The Immersive Learning Research Network is a global network of researchers and practitioners collaborating to develop the scientific, technical, and applied potential of immersive learning.
The papers in this book comprise the proceedings of the meeting mentioned on the cover and title page. They reflect the authors' opinions and, in the interests of timely dissemination, are published as presented and without change. Their inclusion in this publication does not necessarily constitute endorsement by the editors or the Immersive Learning Research Network. Copyright Information Privacy Statement Publications Ethics and Malpractice Statement Contact: publications@immersivelrn.org
The purpose of this workshop is to bring together scientists, educators, augmented reality designers, and curriculum developers to discuss and explore whether and how virtual reality may enhance learning. Scientists and augmented reality designers will present their latest results in developing augmented reality learning environments. Educators and curriculum developers will present their experience and best-case scenarios for applying those elements to their daily life teaching.
Copyright (c) 2023 María Blanca Ibáñez, Ángela Di Serio, María Lucía Barrón, Anasol Peña Ríos, Ramón Zatarain Cabada, Carlos Delgado Kloos
Mixed reality, the combination of physical reality with virtual reality elements, and gamification, the application of gaming principles into non-gaming contexts, are becoming more and more popular practices in education and learning context. Previous studies have shown that students can control their learning processes in mixed reality systems more actively and that gamification elements in lectures can lead to a long-term increase in the learners’ motivation. But how exactly can lecturers take advantage of these benefits? How can the dependencies on a tool level between the domain (e.g. engineering) and the type of course be exemplified? And how can Mixed Reality and Gamification elements technically and didactically be implemented into education and learning environments?
Copyright (c) 2023 Freya Willicks, Laura Lenz
This workshop explores how current research might be imaginatively extrapolated to explore the possible ways immersive-reality technology might change future education. In this we take a very broad vision for the delivery of education stretching from formal education at (say) university through industrial training to informal settings where we are all involved in a continuous process of learning. To this end the workshop will accept papers providing visions of the future (5-10 years out) of immersive learning environments. Papers do not need to adhere to any particular methodology but those that adhere to the Science-Fiction prototyping methodology will be especially welcomed (for more information visit www.creative- science.org).
Copyright (c) 2023 Vic Callaghan, Dennis Beck, Leonel Caseiro Morgado, Michael Gardner, Christian Gütl, Jen O’Connor, Anasol Pena-Rios, Jonathon Richter, Oluwatimilehin Salako, Minjuan Wang, Jen Wu, Shumei Zhang, Ping Zheng
Virtual Spaces as Learning Media for Flipped Classroom: An Evaluative Study
In recent years, an increasing number of teachers have been adopting a new pedagogical approach called flipped classroom, in which traditional teaching for basic knowledge takes place outside the classroom to free up class time. In this paradigm, teaching content for out-of-class learning is delivered using a variety of digital media, most primarily slides and videos. However, self-directed learning using these media can be a significant challenge for students, particularly if the subject is unfamiliar to them or involves abstract concepts. Virtual spaces can be a good alternative as learning medium in flipped classroom approach because of their affordances, such as visualization and rich interactions. This paper describes the implementation of flipped classroom using virtual spaces as self-learning media in a 14-weeks long undergraduate biology course, and then reports how students perceived this approach. It was shown that the virtual learning spaces were well accepted by the students, and the majority of the students found them useful for learning using 3D visualizations and interactions. However, their engagement with pre-class learning was not entirely satisfactory. Some suggestions to develop virtual spaces as a viable option for flipped classroom will be discussed.
Self and Co-regulated Learning with Immersive Learning Environments
Step Into My Mind Palace: Exploration of a Collaborative Paragogy Tool in VR
Virtual Reality (VR) can mediate remote collaborative learning and can support pedagogical processes like paragogy. Within education, methods such as spaced repetition and memory palaces exist to support the cognitive process of remembering. We identify an opportunity to enhance learner-led collaborative paragogy involving these methods through immersive VR experiences. We present CleVR, a VR-mediated collaboration-based system that supports the memory palace and spaced repetition techniques. As an exploratory study, we aim to identify the applicability, viability and user perception for such a system combining these two techniques in VR. CleVR is a novel implementation which provides a location-driven metaphor to populate and present multiple resources related to a topic for peer-led exploration. We discuss the design and provide a prototype implementation of CleVR. We conducted two studies, a targeted expert user review and a broader proof of concept survey. The results of the studies show interesting outcomes, with the system described as 'engaging', 'useful' and 'fun'. Our findings provide insights to the potential of using Virtual Reality Learning Environments (VRLE) geared towards collaborative learner-led activities.
Copyright (c) 2022 Robert Sims, Barry Chang, Verity Bennett, Advaith Krishnan, Abdalslam Aboubakar, George Coman, Abdulrazak Bahrami, Zehao Huang, Christopher Clarke, Abhijit Karnik
Doctoral Colloquium—Building Intertextual Connections with Secondary Students in Minecraft
This Doctoral Colloquium design case documents the initial development of a literature-themed overworld and two representative locations for students to explore within Minecraft: Education Edition. This innovative design aims to highlight the potential for secondary English students to experience exploratory learning and practice collaborative world-building and intertextual literary analysis.
Foundations in Immersive Learning Research and Theory
Copyright (c) 2022 Tracey Cole, Jim Shifflett
Doctoral Colloquium—Utilizing Electroencephalography, Eye Gaze, and Learner Analytics to Examine Student Engagement in a Virtual Reality Classroom
The gradual shift to online modes of learning has been greatly observed, further accelerated due to the pandemic. As a result of this ongoing shift, understanding how students and instructors engage within online learning environments has emerged as a timely and important topic of investigation. Most prior research on student engagement relies heavily on self-report data, which poses several methodological and conceptual issues. Moreover, most studies on student engagement are conducted in an artificial lab setting which is far removed from the challenges encountered in real-world classrooms. Given these limitations, the proposed project, outlined in this Doctoral Colloquium paper, aims to integrate the use of an immersive virtual reality classroom environment and behavioral, eye gaze, and EEG data to investigate the engagement and learning of undergraduate students.
Copyright (c) 2022 Vaishnavi Sivaprasad, Ido Davidesco, Noah Glaser, Kenneth Thompson
Doctoral Colloquium—ME++ Data Ethics of Biometrics Through Ballet and AR
This Doctoral Colloquium explores data ethics and biometric data through the development of an augmented reality (AR) classical ballet experience. This paper focuses on two areas: (i) The development and use of tool sets for motion capture and video extraction. (ii) On dancers’ understanding and experiences of the ’body as a data artefact’ for the creation of motion graphic (3D rigged) characters of an AR experience. Questions: (1) Is there a difference in sense of self (identity) between the human and the virtual? (2) How does sharing your personal biometric data make you feel? (3) How can biometric and immersive development tools be used in the computing classroom and dance studios to raise awareness of data ethics?
Copyright (c) 2022 Genevieve Smith-Nunes, Alex Shaw
Doctoral Colloquium—Confronting Death: Lived Experiences from Players of the Serious Game Spiritfarer
Serious games are a unique subset of immersive learning environments that combine elements of pedagogical strategies, embedded content, and game elements to provide players with opportunities to engage in playful opportunities that are ‘serious’ in nature. Although serious games have been explored in the literature, little exists to chronicle how commercially available serious games have impacted the learning experiences of gamers. This Doctoral Colloquium paper describes an ongoing study that seeks to explore the lived experiences of those who have played the commercially available serious game Spiritfarer. Research will explore educational impacts, emotional responses, and changes in attitude towards death.
Copyright (c) 2022 Jim Shifflett, Noah Glaser, Lucas J. Jensen, Tina Riedy, Joseph Griffin, Maggie Center
Doctoral Colloquium—The Potential of Mixed-Reality Technology for Motivating Dentistry Students in Higher Education
New technologies are becoming an essential part of education. Advances in these technologies are changing traditional learning processes, thus affecting students’ motivation and strongly influencing their learning outcomes. Mixed reality (MR) is one of the emerging technologies that may affect students’ learning motivation, with the potential to improve their performance and enhance learning outcomes. Nevertheless, it remains unclear how MR affects students’ motivation to learn. Thus, the aim of this doctoral colloquium is to propose how research may be conducted to evaluate the efficacy and potential of MR technology for motivating dentistry students in higher education. In this research, we design and develop a gamified educational MR application by combining the (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation) ADDIE instructional design framework with the (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction) ARCS model for motivational design that is integrated with gamification components, called the ARCS+G model. The MR application is to be used by dentistry students at Umm Al-Qura University in a fundamental implantology course to train them on pre-operative planning using dental cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). In this setting, we will investigate students’ pretest and posttest learning motivation with the Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (IMMS).
Copyright (c) 2022 Areej Banjar, Abraham G. Campbell
Work-in-Progress—Post-COVID: Adapting Education to a Changing Educational Environment through Immersive Technology
In a Post-COVID world, Hybrid classes remain essential as students face challenges in attending them in person. This creates additional engagement issues. The creation of an easy-to-use platform to enable this mixed-mode classroom is critical for teachers that are frustrated by the difficult management of hybrid classrooms. An aspect is student engagement, which today has no established analytical mechanism to evaluate during classroom sessions. This work-in-progress paper describes a technology that has the ability to obtain real-time analytic data to determine the engagement of all students at all times and helps teachers to know which students are lagging early on.
Copyright (c) 2022 Johannan Hjersman, Khaing Mon, Solomiya Nysak, Ruowei Peng, Ray Freiwirth
Work-in-Progress—The Role of Immersion When Designing Characters for Adapting Textual Narratives into Comic Strips for Online Higher Education: Trials Prototyping Characters
A critical factor in immersive educational narratives is identification by students with the characters. In this work-in-progress analyzes the process of rendering characters from textual narratives into visual form by non-artists (i.e., instructors). We tried to match archetypes with their visual representation through the platforms: Pixton, Powtoon (both 2D) and The Sims4 (3D). The limitations of characterization can impact students' narrative immersion. As future work we intend to test with the target group and observe the improvements needed to increase identification and sense of immersion in the narrative.
Copyright (c) 2022 Cristiane Bonfim, Demetrius Lacet, Leonel Morgado, Daniela Pedrosa
Work-in-progress—Design of LMS for the Shared Campus in Metaverse Learning Environment
This study is a Metaverse education framework in higher education for a shared learning environment at a consortium university. Here is a case of a consortium university in Korea, which has established a shared learning environment that can entail various advantages by forming a consortium between local governments, universities, and companies. In this work in progress, a Metaverse virtual campus was opened to overcome the distance between regions, and an LMS system was used forlearning management. Despite the different attributes of the website and Metaverse, suggestions on how to build a new learning system were described by combining mutual advantages.
Copyright (c) 2022 Yuseon Jeong, Seonan Choi, Jeeheon Ryu
Work-in-progress—The Effect of Students’ Perceptions on Intention to use Metaverse Learning Environment in Higher Education
The purpose of this work-in-progress study is to identify the predictiveness of perceived ease to use(PEU), perceived usefulness (PU), perceived enjoyment (PE), and frequency of experience (FE) on the intention to use (IU) a metaverse-based learning environment. A total of 226 undergraduate students participated in the metaverse-based learning using V-story (VirBELA) for a one-semester. Multiple regression was used for data analysis. As a result, PU, PE, and PEU predicted IU in the metaverse-based learning environment. This study empirically analyzed the acceptance factors of learners in a metaverse-based learning environment and is meant as basic data for metaverse research in a learning environment.
Copyright (c) 2022 Kukhyeon Kim, Eunbyul Yang, Jeeheon Ryu
Work-in-progress—Avatar vs Teams: Co-Presence and Visual Behavior in a Videoconference Cooperative Task
The need for effective remote communication solutions is increasing, and videoconferencing tools are the top choice for many. Furthermore, the alternative of using avatars instead of video-based conferencing for enriching the communication process is gaining popularity. This work-in-progress presents an avatar-based remote communication system for studying the exerted sense of co-presence and visual behavior of the user compared to a popular business-oriented communication platform. Users reported a higher sense of co-presence in the avatar condition with an increase in whole visual fixations dedicated to the avatars in comparison to their video feed faces during the cooperative task.
Copyright (c) 2022 Cesar Daniel Rojas Ferrer, Takayuki Fujiwara
Work-in-progress—Gamifying the process of Learning Sign Language in VR
This study recognizes the need for providing a tool to facilitate learning British Sign Language (BSL). Virtual reality coupled with gamification holds exciting prospects to accommodate this need. This paper presents a work-in-progress study that focuses on evaluating the impact of combining scaffolded instruction with gamification to design a 3D interactive game to support learning the BSL alphabet. The paper outlines the project motivations, its aims and objectives, the proposed research methodology, and the expected contributions to knowledge.
Copyright (c) 2022 Daphne Economou, Markos Mentzelopoulos, Jack Ingram, Timur Martinez-Mukimov, Shirin Primkulova, Said Abduvaliev
Work-in-Progress—Motion Tracking Data as a Proxy for Cognitive Load in Immersive Learning
Recent research has produced mixed results regarding the effectiveness of learning in VR. It has been suggested that the rich multisensory input in VR may induce cognitive overload that impedes the learning process. Cognitive load is typically measured by administering questionnaires. Although questionnaires are easily used, they imply the need to interrupt students during learning or to assess cognitive load in retrospect. In this work-in-progress paper, we argue that VR motion tracking data has the potential to provide unobtrusive, yet valid measures of cognitive load. We report preliminary results from a user study that aims at predicting cognitive load using the tracking data of a VR headset and two hand controllers. Using a recurrent neural network, we were able to distinguish between different levels of cognitive load with an accuracy of more than 88 percent. Based on this finding, we reflect on future research directions and practical considerations.
Copyright (c) 2022 Ivan Moser, Ioan-Sorin Comsa, Behnam Parsaeifard, Per Bergamin
Work-in-Progress–Computer Vision Methods to Examine Neurodiverse Gaze Patterns in 360-Video
Computer vision (CV) is a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) that focuses on enabling computers to detect and understand objects from visual stimuli and multimedia. With advances in computational power and open-source libraries, more educators and instructional designers are seeking to capitalize on the perceived benefits of CV. This work-in-progress paper reports the CV approach our research team has developed to explore the usage patterns of neurodiverse learners within a 360-degree spherical video-based virtual reality system.
Copyright (c) 2022 Noah Glaser, Matthew Schmidt, Heath Palmer, Wanli Xing, Carla Schmidt
Work-in-Progress—Design of Mixed Reality Educational Applications Using Enhanced ARCS+G Model for Motivation
The concept of merging gamification and mixed reality (MR) can create a motivational combination for better student performance and learning outcomes. Therefore, this work-in-progress study aims to design a methodology that can create an educational application to improve student engagement, motivation, and their learning outcomes with the advantage of MR technology features. This study presents a gamified MR application approach using an enhanced attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction (ARCS) model with gamification called “ARCS +G” to combine instructional designs with motivational designs. Furthermore, it enables educators and developers to design and develop engaging applications for their audiences.
Work-in-Progress–Virtual Reality Integration into Geography Education: A Case Study of Physical Geography
This paper is about the creation, deployment, and refinement of a smartphone-based virtual reality geographic environment for an entry-level geography course. The topics covered will be the development of the virtual reality prototype, the problems and solutions in implementation, the results of its deployment, and future development of this line of study.
Copyright (c) 2022 Christian Mejia, Ming-Hsiang Tsou, Minjuan Wang
A Virtual Learning Model for Virtual Reality and Literature
This paper posits a learning model for virtual reality and literature and articulates concatenated stages by which participants experience Adaptability, Transitionality, Fusion, Enhancement, and Knowledge Transference. This paper concludes that learning in virtual reality (VR) replicates experiential learning in the physical world.
Copyright (c) 2022 Rachel R. Tatro-Duarte
Simulated Gaze Tracking using Computer Vision for Virtual Reality
As Virtual Reality (VR) is becoming more viable for creating immersive learning environments, a promising area of study is in monitoring and assessing learner’s engagement. Several related works in this area have used gaze tracking. Unfortunately, gaze tracking in VR is currently limited by hardware availability. This paper presents an approach for engagement monitoring that does not require the traditional costs of more sophisticated hardware setup. A simple combination of video processing techniques was used to show which contents capture the user’s attention, similar to the information current gaze trackers provide. However, success with this method was only evident with a sample video; refinements are still needed to cater to unpredictable changes in field of view. After fine-tuning the process, this approach may potentially benefit instructional VR content developers in determining which content grabs their learners’ attention effectively.
Copyright (c) 2022 Tran Huu Nhat Huy, May Kristine Jonson Carlon, Jeffrey S. Cross
Synchronous Multi-User Cross-Platform Virtual Reality for School Teachers
Motivated by a desire to apply Computer Science and Virtual Reality (VR) technology due to the need for improving secondary school education in Malawi, this paper presents a prototype of a synchronous multi-user cross-platform real-time 3D VR application. This tool can be used by VR application developers in assessing the feasibility of using VR technologies for secondary school teaching in Malawi. The prototype VR application illustrates the capabilities of the proposed development tools, as well as how the proposed technologies can be utilized in a design and implementation that accounts for the context of Malawi, where access to electricity and internet services are a challenge for many.
Copyright (c) 2022 Francis Kambili-Mzembe, Neil A. Gordon
Skill Systems as Expansion in Serious Games for Game-Based Learning
The ROP-Skill System - Model (Random Or Point – Skill System) is developed for higher education with Serious Games in universities. Through this game, we seek to excite students about opportunities in modeling relational databases and employing next-generation science standards so that the game can be tested in universities. We translate the model and implement the ROP-Skill system into a serious escape game for relational databases in Unity.
Copyright (c) 2022 Geraldine Anna Berger, Giga Tskhvedadze, Prof. Dr. Johannes Ruhland
Learning Spatial Skills Collaboratively in Immersive Virtual Environments: A Systematic Review
In this paper we explore the intersection of three domains: immersive virtual reality (VR), collaborative problem solving, and the development of spatial skills. We conducted a narrative review of literature between 2011 and 2021 looking for articles that included keywords associated with spatial skills, collaboration, and immersive virtual reality in 7 well known databases. Searches resulted in a thorough review of 21 articles. These articles included examples of virtual, physical, and applied spatial, collaborative tasks. Most of the tasks in the research were performance tasks that involved spatial skills of object location and spatial navigation by locating objects in a virtual world. Results of these studies also suggest specific design features that can benefit collaboration among users when engaging in spatial tasks. This study contributes to the literature by synthesizing research on collaboration and spatial skills in virtual reality and distilling suggestions for designers of VR experiences.
Copyright (c) 2022 Xiaomeng Huang, Xuanhui Shao, Meredith Thompson
Teaching and Learning Immersive Technology in Education Sciences
The immense potential of the immersive technology application in education has irreversibly shifted the status quo of pedagogic emphases across the disciplines and all levels of education. This shift, in turn, demands Higher Education in education sciences to adapt to these changes and to provide programmes and courses, where future specialists and researchers in such fields as technology enhanced learning, education technology solutions and applications can gain their expertise and qualifications. This research was conducted as a case study analysis of teaching and learning immersive technology in the field of education sciences at a university Masters level course “Virtual and Augmented Technology for Education”. This paper analyses teaching approaches and learner experience during two consecutive course years in order to formulate the findings and conclusions valuable for future application in the field of education sciences and potentially more broadly across the disciplines.
Copyright (c) 2022 Lana Franceska Dreimane, Zinta Zalite-Supe
Improving Adoption of Immersive Technologies at a Norwegian University
Adoption of immersive technologies in higher education can potentially offer novel and educative experiences. Despite the increasing amount of available XR content for education, adoption of XR for regular teaching at higher institutions appears to be still lagging. Some reasons for hesitancy in integrating the technologies in university courses are barriers such as lack of content, cost of equipment or expectations on technical knowledge required to use the technology. We run an immersive tech lab to support innovation in education. The lab supports educators with equipment and expertise to include immersive technologies in their courses. In this paper we present the results of a thematic analysis of interviews with lectures at a Norwegian higher education institution. Our contribution is to give further insight into factors the educators consider when adopting immersive technologies in their educational practices.
Copyright (c) 2022 Jose Garcia Estrada, Ekaterina Prasolova-Førland
Contextualizing Educational Robotics Programming with Augmented Reality
The development of technology in recent years has led to the research of innovative tools in education. Technologies, such as Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Reality can be utilized in immersive environments for educational purposes. Educational Robotics has also been prevalent in K-12 and STEM education. In this paper, we describe a mobile augmented reality learning environment to support robotics programming. An augmented reality application was developed and evaluated by two experts. Two experiments were conducted, including the non-AR and the AR condition. The participants were primary school students. Both observation and interviews were conducted. Our results showed that augmented reality attracts students’ interest in robotics programming, prompts them to participate in the learning process and is easy to use. Limitations and advantages of the AR approach in educational robotics were pointed out. The results indicate that contextualizing robotics with augmented reality is promising and should be further studied.
Copyright (c) 2022 Christina Pasalidou, Nikolaos Fachantidis
The article investigates possible perspectives on Immersive Learning. After discussing the need for the term, the perception of non-mediation is identified as its key concept. Immersive Learning can be defined as learning with artificial experiences that are perceived as non-mediated. The research area Immersive Learning (Immersive Education) investigates educational benefits provided by such experiences. The internal process Immersive Learning is the active construction and adaption of cognitive, affective, and psychomotor models through these experiences. Immersive Learning as an educational method (Immersive Teaching) uses these experiences as a learning supply.
Advancing Extended Reality Teaching and Learning Opportunities Across the Disciplines in Higher Education
The emergence of Extended Reality (XR) technologies in diverse fields, along with research demonstrating opportunities for innovation in teaching and learning, warrants further exploration. However, investigation into the supports required by instructors for experimentation, design, and deployment of XR technologies is needed. This study explores the benefits and challenges of XR technologies for teaching and learning, and reviews XR pedagogical initiatives at three universities. The research aims to discern strategies to promote and support XR initiatives in higher education, develop best practices for using and integrating XR technologies into university courses, and guide future research into XR technologies in higher education. To develop an empirical understanding of the opportunities and challenges faced by instructors using XR technologies, we performed a thematic analysis of sixteen semi-structured interviews to capture insights from instructors' experiences. We found that instructors were cognizant of the many benefits associated with XR use in terms of experiential learning, making learning content more accessible, and the potential for its application. However, the findings also highlight the lack of guidance and support available to instructors in the implementation of these technologies in educational contexts. Our results provide recommendations for future institutional supports that could advance XR and expand the current teaching and learning opportunities available to instructors and students.
Copyright (c) 2022 Amna Idrees, Mark Morton, Gillian Dabrowski