Virtual Reality for early education : a study

This paper investigates the use of Virtual Reality (VR) as a tool for cultural heritage learning, using St Andrews Cathedral as the subject matter. As part of a module focused on local history, first year secondary school pupils in a school in the town of St Andrews took part in virtual tours of the Cathedral as it stood in the 14th Century using the Samsung Gear VR, Google Cardboard, Oculus Rift, computer screen and Xbox controller, and answered questions aimed to elicit their experiences with the various systems. The system design and implementation is presented and the findings, observations and lessons learnt from the study are discussed.Postprin

New frontiers of managerial training: the LiVES project

The evolution of the Internet allowed the Web to become, among the different media, the most global, inter-active and dynamic medium to share information. Therefore, in the last decades, e-Learning has been widely used not only in the academic community, but also in the business sector. Within this context, thanks to their own competences, people can develop specific characteristics which may provide a competitive advantage for their organizations. The development and use of new technologies for the creation of three-dimensional (3D) Virtual Worlds set new challenges and enlarge the very idea of ‘learning environment’. This paper aims at inves-tigating the characteristics of training activities directed at the managerial class, in such a way as to increase their efficacy; it also analyses how the use of specific innovative technologies may be an effective solution.The evolution of the Internet allowed the Web to become, among the different media, the most global, inter-active and dynamic medium to share information. Therefore, in the last decades, e-Learning has been widely used not only in the academic community, but also in the business sector. Within this context, thanks to their own competences, people can develop specific characteristics which may provide a competitive advantage for their organizations. The development and use of new technologies for the creation of three-dimensional (3D) Virtual Worlds set new challenges and enlarge the very idea of ‘learning environment’. This paper aims at inves-tigating the characteristics of training activities directed at the managerial class, in such a way as to increase their efficacy; it also analyses how the use of specific innovative technologies may be an effective solution.Monograph's chapter

Virtual Worlds: No Interface to Design

In a virtual world, we are inside an environment of pure information that we can see, hear, and touch. The technology itself is invisible, and carefully adapted to human activity so that we can behave naturally in this artificial world. We can create any imaginable environment and we can experience entirely new perspectives and capabilities within it. A virtual world can be informative, useful, and fun, it can also be boring and uncomfortable. The difference is in the design. The platform and the interactive devices we use, the software tools and the purpose of the environment are all elements in the design of virtual worlds. But the most important component in designing comfortable, functional worlds is the person inside them. Cyberspace technology couples the functions of the computer with human capabilities. This requires that we tailor the technology to people, and refine the fit to individuals. We then have customized interaction with personalized forms of information that can amplify our individual intelligence and broaden our experience. Designing virtual worlds is a challenging departure from traditional interface design. In the first section of this chapter I differentiate between paradigms for screen-based interface design and paradigms for creating virtual worlds. The engineer, the designer, and the participant co-create cyberspace. Each role carries its own set of goals and expectations, its own model of the technology's salient features. In the second section of the chapter I address these multiple perspectives, and how they interrelate in the cooperative design process. In conclusion, I consider broader design issues, including control, politics, and emergent phenomena in cyberspace

Learning in a digital world: an introduction

In recent years, several scholars have called for more inquiry on the role of interactive media in learning in the digital and hyperconnected world. While the interplay of technology and learning may be difficult to fully unfold, current evidence suggests that technological innovations have an important effect on learning, engagement, and achievement in all educational settings—formal, non-formal, and informal. This book compiles contemporary and multidisciplinary research in this area, with the goal of arousing other investigators to contribute to the growing empirical literature on interactive media for learning. The chapters in this book explore research questions on technologically mediated learning from a variety of theoretical and methodological frameworks in several different types of educational contexts, and from different participant perspectives (students and teachers). In doing so, the book is expected to shed light and raise academic discussions on the interplay of interactive media and learning in formal, non-formal, and informal educational settings—how learning gains emerge and are documented, and how the use of interactive media relates to important behavioral, motivational, and achievement outcomes

Enhancing the learning of history through VR : the Thirteen Factories Icube experience

This paper explores the use of virtual reality (VR) for HH2013 Chinese Mandarins versus European Merchants, 1512-1911, which was offered to undergraduates at Nanyang Technology University in Singapore. The 22-minute VR version of the Thirteen Factories brought viewers through seven significant scenes reflecting the social, economic and judicial life in the Port of Canton. The visuals, recreated from 49 painting and lithographs of the time, were supported by narration in English, and presented in the EON IcubeTM mobile. The research questions were as follows: 1. What was the Icube Thirteen Factories experience like for the participants? 2. How would it fit in an undergraduate curriculum? Weekly seminars comprised short introductory lectures, discussion of the prescribed readings, visualisation exercises and presentations. Students were invited to view the VR version of the Thirteen Factories after they completed their seminars and assignments. Data collected from four participants included their immediate response to the Icube experience and an online survey. Those who presented the “Shopping in Canton” research were interviewed whether it further shaped their knowledge. Their professor who reviewed their assignments and project work was also interviewed. The findings suggest that the Icube experience was an engaging one, having added much to their understanding of life in the Thirteen Factories. It could be used to augment face-to-face teaching of History at the undergraduate level