Journal For Virtual Worlds Research (Texas Digital Library - TDL E-Journals)
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Virtual Reality in Education: Focus on the Role of Emotions and Physiological Reactivity
No full textCognitive and emotional dimensions are often linked to each other in learning experiences. Moreover, emotions and engagement can lead to better outcomes at the cognitive level. Previous research has indicated that virtual reality (VR) provides a feeling of presence and immersion, which can trigger emotionally engaging learning situations. In this study, we explore the opportunities and challenges related to the use of VR in an educational context. The focus of this article is threefold: First, we explore interdisciplinary research literature related to the use of VR for educational purposes. Second, we introduce our VR pilot study in teacher education, applying three different kinds of VR applications. During the pilot study, we utilized physiological measurements, the self-assessed experience of emotional involvement (PANAS; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) and student
Could the Virtual Dinosaur See You? Understanding Children
No full textDespite the growing interest and use of virtual reality (VR) in American homes, there is a notable gap in empirical studies that examine VR and children. This study identifies two important research concepts in children\u27s research that have been studied across many types of media 1) reality distinction and 2) presence, and applies them to studying VR experiences. Taking a qualitative approach, 6 to 8-year-old children (N=29) participated in a VR experience as an extension of the childre
GaeltechVR: Measuring the Impact of an Immersive Virtual Environment to Promote Situated Identity in Irish Language Learning
No full textThis study investigates how a design-based research methodology is best suited to measuring the impact of a designed virtual reality experience to improve situated identity in Irish learners focusing on their attitudes, motivation, and confidence as Irish language learners. This paper describes the design of GaeltechVR: an immersive Irish language VR experience designed for the VIVE Pro. It also gives the results of a mixed-methods study to measure the impact in a local adult Irish language learner context. A questionnaire on situated attitudes and motivation to language learning (Ushioda &
Augmented Reality Plant & Animal Cells: Design and Evaluation of an Educational Augmented Reality Application
No full textIn this paper, we present a usability evaluation of a custom AR educational tool designed to improve student
Fast Cars and Fast Learning: Using Virtual Reality to Learn Literacy and Numeracy in Prison
No full textVirtual reality has the potential to vastly improve the experience of education for incarcerated learners, particularly those with limited levels of numeracy and literacy. It is estimated that nearly two-thirds of prisoners in New Zealand lack the functional numeracy and literacy they need to fully participate in everyday life. Many have had sub-optimal experiences with formal education, often leaving early and disengaging fully with education. Many more suffer from a range of learning challenges brought about by traumatic brain injury, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and a range of other conditions.The Methodist Mission Southern was contracted by the Department of Corrections New Zealand to deliver intensive literacy and numeracy training to prisoners in one of the countr
Practical Learning in Virtual Worlds: Confronting Literature with Health Educators
No full textIn a radically changing educational world with rapid technological advances, educators need to adapt to new learning styles. This study investigates the use of Second Life (SL) within the Virtual World (VW) environment by healthcare educators as a method to enhance teaching and learning.A case study design ascertained the views of healthcare educators to determine relationship variables of VW SL initiatives.The findings reveal healthcare educators had limited expertise in using SL, but recognised its usefulness in bridging the theory/practice gap especially for nursing and midwifery training. The findings confirmed educator
Editorial
No full textThis issue represents the concluding half of an effort to commemorate the occasion and aims to document both the present and emerging state-of-the-art, covering the adoption, design, enaction, scaling and translation of immersive and/or mixed-reality environments for learning, and in other contexts of education.We believe we have achieved our goal. It is our privilege to present you - in this second and concluding part of a two-part special issue of the Journal - four academic papers which together paint a colorful canvas on just how far we have come, from those early tentative steps during which we explored the nexus between immersive environments and learning a decade ago
The Proto-Governance of Minecraft Servers
No full textThere is a widespread assumption that the times when self-regulating internet communities allowed users to experiment with new forms of societal organization are over. Today, many commercial platforms impose rules o
Is Betrayal in EVE Online Unethical?
No full textBetrayal is common in EVE Online. While not all gameplay based on deception is wrong, betraying a genuine friendship is wrong in any context. While some neo-Aristotelians have argued that perfect friendship is impossible online, it is possible for imperfect people to become Aristotelian character-friends even across imperfect communications channels. Good people are disposed to form friendships when they spend large amounts of time with others; people who make a hobby of feigning friendship are displaying bad character. While the possibility of betrayal does make EVE more interesting as a test of social skills for all players, that does not justify the actions of those who choose to betray