he Virtual Playground: an Educational Virtual Reality Environment for Evaluating Interactivity and Conceptual Learning

The examples presented here represent a very small view of the data that has
been collected and the subsequent issues that emerge. A host of factors can
influence learning, especially in sensory rich environments such as immersive
virtual environments. Thus, further work is required before we can explain the
elements that comprise the complex relationship between the learner, the tool
(VE) and the learning objective, and derive more precise evidence of
cognitive outcomes. Nevertheless, as the potential of immersive virtual reality
for conceptual learning remains high and its deployment in public spaces
continues to increase, study must continue if we are to acquire a deeper
understanding of what constitutes learning within virtual environments.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank all the children that participated in the studies and their parents, as
well as the educators and researchers that volunteered to help with the design of the learning
content, the long recruitment process, and the validation of observations and interpretations.
Special thanks are due to Maria Mplouna, mathematics teacher, for the time, enthusiasm, and
expertise that she has offered to this project and to Alexandre Mangon-Olivier, Dimitris
Christopoulos, and George Drettakis for modeling, animation and technical guidance
concerning the implementation of the virtual environment. The studies for this research have
been approved by the UCL Committee on the Ethics of Non-NHS Human Research, Study
No. 0171/001.

References

1. Winn, W., Windschitl, M., Fruland, R., & Lee, Y. (2002). When does immersion in a
virtual environment help students construct understanding? In Proceedings of
International Conference of the Learning Sciences, Seattle, Washington, USA, pp. 497-
503.

2. Waterworth, E. L., & Waterworth, J. A. (2000). Presence and Absence in Educational
VR: The Role of Perceptual Seduction in Conceptual Learning. Themes in Education,
1 (1), 7-38.

3. Jelfs, A., & Whitelock, D. (2000). The notion of presence in virtual learning
environments: what makes the environment “real”. British Journal of Educational
Technology, 31(2), 145-152.

4. Arthur, E., Hancock, P. A., & Telke, S. (1996). Navigation in virtual environments. In
Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, Orlando, FL,
USA, pp. 77-85.

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