A Web Based Approach to Virtual Appliance Creation, Programming and Management

The Internet and Web technology is advancing at a frantic pace, expanding into almost every aspect of our everyday life. One of the latest scientific activities for the Internet and the Web is the so-called pervasive or ubiquitous computing where networking plays a vital role in its core computational framework. In this, people are able to use the Internet and Web to manage the operation of embedded network devices, services and to coordinate their services in ways that create applications such as smart-homes, smart-offices, smart-cars etc, collectively referred to as intelligent environments. For ordinary people (non technologists) to be able to use this technology, it is required that the interaction between the users and the environment must be as transparent and simple as possible, employing intuitive and user-friendly interfaces wherever possible. A popular approach to empowering users to customise the functionality of their environments is via end-user programming. In this work-in-progress paper we describe an approach based on using a web based GUI to augment earlier work of ours concerning an end user programming paradigm known as Pervasive interactive Programming (PiP), in a way that makes it more flexible and easy to use. By doing this, we present a conceptual model and discuss the issues in developing and using this model. © 2010 IEEE

Preface to the Special Issue on Immersive Environments: Challenges, Research and New Developments

Immersion could be defined as a subjective impression of participating in a comprehensive, realistic experience [1]. However, immersion should not be treated as a unique property, as it is achieved from a complex interaction of representational fidelity and learner interaction, holding a dependency on other aspects of the environment [2, 3]. The use of immersive environments which create a feeling of ?presence? naturally allows for more complex social interactions and designed experiences [4]. A particular use of these technologies is in educational settings, where they can enhance learning experiences, foster participation, collaboration, creativity and engagement; creating huge opportunities for integration and research. Effective immersive learning experiences can be created with multiple media using myriad techniques and employing a wealth of knowledge that spans many disciplines. This includes but is not limited to computer science, user experience and media design, the learning sciences, architecture, game development, artificial intelligence, biology, medicine, and thousands of disciplinary and occupational content areas wherein immersive learning and training may be relevant. The Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN) is ?an international organization of developers, educators, and research professionals collaborating to develop the scientific, technical, and applied potential of immersive learning? [5]. The vision of the network is to develop a comprehensive research and outreach agenda that encompasses the breadth and scope of learning potentialities, affordances and challenges of immersive learning environments. The first international conference iLRN 2015 held in Prague, Czech Republic, attracted a number of high-quality contributions. As a follow-up, this special issue was organised as an open call to seek a wider set of contributions from the research community, including extended versions of iLRN 2015 best papers

Remote Mixed Reality Collaborative Laboratory Activities: Learning Activities within the InterReality Portal

Technology is changing our way to experience education from one-dimensional (physical) to multi-dimensional (physical and virtual) education using a diversity of resources such as web-based platforms (eLearning), videoconferences, eBooks and innovative technologies (e.g. mixed reality, virtual worlds, immersive technology, etc.). This represents bigger opportunities for universities and educational institutions to collaborate with partners from around the world and to be part of today's knowledge economy. This also enables greater opportunities to experience distance learning, modifying our experience of both space and time, changing specific spatial locations to ubiquitous locations and time as asynchronous/synchronous according to our necessities. The use of virtual and remote laboratory activities is an example of the application of some of these concepts. In this work-in-progress paper we propose a different approach to the integration of the physical and virtual world by creating remote mixed reality collaborative laboratory activities within an Inter Reality Portal learning environment, thereby extending our previous progress towards these goals. The learning goal of our mixed reality lab activity is to produce Internet-of-Things-based computer projects using combinations of Cross-Reality (xReality) and Virtual objects based on co-creative and collaborative interaction between geographically dispersed students. © 2012 IEEE

Using mixed-reality to develop smart environments

Smart homes, smart cars, smart classrooms are now a reality as the world becomes increasingly interconnected by ubiquitous computing technology. The next step is to interconnect such environments, however there are a number of significant barriers to advancing research in this area, most notably the lack of available environments, standards and tools etc. A possible solution is the use of simulated spaces, nevertheless as realistic as strive to make them, they are, at best, only approximations to the real spaces, with important differences such as utilising idealised rather than noisy sensor data. In this respect, an improvement to simulation is emulation, which uses specially adapted physical components to imitate real systems and environments. In this paper we present our work-in-progress towards the creation of a development tool for intelligent environments based on the interconnection of simulated, emulated and real intelligent spaces using a distributed model of mixed reality. To do so, we propose the use of physical/virtual components (xReality objects) able to be combined through a 3D graphical user interface, sharing real-time information. We present three scenarios of interconnected real and emulated spaces, used for education, achieving integration between real and virtual worlds

Interactions within distributed mixed reality collaborative environments

Traditionally virtual worlds have been regarded as standalone entities. However, the world moves fast towards a mixed reality collective environment, joining virtual and real world by incorporating accessible ubiquitous computing for people. Mobile and wearable computers act as a door to connect people to virtuality, e.g. The use of fitness/activity trackers, which collect real world information helping users to complement reality with virtuality improving their health and fitness. A different example is the use of mobile devices to connect people that do not share the same physical location in a virtual way, thought phone calls, videoconferences, chat and social media applications. These examples show that currently we live in two realities, processing information of both worlds in real time. Our video submission presents a work-in-progress research prototype towards the creation of a Blended Reality Distributed System, complementing the paper [1] submitted to the main track of the conference. The test bed scenario proposed is a mixed reality collaborative laboratory activity, performed by learners within geographically dispersed locations. The goal of the activity is to construct a small robot emphasising computing fundamentals. The video is available at: http://youtu.be/akKPHnDY9bw

Exploring Immersive Technologies in Learning. J.UCS Special Issue

Immersive technologies have presented very promising opportunities for innovation in learning. In recent years, they have become more accessible and we are just beginning to see an increase in their adoption, addressing user needs in various domain, particularly in education. At the time of this writing (second quarter, 2020) and given the global emergency situation that COVID-19 has imposed to the world, it is more relevant than ever to look at ways to materialise the promise that they represent, tackling some of the bigger challenges that the society face. Therefore, we, the community of scholars and practitioners at the intersection of learning, technology and game sciences, find ourselves at the centre of a massive opportunity to demonstrate the potential that Immersive Learning can bring to support society in this challenging times, as the world continues to deal with a global health crisis

Workshop, Long and Short Paper, and Poster Proceedings from the Fourth Immersive Learning Research Network Conference (iLRN 2018 Montana), 2018.

ILRN 2018 - Conferência internacional realizada em Montana de 24-29 de june de 2018.Workshop, short paper, and long paper proceedingsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mixed Agents Virtual Observation Lenses for Immersive Learning Environments

3-D virtual worlds and other immersive environments offer features that other learning systems cannot easily replicate. As such, they have the potential to revolutionise the way in which people learn. They are well suited to visualise 3-D objects and their relations to explain complex phenomena. In addition, they enable practical experiments to be performed that are difficult to conduct in the real world. They can also help to facilitate collaborative learning in real-time and enable students to become fully engaged in what they are doing. However, these environments require further exploration to improve their learning affordances. For instance, assessing students' performance and collecting learning evidence is still in its early stages. This paper is primarily devoted to furthering our understanding of observation and assessment. In so doing, a virtual observation model has been developed to effectively map classroom-based observations with how people can be evaluated in virtual 3-D environments. The observation model has been applied to a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) and examples that illustrate its potential effectiveness are provided. In essence, our research aims to support and enhance the learning experience by demonstrating the advantages of 3-D virtual worlds as a means for advancing learning processes