Assistive technologies and advantageous themes for collaboration, learning & teaching within 3D Virtual Learning Environments

E-learning assisted through 3D Virtual Worlds such as Second Life, extending the more traditional 2D Virtual Learning Environments, presents advantageous motifs for collaboration, learning and teaching online. These main motifs include enriching communication and teaching means through 3D environments and game-like interaction, and enhancing the learning experience through avatar and virtual persona engagement. This paper aims to provide evidence from practice for the afore mentioned motifs and furthermore demonstrate that 3D Virtual Learning Environments offer beneficial themes to deliver education in three axes: as complement to physical education, supplement over 2D online virtual learning environments, and supplement over traditional real-life teaching methods. This evidence is provided through the Middlesex University DaCT village experience by i) identifying factors of successful and effective elearning in 3D virtual worlds ii) setting the learning space for mode of learning iii) designing the space and iv) defining best teaching paradigms

3D assistive technologies and advantageous themes for collaboration and blended learning of users with disabilities

The significance of newly emergent 3D virtual worlds to different genres of users is currently a controversial subject in deliberation. Users range from education pursuers, business contenders, and social seekers to technology enhancers and many more who comprise both users with normal abilities in physical life and those with different disabilities. This study aims to derive and critically analyze, using grounded theory, advantageous and disadvantageous themes and their sub concepts of providing elearning through 3D Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), like Second Life, to disabled users; hence providing evidence that 3DVLEs not only support traditional physical learning, but also offer e-learning opportunities unavailable through 2D VLEs (like moodle, blackboard), and offer learning opportunities unavailable through traditional physical education. Furthermore, to achieve full potential from the above mentioned derived concepts, architectural and accessibility design requirements of 3D educational facilities proposed by different categories of disabled students to accommodate for their needs, are demonstrated

Architectural propositions for enhancement of learning spaces within 3D Virtual Learning Environments

Newly emergent 3D Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), e.g. Second Life, are increasingly being utilised by many educational institutions and universities to deliver e-learning. This necessitates erection of virtual campuses to accommodate classes and sessions conducted within these worlds. However, sparse research exists that explores users’ satisfaction from buildings used within these 3DVLEs. Furthermore, no research exists that discusses contentment levels of users specifically towards 3D educational facilities, or users’ preferences and requirements from buildings’ different constructional and architectural design elements. This research investigates the presence of such impact of architectural features of 3D virtual educational buildings and classrooms on users’ comfort within them, by recording, analyzing and categorising higher education students’ and staff’s design preferences and propositions to enhance virtual campus’ learning spaces, internally and externally. This has potential to boost e-learning experiences within 3DVLEs analogous to the positive effect of physical real-life architecture on students’ learning within their respective classrooms

Investigating student satisfaction from environmental and architectural design elements of 3D educational facilities within 3D virtual worlds

Evolving online virtual worlds are intensely being utilised as 3D Virtual Learning Environments (3D VLEs) by hundreds of universities worldwide. However, there is inadequate academic research depicting satisfaction of users from the environmental design factors of 3D virtual buildings used within these virtual worlds. Specifically, there is no research evidence representing satisfaction of educational facilities’ users, namely students and faculty, from the architectural design characteristics of their 3D virtual university campuses. This research focuses explicitly on capturing the contentment levels of students towards specified variations of certain architectural design elements of the 3D virtual learning spaces, where educational sessions are conducted in 3D VLEs. This hence provides preliminary guidelines on how to enhance the design of these spaces to augment e-learning experiences of students within 3D VLEs; achieved by analysing survey results representing students’ opinions towards different architectural features of the learning spaces within different university 3D virtual campuses

Effect of student emotion-associations on architectural color design of educational spaces in 3D Virtual Learning Environments

Research has been previously dedicated to investigating effects of traditional classroom colors on students’ enjoyment, interactions and learning experiences. Students’ emotional reactions towards different colors were also depicted and analyzed. However sparse research has been conducted representing analogous studies of students’ color-emotional associations towards e-learning spaces in 3D virtual learning environments. This study investigates positive and negative emotional associations experienced by students due to immersion in e-learning spaces with a variety of selected interior colors. This should enable initiating guidelines for best and worst perceived color usage for design of 3D virtual learning spaces, for enhancement of students’ elearning experiences

Improving educational and training programmes through learning analytics and visualisation of educational data

This paper provides a step-by-step approach on how institutions can use their information for improving educational provision and subsequently becoming more competitive in the higher education sector. The paper focuses on three scenarios in explaining how the visualisation of data that are available in higher education institutions can become a key element for gaining competitive advantage

Harnessing 3D applications for technology enhanced learning

For several years computer supported cooperative work applications have been applicable to the field of e-learning. Video conferencing, computer mediated communication, shared whiteboards and so many other Groupware tools have been used in the past to facilitate teaching and learning online. Web 2.0 and social networking tools created a second wave of e-learning applications that assist learners to communicate. Previous work focused on investigating the feasibility of applying CSCW as well as Web 2.0 technologies in distance education and e-learning. However it seems that a significant part in the relevant literature is concerned primarily with the investigation of how such technologies affect communication, collaboration and similar activities. Over the past few years the authors have identified the importance of understanding the impact of using Web 3D applications in constructivist elearning paradigms. Our focus was on defining the role of Web 3D applications as a complementary technology to the use of traditional Virtual Learning Environment. In this paper we discuss the use of Second Life in a number of pilot studies ranging from seminar sessions and lectures to various collaboration activities between students residing in different locations. The paper describes the preparation of the learning environment in preparation for the delivery of different learning activities. Anecdotal evidence combined with survey results are discussed with respect to the ways the virtual world has enhanced the students’ learning experience. A summary of key findings with respect to the impact of Second Life to both student learning experience and the role of the academic is also provided. The paper contributes in the field by identifying evidence of good practice as well as compiling guidelines and criteria for success in integrating Second Life applications to existing e-learning provision

Artificial intelligence in 3D virtual environments as technological support for pedagogy

This paper researches the opportunities available to use 3D Virtual learning Environments (3D VLEs), such as Second Life, to create e-learning Project Innovation for students using 3D Virtual Design concepts and programming. This entails the use of programming and coding to create bots (artificial intelligence robotic avatars) that can be used to direct interactive teaching and learning activities inside a 3D VLE. Moreover, through the creation and coding of holographic platforms (holodecks) inside 3D VLEs, diverse classroom and environmental settings can be created to aid in the elearning process and help the students themselves to use this technique to create immersive 3D projects e.g. 3D catalogues and exhibitions. This is in addition to the prospects of using these holodecks for educational role-play activities, modelling activities and interactive discussions and seminars

An evaluation of social learning networks: a qualitative perspective

Affordances offered through ubiquitous nature of Web 2.0 technologies and social media have progressively become universal constituents of our lives. Presently our students have seen the escalation in use of multimedia in their studies. With technological advances in telecommunication technologies, students have become accustomed to instant, global communications modes. Educational institutions have progressively adapted more innovative pedagogical approaches in their provision. Web 2.0 has fundamentally altered communication methods between people around the world. Access to information, dissemination, sharing and creation of new digitised content are powerful tools that ease social media adaptation in everyone’s life. Over the last decade multimedia authoring tools have become more useful for content generation. The price and expertise to use these authoring tools has decreased, therefore offering opportunity for educators to broaden their experimental horizons with these technologies. With the advent of Web 2.0, access to information, dissemination, sharing and creation of new digitised content are powerful tools that ease social media adaptation in student’s life. Universities have reported reforms in the use of Education 2.0, while Web 2.0 is finding its momentums in further education and schools. Since the advent of Web 2.0 many educational institutions have reported remarkable positive influences in students learning behaviours. Research studies have illustrated association between students improved communication and collaboration linked to improved motivation hence more on going academic performance. Social learning networks represent a more diverse mechanism than a content delivery platform. The potential to release both students and instructors creative talents, ease of content creation and collaboratively sharing teaching and learning resources has enabled educational institutions to explore the strategic benefits of social learning networks. Recent studies indicate that these digital elements when aligned with the best practices of multimedia design become powerful learning agents. This study is aimed at highlighting the importance of social learning networks in education from a qualitative perspective. A series of recent studies at higher and further education has provided guidelines for the improved use of social media in e-learning. This paper’s findings will introduce qualitative verdicts for a framework adaptation of social learning networks in e-learning

Pedagogical immigration to 3D virtual worlds: a critical review of underlying themes and their concepts

A contentious issue has been in debate for the past decade, over the extent of dependency of current generations of students on information and communication technology (ICT) for education. Despite this controversy, there is a generalisation amongst researchers that fundamental shifting of educational methods towards e-learning is deemed inevitable and beneficial to cater for emerging students’ skills and preferences. One of these newly emergent e-learning platforms is 3D Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) like Second Life. To the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to derive and critically analyse, using grounded theory, advantageous and disadvantageous themes and their sub concepts of providing e-learning through 3DVLEs