Editorial : participation framework revisited : (new) media and their audiences/users

Long before the wide-spread use of computer-mediated, electronically-based communication, Goffman (1979) pointed out that the denominations hearer and speaker are overly simplistic and not useful, based on the assumption that there are two parties only in talk, that both are fully focused on their neatly alternating roles, and that their main concern is the talk at hand. Hence, a dyadic model of communication with a speaker and a hearer has long since been replaced by such concepts as production format and participation framework with different roles which individuals may display in relation to a given utterance (Goffman 1979, Levinson 1988). Going beyond interpersonal dyadic faceto- face talk-in-interaction, the application of these notions still remains unsatisfactory. So, for instance, regarding classic mass media, there are ongoing discussions about the status of the television audience as overhearers (O’Keeffe 2006). Also, in studies on CMC (computer-mediated communication) often a rather superficial notion of multiple authorship is posited (cf. Landow 1994, Storrer 2008, Crystal 2011), even though the genuine interactivity of the web 2.0 seems to provide fruitful ground for an analysis in these terms. Because of these ongoing debates and unexplored fields, we find it timely to revisit the notion participation framework and describe how different reception roles are inscribed in different media or forms of communication, or, in other words, how different production formats allow their users and audiences to position themselves

Authenticity and interest in virtual reality: Findings from an experiment including educational virtual environments created with 3D modeling and photogrammetry

Virtual Reality (VR) and photogrammetry are emerging technologies that facilitate and shape the ongoing digital transformation of education. VR offers new opportunities for creating immersive and interactive educational experiences. Photogrammetry enables new ways to create lifelike educational virtual environments and is becoming an alternative to manual 3D modeling with graphics software. The manner in which VR affects the authenticity of educational experiences has been addressed in previous educational and psychological research. Empirical papers have so far focused on the authenticity of educational VR environments created by 3D modeling. However, little is known about the authenticity of educational VR environments developed with photogrammetry. Given that VR provides rich multi-sensory experiences and interests can be stimulated by engaging contexts, educational VR environments also possess great potential to support interest development. What is still unknown regarding this topic are the beneficial characteristics of VR environments and the individual variables required to trigger and explain interest development. Consequently, we conducted an experiment following up on the mentioned authenticity and interest research questions in the context of higher education. A two-group between-subjects design was used and N = 64 educational science and psychology university students gathered information about a railroad bridge wearing a head-mounted display (HMD). The control group encountered an educational virtual environment created with 3D modeling. The intervention group was presented with the same educational virtual environment but the main object of the railroad bridge was generated by photogrammetry. Situational interest was measured in the pretest and the posttest; authenticity-related variables (i.e., presence and representation fidelity) were assessed in the posttest. Concerning authenticity, there were no significant group differences. Photogrammetry might thus not affect authenticity in educational contexts in which participants focus on gathering information. Regarding interest development, there were two main findings. First, interest in VR for learning increased from pretest to posttest, supporting that interest can be induced in VR. Second, a large share of posttest interest was explained by presence and pretest interest, highlighting the importance of these variables

What variables are connected with system usability and satisfaction? Results from an educational virtual reality field trip

Exploring the usability of educational virtual reality (VR) is essential. Research in this area can explain the adoption of VR as a new technology, contribute to examining paths toward effective learning, and provide recommendations for effective educational design. This study investigated usability in a sample of N = 64 university students learning about simplified construction engineering topics from an interactive VR field trip. Two research objectives were pursued. First, the level of achieved usability was examined using a mixed-methods approach, including data from semi-structured interviews and a survey on system usability and satisfaction. Second, the relationships between several connected variables (ease of use, usefulness, presence, and cognitive load) and system usability and satisfaction were investigated quantitatively. With respect to the first research objective, system usability and satisfaction were evaluated positively in the interviews and rated highly in the surveys. These results indicate that VR field trips, which are increasingly replacing excursions, are regarded as an appropriate instructional method. Concerning the second research objective, ease of use, usefulness, presence, and extraneous load were found to predict system usability. Further, the factors of usefulness, presence, and intrinsic cognitive load helped explain the variance in satisfaction. These findings highlight that the variables connected to system usability and satisfaction in VR learning vary. In addition to these and other theoretical implications, practical implications and recommendations for educational design are discussed