A framework for immersion in virtual reality

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyThe purpose of this research is the creation of the framework for immersive Virtual Worlds (VW) development and evaluation of factors affecting user’s immersion experience in 3D virtual worlds. Three experiments have been conducted to evaluate different aspects of the immersion experience in virtual reality. The first experiment aimed to explore the influence of communication on users whilst performing certain activities in a virtual world. The second experiment evaluated how the real-world environment affects users in a virtual world. The third experiment examined the aspect of mobility as a main contributor to a user’s distraction. The fourth experiment partly confirmed previous findings and added new factors, affecting immersion experience. The results of all experiments formed a framework, containing factors which users considered as affecting them during their activities in virtual worlds. During the experimentation phase of this research a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used. The Grounded Theory (GT) methodology was applied for data analysis in qualitative part. The major contribution of this research is the framework of factors for building immersive 3D virtual environments. Another contribution is the evaluation of factors affecting users in such an environment

Strategies and challenges to facilitate situated learning in virtual worlds post-Second Life

Virtual worlds can establish a stimulating environment to support a situated learning approach in which students simulate a task within a safe environment. While in previous years Second Life played a major role in providing such a virtual environment, there are now more and more alternative—often OpenSim-based—solutions deployed within the educational community. By drawing parallels to social networks, we discuss two aspects: how to link individually hosted virtual worlds together in order to implement context for immersion and how to identify and avoid “fake” avatars so people behind these avatars can be held accountable for their actions

Interaction in situated learning does not imply immersion: virtual worlds help to engage learners without immersing them

Immersion is a central theme when using virtual worlds; the feeling of 'being there' is generally considered a positive attribute of virtual worlds, in particular when these are used for recreation. However, within educational context it may be debatable how far immersion can be expected or is even desirable: if we want students to be reflective and critical on their assignment task, wouldn't it be more important for them to have a critical distance, rather than being immersed? In this paper, we approach this question by examining and discussing how interactions, learner engagement and immersion are linked together when a virtual world is being used in a Hybrid Virtual Learning scenario. Findings from our experiment seem to suggest that even though this learning approach aids positively the educational process, high levels of immersion do not occur. Nevertheless, more research in that direction is highly recommended to be undertake

Immersion in virtual worlds - but not Second Life!

Previous attempts to quantify immersion have been pursued within the context of game virtual worlds where there is a clear outline of a goal. This paper seeks to investigate the problem of immersion measurement in an online based virtual world (ReactionGrid) where there is no distinct in-world goal and environmental context is less immersive as in a game environment. The experiment investigates participants' feelings towards their immersion experience while being in a virtual world. Our findings suggest that immersion mostly depends on co-presence and communication of users