21 research outputs found
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Role of Virtual Reality in Geography and Science Fieldwork Education
Fieldwork has a long tradition in geography, and in certain sciences, notably geology, biology and environmental sciences. Fieldwork involves leaving the classroom and engaging in learning and teaching through first-hand experience of phenomena in outdoor settings. Exploration in natural habitats introduces students to the complexity and unpredictability of the real world, stimulates their curiosity, and increases their interest in scientific inquiry. However, over the last decade, there has been a decline in field-study opportunities in schools.
This policy paper describes the first extensive user-centered research programme into the role of technology-enabled virtual field trips as a means for improving the effectiveness of the outdoor fieldwork experience. It draws on a year-long research project that investigated how Google Expeditions, a smartphone-driven mobile virtual reality application, bridges virtual fieldwork with physical field trips and facilitates inquiry-based fieldwork and experiential learning. It examines the role of Google Expeditions in primary and secondary school science and geography, outlining the opportunities and challenges of integrating mobile virtual reality in schools and the practical implications of our research for fieldwork education in further and higher education
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Educational Affordances of Mobile Virtual Reality
As a part of Google-funded research programme, we have been investigating the role of Google Expeditions, a smartphone-driven virtual reality educational app, in learning and teaching. In this presentation, we will discuss the empirical derivation of educational affordances of Google Expeditions. Through case studies from our data, we will examine how these affordances facilitate inquiry-based learning, bridge virtual fieldwork with physical field trips in geography and science education, and support experiential learning via simulations
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Virtual reality in education
In this workshop-presentation, we described the evolution of virtual reality technologies and our research from 3D virtual worlds, 3D virtual environments built in gaming environments such as Unity 3D, 360-degree videos, and mobile virtual reality via Google Expeditions. For each of these four technologies, we discussed the affordances of the technologies and how they contribute towards learning and teaching. We outlined the significance of students being aware of the different virtual reality technologies for employability as organisations are increasingly integrating virtual reality technologies in marketing, training and skills development, and in design of products and services. Finally, we discussed the future of virtual reality in education and the role that an educator plays in optimal integration of virtual reality in the curriculum for student engagement and attainment
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Virtual Reality in education and for employability
Virtual reality is becoming pervasive in several domains - in arts and film-making, for environmental causes, in medical education, in disaster management training, in sports broadcasting, in entertainment, and in supporting patients with dementia. An awareness of virtual reality technology and its integration in curriculum design will provide and enhance employability skills for current and future workplaces.
In this webinar, we will describe the evolution of virtual reality technologies and our research in 3D virtual worlds, 3D virtual environments developed in Unity 3D, and mobile virtual reality via 360-degree photospheres (e.g. as in the Google Expeditions app) and 360-degree videos. We will discuss the technological and pedagogical affordances of virtual reality technologies and how they contribute towards learning and teaching. We will discuss the significance of using virtual reality in education, in training and skills development, and for employability
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Virtual reality for employability skills
We showed a variety of virtual reality technologies, and through examples, we discussed how virtual reality technology is transforming work styles and workplaces. Virtual reality is becoming pervasive in almost all domains starting from arts, environmental causes to medical education and disaster management training, and to supporting patients with Dementia. Thus, an awareness of the virtual reality technology and its integration in curriculum design will provide and enhance employability skills for current and future workplaces
Development of a virtual audience concept for public speaking training in immersive virtual environments
Public speaking is common in today's work and study environment, yet many people dread giving presentations and sometimes even avoid them altogether. A frequent solution is to take up public speaking courses where speakers can learn presentation skills from speech trainers and rehearse in front of other trainees.
By combining the opportunities of virtual reality with the characteristics and challenges of training sessions, the dissertation proposes a design concept for a virtual audience that can serve as speech training tool in immersive virtual environments. Through this approach the research addresses public speaking from a training angle - a novel view that wishes to complement the existing speech anxiety treatment studies in virtual reality. The work rests on a multidisciplinary ground and includes perspectives from interpersonal communication, virtual reality, human-computer interaction, and design of virtual learning environments.Die vorliegende Dissertation schlägt einen neuen Ansatz für Kommunikationstrainings und Sprechübungen vor, und führt ein Konzept für ein virtuelles Publikum ein. Das Publikum soll hierbei als Trainingsinstrument dienen und richtet sich an diejenigen, welche ihre rhetorischen Fähigkeiten und Präsentationstechniken verbessern möchten. Die Schlüssel-Komponente des Publikums bilden virtuelle Menschen, wobei diese möglichst realistisch aussehen und agieren sollen. Dies wirft eine zentrale Frage auf: Was sind die Merkmale eines realen Publikums und was machen die Menschen überhaupt, wenn sie vor einem Sprecher sitzen? Um diese Frage zu beantworten, wurden zwei Studien durchgeführt.
Die erste explorative Studie beschäftigt sich mit Experten im Kommunikationstraining und VR Bereich. Sieben Experten wurden sowohl über die Rolle von Publikumsanpassung, Interaktion, und Gruppendynamik als auch über technische Anwendungsmöglichkeiten in der virtuellen Realität befragt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Kommunikationstrainingsprogramme hohe Publikumsanpassungen und Interaktivitätsmöglichkeiten erfordern. Um die Ergebnisse zu komplementieren, wurde ein Trainingsseminar beobachtet. Die Resultate der Beobachtung verdeutlichen die Bedeutung von Sprechübungen im Rahmen eines Kommunikationsprogramms sowie die bevorzugten Feedbackmethoden.
Die zweite Studie umfasst die Beobachtung eines studentischen Publikums im Rahmen einer Vorlesung an der Technischen Universität Ilmenau. Die nonverbalen Verhaltensweisen von 14 Studierenden wurden kodiert und in aufmerksame oder unaufmerksame Verhaltensweisen aufgeteilt. Weiterhin wurde die Frequenz, Komplexität und Dauer der ausgewiesenen Reaktionen analysiert.
Die Ergebnisse dieser zwei Studien bilden das Fundament für die Entwicklung eines Designkonzepts für ein virtuelles Publikum. Dieses bezieht unterschiedliche Merkmale (z.B. demographische Charakteristika, Vorschläge für virtuelle Räumlichkeiten, etc.) ein. Zusätzlich wird eine Liste mit Indikatoren für Aufmerksamkeit und Unaufmerksamkeit eingebunden und ein fünfminütiges Szenario mit fünf virtuellen Menschen vorgestellt.The present dissertation proposes a novel approach to public speaking training and introduces a concept for a virtual audience in immersive virtual environments. The key component of such an audience are the virtual humans (VHs) whose role is to look and behave as closely as possible to a real public. Virtual audiences can then be used as training tools for people who wish to improve their public speaking and presentation skills.
Two empirical studies were conducted to help identify relevant audience features and behaviors that occur in real life and that can be modeled for a virtual public.
The first one is an exploratory study with experts in communication training and in fields related to virtual reality (VR). Seven experts were interviewed on the role and importance of audience customization, interaction, and group dynamic during training, as well as on technical possibilities to design virtual audiences with such features. The results show that audiences for communication training require extensive customization and interactivity options. To complement the findings, a speech practice session in a communication training seminar was observed and helped reveal the role of speech practice in the economy of the whole training seminar as well as the preferred feedback methods.
In the second study, a video observation of a student audience during a lecture at Technische Universität Ilmenau was conducted. The nonverbal behaviors of 14 students were coded and divided into attentive and inattentive manifestations. The identified behaviors are further described and analyzed in terms of their frequency, complexity, and duration.
The findings of both these studies helped create a design concept for a virtual audience with various characteristics (e.g., demographic features and virtual spaces they could inhabit) and a list with attentive and inattentive nonverbal behaviors the virtual humans could display. A five-minute scenario with virtual listeners is suggested as well
Affordances of Mobile Virtual Reality and their Role in Learning and Teaching
In this paper, we report the technological affordances of a virtual reality smartphone-driven educational app – Google Expeditions. Based on a large exploratory study, we discuss how these empirically-derived affordances support pedagogical approaches of experiential learning, bridging virtual fieldwork with physical field trips, and inquiry-based learning
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Extending Science lessons with Virtual Reality
The Open University, Field Studies Council and Association for Science Education are conducting research into the use of Google Expeditions and other virtual reality tools to a) augment and extend field work experiences; and b) as an additional tool in the classrooms along with resources such as videos, photographs.
The following aspects were discussed in this workshop:
Does the virtual reality technology improve student engagement, and what are the implications for teachers?
Think of one of the difficult concepts in Science: How could Google Expeditions (or Virtual Reality, in general) help you to teach that concept?
How would you use Google Expeditions to encourage inquiry-based learning?
What are the challenges that you would face in integrating Google Expeditions in your curriculum
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Investigating the role of virtual reality in geography via Google Expeditions
This workshop-session explored the use of Google Expeditions (GEs), virtual reality-based field trips, to support and encourage outdoor fieldwork and facilitate visualisation of processes and locations. Participants had the opportunity to trial GEs and were invited to discuss and evaluate the outcomes (particularly the educator’s perspective) of a project investigating the role of virtual reality in geography education.
We first showed several Expeditions to the educators, such as Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo or Borneo Rainforest: Plant Adaptations. We then invited participants to share their experience on teaching geography with a focus on inquiry-based learning.
We asked educators to discuss:
a) their inquiry-based learning (IBL) practices in geography lessons and how they would use virtual reality for IBL in lessons;
b) discuss their IBL practices before, during and after a field trip and how they would use virtual reality to practice IBL for fieldwork
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Role Of Digital Health Wearables In The Wellbeing And Quality Of Life Of Older People And Carers
The number of adults aged 65 and over has increased by 2% across Europe in the past 15 years, and in Northern Ireland by 22% between 2003-2013. The proportion of the population in this age group is projected to increase by 63% to just under 0.5 million by 2033 – which will be a quarter of the population in Northern Ireland. Given Northern Ireland’s Active Ageing Strategy (2015-2021), there is an increasing focus on encouraging physical activity as we get older to preserve mobility and motor skills, and to enjoy the benefits of living longer and to minimise health problems associated with ageing. Over the last two years, we have been investigating the role of wearable activity tracking technologies in self-monitoring of activity by people aged over 55. Example technologies include activity trackers from Fitbit, Garmin and Samsung, and smart watches. Typically, these devices record steps walked, sleep patterns, calories expended and heart rate.
Based on empirical investigations, this policy paper describes the benefits of activity monitors for people aged over 55 for self-monitoring of physical activity, for adopting healthy lifestyles, and for increasing or maintaining physical activity as a way to avoid high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and other medical conditions associated with weight or lower physical activity. It outlines the role of activity trackers in post-operative monitoring of mobility during rehabilitation, in caring, and for possible use of the data for diagnosis and medical interventions. It then discusses the challenges for adoption of these technologies, given currently, off-the-shelf devices are designed and calibrated for use by physically fit (typically young active people) with unrealistic fitness targets for the older generation