Research priorities in immersive learning technology: the perspectives of the iLRN community

This paper presents the perspectives of the immersive learning research network community on the relevance of various challenges to the adoption of immersive learning technology, along three dimensions: access, content production, and deployment. Using a previously validated questionnaire, we surveyed this community of 622 researchers and practitioners during the summer of 2018, attaining 54 responses. By ranking the challenges individually and within each dimension, the results point towards higher relevance being placed on aspects that link immersive environments with learning management systems and pedagogical tasks, alongside aspects that empower non-technical users (educational actors) to produce interactive stories, objects, and characters.The work presented herein has been partially funded under the European H2020 program H2020-ICT-2015, BEACONING project, grant agreement nr. 687676.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

The relationship between students’ engagement and the development of Transactive Memory Systems in MUVE: An experience report

Student engagement is a very important topic in higher education hence, it drew a lot of research interest over the years. The use of educational Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) that provide synchronous interaction, dynamic, interactive and social learning experiences have the potential to increase student engagement and contribute to their learning experience. Due to increased social and cognitive presence, the use of such environments can result in greater student engagement when compared to traditional asynchronous learning environments. In this work, we hypothesized that students’ engagement in collaborative learning activities will increase if Transactive Memory System (TMS) constructs are present. Thus, we employed the theory of TMS that emphasizes the importance of Specialization, Coordination and Credibility between members in a team. The results show that there is a significant correlation between the development of TMS and students’ engagement. In addition, further quantitative and observation analysis reveals some interesting facts about students’ engagement with respect to their collaboration in group activities

Workshop, Long and Short Paper, and Poster Proceedings from the Fourth Immersive Learning Research Network Conference (iLRN 2018 Montana), 2018.

ILRN 2018 - Conferência internacional realizada em Montana de 24-29 de june de 2018.Workshop, short paper, and long paper proceedingsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Impacto de las tecnologías emergentes en el desarrollo cognitivo: el papel mediador del apoyo social digital entre estudiantes de educación superior

The aim of the current study is to explore the direct and indirect relationships between emerging technology and cognitive development. This study utilized a cross-sectional research design, employing a questionnaire survey approach for data collection from students in higher education. The multi-point Likert scale was used to measure emerging technology, cognitive development, and digital social support. Data were collected from 500 students, both male and female, studying at Chinese universities. The PLS-SEM approach was applied to analyze the structural relationship among the given variables in this research study. Findings of the study indicated that emerging technology has a positive and significant relationship with cognitive development, and that digital social support positively and significantly mediates the connection between emerging technology and cognitive development among higher education students. It was concluded that both emerging technology and digital social support are predictors of students' cognitive development at the higher education level. The study contributes to the literature on emerging technology, cognitive development, and digital social support in the context of higher education. This study provides valuable theoretical and practical implications for teachers, psychologists, and curriculum developers at the higher education level.  El objetivo del presente estudio es explorar las relaciones directas e indirectas entre la tecnología emergente y el desarrollo cognitivo. Este estudio utilizó un diseño de investigación transversal, empleando un enfoque de encuesta por cuestionario para la recopilación de datos de estudiantes de educación superior. Se utilizó la escala Likert de múltiples puntos para medir la tecnología emergente, el desarrollo cognitivo y el apoyo social digital. Se recopilaron datos de 500 estudiantes, tanto hombres como mujeres, que estudiaban en universidades chinas. Se aplicó el enfoque PLS-SEM para analizar la relación estructural entre las variables dadas en este estudio de investigación. Los hallazgos del estudio indicaron que la tecnología emergente tiene una relación positiva y significativa con el desarrollo cognitivo, y que el apoyo social digital media positiva y significativamente la conexión entre la tecnología emergente y el desarrollo cognitivo entre los estudiantes de educación superior. Se concluyó que tanto la tecnología emergente como el apoyo social digital son predictores del desarrollo cognitivo de los estudiantes en el nivel de educación superior. El estudio contribuye a la literatura sobre tecnología emergente, desarrollo cognitivo y apoyo social digital en el contexto de la educación superior. Este estudio proporciona valiosas implicaciones teóricas y prácticas para profesores, psicólogos y desarrolladores de planes de estudio en el nivel de educación superior.

Digital pathways in community museums

This research was supported by the European Commission, grant agreement number 693669In this article, we investigate the positive impact recent developments in digital technologies have on the relations between museums, their collections and the communities they serve. Our work indicates that sustainable benefit is produced with the use of existing digital literacies and infrastructures. We have analysed and evaluated the potential of emergent 3D and spherical technologies on the relationships between community and museum, participation in the formation of heritage, the ‘visit’ to the museum, and connection with remote audiences. The evaluation arises from our long term experience in working with community museums and through a series of workshops developed for the project entitled ‘Museums and Community: Concepts, experiences, and sustainability in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean’ (‐‐). Firstly, we contextualise the work presented by examining community museums, trends in emergent technologies and the advancements in digital heritage. Secondly, we analyse the methodologies used to design and execute the elements of the workshops, along with assess case studies to demonstrate distinctive experiences and outcomes particular to each workshop. We also describe how we constructed and implemented a novel design for a cost effective Virtual Museum Infrastructure (), which makes it simpler for communities to create a virtual museum and connect it with global museum networks. Our aim is to communicate our findings in relation to methodologies, workflows and technologies that will be of value in understanding how to overcome the challenges emergent technologies present but yet have the potential to strengthen both community and museum.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Adult Learning Sign Language by combining video, interactivity and play

One in every six persons in the UK suffers a hearing loss, either as a condition they have been born with or a disorder they acquired during their life. 900,000 people in the UK are severely or profoundly deaf and based on a study by Action On Hearing Loss UK in 2013 only 17 percent of this population, can use the British Sign Language (BSL). That leaves a massive proportion of people with a hearing impediment who do not use sign language struggling in social interaction and suffering from emotional distress, and an even larger proportion of Hearing people who cannot communicate with those of the deaf community. This paper presents a theoretical framework for the design of interactive games to support learning BSL supporting the entire learning cycle, instruction, practice and assessment. It then describes the proposed design of a game based on this framework aiming to close the communication gap between able hearing people and people with a hearing impediment, by providing a tool that facilitates BSL learning targeting adult population. The paper concludes with the planning of a large scale study and directions for further development of this educational resource

The making and evaluation of Picts and Pixels : mixed exhibiting in the real and the unreal

Museums publicly display collections in a physical space to relay narratives and concepts to their audiences. Progressive technologies in an exhibition can bring in varying demographics and gather higher footfall for a museum as well as present digital heritage interpretation in an innovative manner. A mixed media exhibition can facilitate subjects with limited physical resources or difficult to display pieces as well as the visual landscape the objects were found within. A combination of Virtual Reality headsets, 3D digitized objects, digitally reconstructed archaeological sites alongside traditional object displays as methods of interpretation substantiate research in techniques and usability as well as challenges of recoup cost and digital literacies. This paper investigates the methodology, technology and evaluation of the mixed media exhibition Picts & Pixels presented by Culture Perth and Kinross and the Open Virtual Worlds research team at the University of St Andrews at the Perth Museum and Art Gallery in summer 2017.Postprin

Design methodology for 360° immersive video applications: the case study of a cultural heritage virtual tour

Three hundred sixty–degree (360°) immersive video applications for Head Mounted Display (HMD) devices offer great potential in providing engaging forms of experiential media solutions especially in Cultural Heritage education. Design challenges emerge though by this new kind of immersive media due to the 2D form of resources used for their construction, the lack of depth, the limited interaction and the need to address the sense of presence. In addition, the use of Virtual Reality (VR) headsets often causes nausea, or motion sickness effects imposing further implications in moderate motion design tasks. This paper introduces a methodological categorisation of tasks and techniques for the design of 360° immersive video applications. Following the design approach presented, a testbed application has been created as an immersive interactive virtual tour at the historical centre of the city of Rethymno in Crete, Greece, which has undergone user trials. Based on the analysis of the results of this study, a set of design guidelines for the implementation of 360° immersive video virtual tours is proposed

Analysis in Web 3D Environments of Thematic Research Networks on Immersive Learning through Variation of Clustering Criteria

Este projeto tem como objetivo desenvolver uma ferramenta de visualização 3D baseada na web que proporciona uma compreensão global do campo de Aprendizagem Imersiva. As redes temáti- cas são uma abordagem bem estabelecida para lidar com esses desafios. Portanto, foi realizada uma revisão sistemática da literatura para extrair métodos e critérios de clustering em redes temáticas. A metodologia empregada neste estudo é a pesquisa de Design Science Research, que envolveu o desenvolvimento e a avaliação iterativos da ferramenta de visualização. Entre- vistas com especialistas foram realizadas para identificar os requisitos, e métodos rigorosos, in- cluindo gravação, análise e transcrição das entrevistas, foram aplicados para verificar a relevância da pesquisa. A ferramenta utiliza uma abordagem de visualização de node-link para visualizar estratégias, práticas e artigos associados à aprendizagem imersiva. Além disso, oferece uma var- iedade de funcionalidades de filtragem, permitindo que os usuários filtrem por estratégias, práticas, autores, instituições e outros. Além disso, a ferramenta incorpora várias funcionalidades de clus- tering, como detecção de comunidades usando o algoritmo de Louvain, com variação de critérios de clustering , como associação de temas e de artigos, citação de artigos, co-citação e outros. Os usuários também podem controlar a estrutura da rede modificando o tamanho das clustering, o número e as cores das comunidades. A ferramenta apresenta métodos exploratórios de redes temáticas para navegar no ambiente. Ao combinar redes temáticas com capacidades de clustering e filtragem, essa ferramenta tem como objetivo fornecer uma compreensão global do campo cien- tífico. Sua integração única de tecnologias Web e 3D, juntamente com métodos exploratórios, a diferencia das ferramentas de visualização existentes. Os poderosos algoritmos de clustering da ferramenta, oferecendo critérios diversos para entender as relações conceituais, têm o potencial de ter um impacto significativo na comunidade de aprendizagem imersiva. Ela é projetada para servir como um artefato inovador que aprimora as capacidades analíticas de pesquisadores, educadores e estudantes na área.This project aims to develop a Web-based 3D visualization tool that provides a global understanding of the field of Immersive Learning. Thematic networks are a well-established approach for addressing such challenges. Therefore, a systematic literature review was conducted to extract clustering methods and criteria in thematic networks. The methodology employed in this study is Design Science research, which involved iterative development and evaluation of the visualization tool. Expert interviews were conducted to identify requirements, and rigorous methods, including recording, analyzing, and transcribing interviews, were applied to ascertain the research's relevance. The tool utilizes a node-link visualization approach to represent immersive learning strategies, practices, and associated papers. Additionally, it offers a range of filtering functionali- ties, allowing users to filter by strategies, practices, authors, institutions, and more. Furthermore, the tool incorporates various clustering functionalities, such as community detection using the Louvain Algorithm, with variable clustering criteria such as theme and paper association, paper citation, co-citation, and others. Users can also control the network's structure by modifying clus- ter size, number, and community colors. The tool features thematic networks exploratory methods for navigating the environment. By combining thematic networks with clustering and filtering capabilities, this tool aims to provide a global understanding of the scientific field. Its unique integration of Web and 3D technologies, along with exploratory methods, distinguishes it from existing visualization tools. The tool's powerful clustering algorithms, offering diverse criteria for understanding concept relationships, have the potential to make a significant impact in the immersive learning community. It is designed to serve as an innovative artifact that enhances the analytical capabilities of researchers, educators, and students in the field