Sensational In(ter)⇒action: Designing Creative Learning Environments

Emotion plays an important role in life, both in personal and work life. In fact, it is part of almost everything we do, including artwork, decision-making and interpreting reality in general. Recently developed information technology may create emotionally-arousing sensations in the user, producing motivation and interest, but on the other hand too much emotion can impede use of devices, everyday creativity and learning. In this paper, we discuss how emotion can be used in design in order both to increase engagement and support creative learning. The idea is based on the notion of Perceptually-Seductive Technology (PST, outlined in Waterworth, 2001) and how PST can be applied to support creative learning in classrooms and other settings. Creative learning is characterised as the intersection of creativity (the production of novel and adaptive ideas) and learning (change persisting over time). Sensational in(ter)⇒action alludes to the need for frequent switches between presence and absence, action and inaction, and between the real and virtual worlds according to a design space defined by the three-dimensional Focus, Locus and Sensus model (Waterworth and Waterworth, 2001a)

Can the Service Learning Model Help Business Ethics Courses From Being an Oxymoron?

Colleges of Business face new challenges in teaching students about Business Ethics. Some laugh off the notion as an oxymoron; they assert that you cannot teach morality, ethics or values. Others look to our nation\u27s universities as the place where ethical behavior should be defined, nurtured and encouraged. Unlike courses offered in religion or philosophy, students and employers want to know how to apply these models and concepts. Exhortations do not suffice. This article defines a successful class project that applies business ethics to organizational realities. Student teams work with a client system to develop a Code of Ethics for the firm. These projects incorporate the established benefits of service learning – students learn while doing, strongly reinforcing classroom lessons. Does this approach make a difference? Results from the accreditation processdocument that it contributes to an increase in student learning

From broad reality to the Metaverse: Critical reflection on the contribution of education

Augmented reality is a concept that includes virtual reality, augmented reality and hybrid reality. It has made remarkable progress in recent years and has a great impact on understanding education. Based on two key concepts: immersion and existence, the study of extended reality is helpful to improve teaching. However, these contributions need to be reviewed on a key theoretical basis to avoid falling into technophobia without scientific evidence. The purpose of this article is to understand and evaluate the contribution of a wide range of realities to education and the educational challenges faced before the development of Metaverse. To the end, RST defines each type of reality and critically evaluates their application in the field of education. Second, it puts forward critical arguments on the advantages and disadvantages of these technologies in educational practice. Third, it describes the challenges faced by Metaverse in education. This analysis shows that augmented reality contributes to the innovative development and improvement of the teaching process, despite the lack of teacher training to design the learning experience according to augmented reality, and the lack of interdisciplinary cooperation in technology and education. These results have affected the development of Metaverse, which is another step in expanding the evolution of reality and will have a significant impact on the field of education. The survey results show that it is necessary to design an ethics code, develop a culture and protect the identity of users

Результаты апробации системы методов обучения информатике на основе мобильных технологий

Статья посвящена анализу результатов апробации системы методов обучения информатике на основе мобильных технологий, которая включает в себя "облачное" хранение материалов курса, использование систем опроса и тестирования, применение инструментов дополненной реальности, онлайн-викторин, скринкастинга, веб-квестов, интерактивного видео и других информационно-коммуникационных технологий. Приводится краткий анализ источников по теме с выявлением положительных и отрицательных сторон использования мобильных устройств и облачных технологий в учебном процессе

Updating the art history curriculum: incorporating virtual and augmented reality technologies to improve interactivity and engagement

Master's Project (M.Ed.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017This project investigates how the art history curricula in higher education can borrow from and incorporate emerging technologies currently being used in art museums. Many art museums are using augmented reality and virtual reality technologies to transform their visitors' experiences into experiences that are interactive and engaging. Art museums have historically offered static visitor experiences, which have been mirrored in the study of art. This project explores the current state of the art history classroom in higher education, which is historically a teacher-centered learning environment and the learning effects of that environment. The project then looks at how art museums are creating visitor-centered learning environments; specifically looking at how they are using reality technologies (virtual and augmented) to transition into digitally interactive learning environments that support various learning theories. Lastly, the project examines the learning benefits of such tools to see what could (and should) be implemented into the art history curricula at the higher education level and provides a sample section of a curriculum demonstrating what that implementation could look like. Art and art history are a crucial part of our culture and being able to successfully engage with it and learn from it enables the spread of our culture through digital means and of digital culture

The virtual playground: an educational virtual reality environment for evaluating interactivity and conceptual learning

The research presented in this paper aims at investigating user interaction in immersive virtual learning environments (VLEs), focusing on the role and the effect of interactivity on conceptual learning. The goal has been to examine if the learning of young users improves through interacting in (i.e. exploring, reacting to, and acting upon) an immersive virtual environment (VE) compared to non interactive or non-immersive environments. Empirical work was carried out with more than 55 primary school students between the ages of 8 and 12, in different between-group experiments: an exploratory study, a pilot study, and a large-scale experiment. The latter was conducted in a virtual environment designed to simulate a playground. In this ‘Virtual Playground’, each participant was asked to complete a set of tasks designed to address arithmetical ‘fractions’ problems. Three different conditions, two experimental virtual reality (VR) conditions and a non-VR condition, that varied the levels of activity and interactivity, were designed to evaluate how children accomplish the various tasks. Pre-tests, post-tests, interviews, video, audio, and log files were collected for each participant, and analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. This paper presents a selection of case studies extracted from the qualitative analysis, which illustrate the variety of approaches taken by children in the VEs in response to visual cues and system feedback. Results suggest that the fully interactive VE aided children in problem solving but did not provide as strong evidence of conceptual change as expected; rather, it was the passive VR environment, where activity was guided by a virtual robot, that seemed to support student reflection and recall, leading to indications of conceptual change

Creating a Supportive Culture for Online Teaching: A Case Study of a Faculty Learning Community

This case study describes the creation of a supportive culture for online teaching at a western university that was transitioning to a new learning management system. The case study highlighted the creation of a faculty learning community as one strategy to address the challenge of faculty working through a change process. The faculty learning community provided a space for the development of best practices in teaching, drawing from the pedagogical experiences of teachers from diverse disciplines. The learning community also provided a venue for expanding the technical knowledge level of faculty members with a range of comfort levels with varied technologies

Virtual Reality and Art History: A Case Study of Digital Humanities and Immersive Learning Environments

The potential benefits of integrating immersive realities into traditional humanities curricula have been touted over the last two decades, but budgetary and technical constraints of implementation have limited its adoption. However, recent advances in technology, along with more affordable hardware coupled with more user-friendly interfaces, have seen widespread adoption beyond that of the military and healthcare. In fact, higher education institutions are poised to adopt VR on a broader scale to enhance learning with virtual environments. This study seeks to determine the expectations and results of integrating virtual reality into coursework with students and faculty in Art History. The study surveyed students, first to ascertain the prevalence and familiarity of immersive reality technologies, as well as the perceived benefit of integration into curriculum. Next, surveys collected data on student experience relating to virtual reality assignments integrated into coursework for both face-to-face and online learners. The results provide a model for other institutions for a variety of disciplines to reinforce outcomes through strategic use of the technology