language learning in girls and boys with developmental dyslexia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Learning and Teaching in a Virtual World)
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19 pages, 4917 KiB  
Article
The Combination of Serious Gaming and Immersive Virtual Reality through the Constructivist Approach: An Application to Teaching Architecture
by Irene Capecchi, Tommaso Borghini, Elena Barbierato, Andrea Guazzini, Elena Serritella, Tommaso Raimondi, Claudio Saragosa and Iacopo Bernetti
Educ. Sci. 2022, 12(8), 536; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12080536 - 09 Aug 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2310
Abstract
Immersive virtual reality (IVR) has proven to be a technology that can benefit the dissemination of cultural content. In 2019 was the five hundredth anniversary of the death of Leonardo Da Vinci. Given the few works that develop IVR technologies to explain the [...] Read more.
Immersive virtual reality (IVR) has proven to be a technology that can benefit the dissemination of cultural content. In 2019 was the five hundredth anniversary of the death of Leonardo Da Vinci. Given the few works that develop IVR technologies to explain the genius of the master, we decided to take advantage of the opportunity to learn about the master through the use of new technologies. To build an IVR application that aims to spread knowledge, it is necessary to define an educational paradigm and the type of application. Given the domain of the application and the need to convey complex/novel topics, the IVR application developed in this study is based on the constructivist framework and creates a serious game (SG). In order to explain Leonardo Da Vinci’s thinking and design approach, we decided to focus on urban planning and architecture studies by explaining the projects envisioned by Leonardo da Vinci. This paper investigates whether an IVR-SG application maintains the fundamental characteristics underlying disclosure processes, such as immersivity and a sense of presence. Two secondary school classes experienced this by evaluating the application through a psychometric questionnaire. The results show that immersivity and a sense of presence were evaluated positively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Learning and Teaching in a Virtual World)
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