A Constructivist Desktop Virtual Reality-Based Approach to Learning in a Higher Education Institution

Virtual reality (VR) technology has recently started shaping learning, especially language learning, with the aim of immersing learners into a VR learning environment. However, because of the high system cost of fully immersive VR, desktop VR has been implemented and preferred in educational settings. Based on a constructivist approach, desktop VR has drawn attention to the need for learner autonomy and an authentic VR learning environment. Therefore, this chapter describes empirical research on desktop VR-based learning using a constructivist approach. The research examined university students' interaction and perceptions of learning in this kind of learning environment. Based on the empirical findings gathered from observations and interviews, this chapter has aimed to discuss not only the issues observed both in previous studies and in this chapter, but also additional issues such as scaffolding, self-paced learning, collaboration, and learner differences in order for learning to occur in a well-designed desktop VR learning environment.

CSI4FS®

This chapter describes the development of a game-based markerless augmented reality smartphone application (CSI4FS®) that complements traditional crime scene investigation training. The intent is to make a strong case for the use of augmented reality in a forensic science training environment. It includes a brief outline of the issue followed by a history of augmented reality in education and training, simulation use in high-risk professions generally and in education specifically, and augmented reality use in crime scene investigation. Both marker-based and markerless technologies are discussed, followed by a description of the augmented reality application and some of the challenges involved in the creation of that application. Overall, the purpose of this chapter is to introduce a potential solution that will help college students learn crime scene investigation techniques more effectively than with the more traditional training methods.

Rhetorical Replay and the Challenge of Gamic History

This chapter explores the limits of simulations for university-level historical education. The authors develop an alternative gamic mode more fit for purpose by focusing on epistemology and procedural rhetoric. This chapter will start by examining how history functions as a form of disciplinary knowledge and how this disciplinary way of knowing things is taught at the post-secondary level. The manner in which history is taught will be contrasted with its evaluation in order to better define what students are actually expected to learn. The simulation will be then examined in the light of learning goals and evaluation. This will demonstrate that simulations are in fact a poor fit for most post-secondary history courses. The more appropriate and effective choice is to construct the past via procedural rhetoric, using games that mirror the structure of the historical argument.

Perceptions of Presence and Community in Immersive Online Learning Environments

This chapter is based on survey research conducted between 2010 and 2017, involving 1053 graduate students using immersive online learning environments for their coursework. Investigators used course structural factors and student engagement factors to predict students' perceptions of community and presence in the online immersive space. Utilizing the Sense of Community II index (SCI-2) and the Community of Inquiry survey (COI) median scores as cut scores for predicted outcomes, researchers demonstrated that purely online environments which encouraged student engagement in the online immersive space can enhance sense of presence and sense of community. In addition, students in graduate programs that used online immersive delivery methods longer developed a stronger sense of community. Both dependent measures proved to have stable subscale structures for this inquiry based on a cursory confirmatory factor analysis.

Teaching Virtual Online Courses in an Era of Negative Student Reviews

Students of higher education are complaining about their online courses or faculty perhaps because universities are pushing to have classroom lectures converted to virtual learning delivery methods but without hiring qualified professors and failing to train faculty to effectively teach online. Different skills are required to effectively teach online courses as compared to lecturing in the classroom. To examine this problem, the author discusses the results of a mixed-methods research design consisting of an experiment followed by constructive feedback analysis. The experiment measured student grades from a standard teaching approach as compared with applying constructivism theory in the same online course at a university. The student outcome effect size for the treatment group was substantial and the analysis of constructive feedback evidence from the students was moderately supportive of the teaching approach.

New Personal Learning Ecosystems

This chapter highlights over a decade of literature and research findings related to new learning ecosystems such as personal learning environments including MOOCs. New structures and environments are now in place that provide opportunities for learning in open networks, but important challenges and issues persist. This chapter also highlights challenges and opportunities in the design and development of MOOC learning experience design, conditions that must exist for people to be involved and engaged in a connectivist learning environment, challenges related to personalization and support of individual learning needs, along with new ethical and privacy concerns related to the safeguarding of data in networked environments. In conclusion, further research in areas of machine-learning AI in data-driven learning systems is discussed with emphasis on human factors such as motivation, incentives, and support that encourage course participation and learning.

Revisiting MMORPGs in Support of Learning

This enhanced chapter revisits a previous literature analysis of research on the potential educational benefits of the use of massive multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG) by considering both changes in the medium itself and recent trends in research. Initially, a working operational definition of MMORPGs in education is considered in light of research to date with a focus on how MMORPGs differ from most video games in terms of types of player-game interaction, levels of player-player interaction, and environments in which interaction occurs. Next considering previous and current theoretical and empirical studies on MMORPGs from a variety of disciplines, including education, psychology, and linguistics, a conceptual framework for the use of MMORPGs in support of learning is created. Finally, an overview of current research trends in MMORPGs is provided, concluding with suggestions concerning future research of the use of MMORPGs in support of learning.

Transitions in Student Motivation During a MUVE-Based Ecosystem Science Curriculum

One issue involved in incorporating any new technology in science education is the concern that the value added is primarily due to the novelty effect. The authors address this concern by evaluating student motivation during a two-week, multi-user virtual environment (MUVE)-based curriculum for middle school ecosystems science. Analysis of multiple surveys at the beginning, middle, and end of the curriculum revealed that students continued to find the activity engaging from beginning to end, but differed in what specifically engaged them. Further, students' beliefs about EcoMUVE's utility in helping them learn science increased significantly. This transition is attributable to the curriculum's design, which supports internally controlled motivators: autonomy (choice), competence, and connectedness. Specifically, over time EcoMUVE provides opportunities for sustained, meaningful engagement, through self-directed learning, inquiry-based activities, and collaboration with a team.

Participating on More Equal Terms?

This chapter investigates the potential effects of unequal power relations on participation in a group of student teachers and invited professionals in two collaborative workshops in Second Life. The basic research enquiry addresses whether the relative anonymity afforded by virtual world environments has an effect on established power structures, thereby empowering relatively powerless language learners to more active participation than would be the case in more traditional learning set-ups. The data includes recordings, group reflections, and individual questionnaires. Participation was examined from the aspects of floor space, turn length, and utterance functions, and complemented with student reflections. The results show that the differences of floor space and turn length between the invited professionals and the students were small. The invited professionals did more conversational management than the students, while the students performed more supportive speech acts. No major gender differences in participation were found. There was, however, considerable individual variation.

Augmented Reality-Based Training Systems for Teaching Health and Safety Procedures in Construction

Traditional teaching methods are not always efficient, especially in areas where the concepts to teach relate to physical work that must be done outside the classroom. This is the case of the construction sector, where the teaching of safety procedures is crucial to reduce the number of accidents, but traditional methods fail to highlight the importance of these procedures. The use of computer simulation through new technologies such as augmented reality (AR) can engage more students in order to better understand the concepts. In addition, they can visualize virtual elements superimposed on the real world to simulate the real situations they will later face in construction. This chapter deals with the simulation, by means of AR technology, of teaching procedures in the construction sector. It presents ARFAT, an application for mobile devices that makes use of AR to teach health and safety procedures about three elements: formwork, scaffolds, and falsework.