Using Augmented Reality as a Medium to Assist Teaching in Higher Education

In this paper we describe the use of a high-level augmented reality (AR) interface for the construction of collaborative educational applications that can be used in practice to enhance current teaching methods. A combination of multimedia information including spatial three-dimensional models, images, textual information, video, animations and sound, can be superimposed in a student-friendly manner into the learning environment. In several case studies different learning scenarios have been carefully designed based on human-computer interaction principles so that meaningful virtual information is presented in an interactive and compelling way. Collaboration between the participants is achieved through use of a tangible AR interface that uses marker cards as well as an immersive AR environment which is based on software user interfaces (UIs) and hardware devices. The interactive AR interface has been piloted in the classroom at two UK universities in departments of Informatics and Information Science

Towards Rapid Generation and Visualisation of Large 3D Urban Landscapes for Mobile Device Navigation

In this paper a procedural 3D modelling solution for mobile devices is presented based on scripting algorithms allowing for both the automatic and also semi-automatic creation of photorealistic quality virtual urban content. The combination of aerial images, GIS data, 2D ground maps and terrestrial photographs as input data coupled with a user-friendly customized interface permits the automatic and interactive generation of large-scale, accurate, georeferenced and fully-textured 3D virtual city content, content that can be specially optimized for use with mobile devices but also with navigational tasks in mind. Furthermore, a user-centred mobile virtual reality (VR) visualisation and interaction tool operating on PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) for pedestrian navigation is also discussed. Via this engine, the import and display of various navigational file formats (2D and 3D) is supported, including a comprehensive front-end user-friendly graphical user interface providing immersive virtual 3D navigation

Collaborating and Learning in Shared Virtual Environments

The five articles in this special section focus on collaboration and learning in shared virtual environments (VE). VEs are an excellent tool for the provision of training and education. The articles examine techniques and technologies for education and training in virtual environments, spanning both solo and collaborative approaches. These articles include original submissions as well as extended and revised versions of selected best papers presented at the VS-Games 2019 conference

Serious Games for use in a Higher Education Environment.

This paper presents a serious game that covers the teaching of some basic concepts of computer networks, which has been specifically designed for educating university level students. User requirements are collected through an expert user evaluation with academics as well as with a quantitative evaluation with university students. Based on these results, an online serious game was designed and implemented. The effectiveness of the serious game when applied for teaching purposes is quantified through an end-user evaluation with 30 users. Initial evaluation results show that online serious games can be an effective and useful pedagogic tool in teaching computer networks in a higher education environment

Serious Games in Cultural Heritage

Although the widespread use of gaming for leisure purposes has been well documented, the use of games to support cultural heritage purposes, such as historical teaching and learning, or for enhancing museum visits, has been less well considered. The state-of-the-art in serious game technology is identical to that of the state-of-the-art in entertainment games technology. As a result the field of serious heritage games concerns itself with recent advances in computer games, real-time computer graphics, virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence. On the other hand, the main strengths of serious gaming applications may be generalised as being in the areas of communication, visual expression of information, collaboration mechanisms, interactivity and entertainment. In this report, we will focus on the state-of-the-art with respect to the theories, methods and technologies used in serious heritage games. We provide an overview of existing literature of relevance to the domain, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the described methods and point out unsolved problems and challenges. In addition, several case studies illustrating the application of methods and technologies used in cultural heritage are presented

Randomly Generated 3D Environments for Serious Games

Abstract — This paper describes a variety of methods that can be used to create realistic, random 3D environments for serious games requiring real-time performance. These include the generation of terrain, vegetation and building structures. An interactive flight simulator has been created as proof of concept. An initial evaluation with two small samples of users (remote and hallway) revealed some usability issues but also showed that overall the flight simulator is enjoyable and appears realistic and believable. Keywords – serious games; 3D terrain modeling; computer graphics; flight simulator. I

The New CGEMS - Preparing the Computer Graphics Educational Materials Source to Meet the Needs of Educators

ACM SIGGRAPH and Eurographics are restarting CGEMS, the Computer Graphics Educational Materials Source, an on-line repository of curricular material for computer graphics education. In this context, the question that we ask ourselves is: ''How can CGEMS best meet the needs of educators''? The aim of this forum is to provide the audience with an idea of the purpose of CGEMS - a source of educational materials for educators by educators - and to give them an opportunity to contribute their views and ideas towards shaping the new CGEMS. Towards this purpose, we have identified a number of issues to resolve, which the panel will put forward to the participants of the forum for discussion