The Applications of Digital Reality in Creative and Oceanic Cultural Industries

Digital reality technologies have become a key component of promoting creative and cultural industries in Taiwan. In 2016, Taiwan's Ministry of Culture funded 45 projects to promote creative and cultural industries in this island country. A total of USD$25.6 million dollars have been granted to this project. Among these projects, the applications of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies have been found to be the latest trend in Taiwan's creative and cultural industries. This chapter employs a case study approach to survey the current state of digital reality technology applications particularly in the area of creative and oceanic cultural industries in Taiwan. Using a detailed description of these best practices among creative and cultural industries to promote Taiwanese oceanic culture, this chapter aims to provide a detailed examination of digital reality applications in the creative and cultural industry sectors in a non-Western context.

Multiliteracies Performance Assessment Zones (MPAZ)

Recognition of the dramatically changing nature of what it means to be literate in the so-called “information age” has resulted in an increasing interest among the educational research community around the importance of students developing “multiliteracy” skills and engaging in multimodal learning. Nevertheless, for such learning to be meaningful, requires to reconceptualize delivery strategies and assessment of multimodally mediated experiences. The aim of this chapter is dual: First to introduce an alternative framework for formative assessment of multimodal interactions for learning. Secondly, the intention is to uncover the story of culturally and linguistically diverse students' multimodal experiences, resulting from engagement in the creation of a student-generated virtual museum during a design-based research implementation. Drawing from the literature, analysis, and evaluation using the framework explained, it is evident that virtual museum-based multiliteracies engagement, benefits pupils' multimodal awareness, meaning making, and development as active designers of their learning.

Lectures and Discussions in Semi-Immersive Virtual Reality Learning Environments

This chapter describes a study that was conducted in a semi-immersive desktop virtual reality environment. The study investigated teacher trainees' perceptions of their mental effort in Second Life, their satisfaction with the communication modalities, and their perceived social behavioral changes. In the first event, only the instructor (host) used voice to communicate while all participants as well as the in-text facilitator (co-host) used text chat only. In the second event, not only did both hosts use voice, but the participants also had the option to use voice rather than text. The majority of teacher trainees appreciated the freedom to choose either modality. The integration of voice was perceived as humanizing the discussion, increasing the flow, and making the conversation more engaging. However, the addition of multiple voices was believed to increase their mental effort. While some teacher trainees felt more relaxed and more open in a virtual discussion, others reported a lack of attention and honesty as well as a tendency to ignore social conventions.

A Study on Visual Perturbations Effect on Balance in a VR Environment

Users sometimes lost their balance or even fell down when they played virtual reality (VR) games or projects. This may be attributed to degree of content, high-rate of latency, coordination of various sensory inputs, and others. The authors investigated the effect of sudden visual perturbations on human balance in VR environment. This research used the latest VR head mounted display to present visual perturbations to disturb balance. To quantify balance, measured by double-support and single-support stance, the authors measured the subject's center of pressure (COP) using a force plate. The results indicated that visual perturbations presented in virtual reality disrupted balance control in the single support condition but not in the double support condition. Results from this study can be applied to clinical research on balance and VR environment design.

A User Study of Virtual Reality for Visualizing Digitized Canadian Cultural Objects

Algoma University holds an important collection of Canadian objects from the Anishinaabe culture dating from 1880. Some of those objects have been on display in the university's library, but most of them still remain stored in the university's archive, limiting opportunities to use them in teaching and learning activities. This chapter describes a research project focusing on digitizing and visualizing cultural artifacts using virtual reality (VR) technology, with the aim of supporting learning of Canadian heritage in cross-cultural courses. The chapter shows technical aspects of the objects' 3D digitization process and goes on to explain a user study with students watching a 3D model displayed on a low-cost VR headset. Results from the study show that visualization of the 3D model on the VR headset was effective, efficient, and satisfactory enough to use, motivating students to keep using it in further sessions. Technology integration of VR in educational settings is also analyzed and discussed.

Virtual Reality (VR) Applications in Learning

This chapter illustrates the use of VR applications in professional development and introduces an application used to assist teachers, learning support assistants (LSAs), and teaching assistants (TAs) to better understand autistic children's behaviors while in the classroom. One of the challenges faced in classrooms is how to understand the autistic children's behaviors and empathize with them. The proposed VR application repurposes a different form of narrative of the world of a child on the autism spectrum in an immersive environment designed for educators. The VR application in this chapter uses recorded footage through 360-degree cameras and special effects powered by Unity. In a context where integration is a key to today's learning and education, the researchers believe that the use of VR to assist the teachers in empathizing with their learners' traits and conditions may be of great benefit to the learners' school experiences.

Reality-Creating Technologies as a Global Phenomenon

Digital reality technologies have become a global phenomenon that attracts huge attention from researchers and practitioners around the world. ResearchandMarkets.com predicts that the global revenue for both augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications will reach $94.4 billion by 2023. As an introductory chapter to the edited book volume on the global impacts of digital reality technologies, this chapter examines the current state of digital reality technologies around the world. Global, regional, and country statistics are presented to shed light on the diffusion of a variety of digital reality technologies such as augmented reality, mixed reality, and virtual reality. Potential and existing digital realty technologies around the world will be examined in greater detail to provide readers with contextual information for the remaining chapters of the book.

Augmented, Mixed, and Virtual Reality Applications in Cause-Related Marketing (CRM)

This chapter deals with emerging augmented, mixed, and virtual reality platforms and their applications in cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns. This chapter provides definitions and examples of augmented, mixed, and virtual realities and explains their importance CRM professionals. Compared with traditional marketing platforms, reality-creating technologies are characterized with their capabilities to interact with marketing contents through their geolocation specificity, mobility, and synchronization of virtuality and reality. These technological characteristics have made reality-creating technologies very promising for many cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns. This chapter surveys current discussions in the existing literature and ends with three cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns. The study concludes with an overview of emerging issues, future directions, and professional best practice recommendations.

Edutainment With Flipped IDEAS

Virtual learning environments are receiving a growing interest due to exponential advancements in technology alongside the millennial users' preference for more modern rather than traditional means of studying. This chapter narrows down on optimizing edutainment in the classroom by strategically using the methods of flipped classroom, team-based learning, and the IDEAS method. The study provides an explained framework that highlights what needs to be implemented on behalf of the instructor and what outcomes can be expected as a result. An experimental study was conducted on students within a course at the graduate level in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The main objective is to study the effect of virtual learning environment that incorporates the use of flipped classroom, Team-based learning and IDEAS methods on students' academic performance.

Techniques on Multiplatform Movement and Interaction Systems in a Virtual Reality Context for Games

When a student works on a VR game design project, the input scheme is often bypassed because it is considered to be one of the easiest things to implement. But should design affect the inputs, or the other way around? The author attempts to solve this with the creation of a unified communication tool among students, academics, and developers. This proposed tool will define which movement and/or interaction technique is best suited, depending on the following factors: platform, constraints, context, physique, space, immersion, and user experience. The game design framework will be described, discussed, and presented in a table format to address all of the above when working on VR games. This chapter will also include a section that will define what the player can do and how.