Presentation of Learning Materials

Presentation of learning materials is one of the areas in which 3D virtual environments offer a radically different approach to existing 2D learning environments. Not only do they provide a 3D perspective on content, but 3D virtual environments also provide the opportunity for students to interact with the content being presented in ways not possible on the Web; learners can view content from a variety of

Property Technology Discussion Learning

Behaviour

Portal

Architecture Existing learning environments provide the necessary tools and framework to enable learners to acquire knowledge. Knowledge Learner Engagement 3D Multi- User Virtual Environment

3D environments open up the possibility of exploration, with learners exploring an environment and testing their assumptions.

Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Portal

Architecture Personalisation is well supported by many educational software packages and allows tailored resources relevant to each learner to be displayed.

Knowledge Comprehension Personalisation 3D Multi- User Virtual Environment

Whilst the 3D environment is shared, each learner has a unique view of it. By interfacing with existing educational software, this unique view can be populated with learner specific resources.

Knowledge Comprehension Portal

Architecture Using Web 2.0 technologies, existing educational software can support asynchronous textual communication between 2 or more users. The use of other technologies can also allow synchronous audio and video chat capabilities to be provided.

Synthesis Evaluation Groupwork and Collaborative Working Practices 3D Multi- User Virtual Environment

Collaboration and communication tools are built into 3D environments by default, as such synchronous audio and text chat is possible. In addition, users share the same virtual space and can work together applying their knowledge to make and evaluate changes to the environment.

Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation Portal

Architecture Textual, photorealistic graphical and video resources can be made available to learners through portal technologies, but often associated context is not available. Limited interactivity can also be provided. Knowledge Comprehension Realism 3D Multi- User Virtual Environment

Within a virtual environment, all learning materials are provided with surrounding context. This provides opportunities for realistic, interactive learning scenarios to be presented to a learner individually or as part of a larger group. As part of a group, learners can interact with the environment to apply theories and/or skills and assess and evaluate their findings.

Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation Existing Portal Architecture

Web 2.0 technologies provide high levels of accessibility by offering a standardised protocol which users can use to gain access to resources. As such users are free to use whatever Web browser they wish to interact with resources.

N/A Accessibility

3D Multi- User Virtual Environment

3D environments currently require the use of specific client applications. As such they are unable to support the level of transformations to resources offered by Web 2.0 technologies.

N/A

first person perspectives and can zoom in and out on specific areas as required. In addition, many 3D virtual environments make use of a shared world. This provides opportunities for learners to interact with each other whilst engaging with learning materials, thereby opening up the possibility of engaging in collaborative and group-working practices.

The expressive powers of virtual reality technologies have been praised many times, with their flexibility and ability to support many different types of interaction often being cited as advantageous [55, 105-107]. When considering the virtual reality aspect of 3D virtual environments, there are many ways in which the presentation of learning materials can be enhanced. Virtual reality provides the opportunity for new paradigms to be explored, with information presented in a way more representative of how it would be displayed in the real world. As such, content can be displayed in context instead of being displayed as flat images on a website. In this way virtual reality technologies can be used to leverage the mechanisms that learners use to understand the natural world around them [108]. For example, within a 3D virtual environment a building can be truly represented as a 3D object (as shown in the Vassar reconstruction of the Sistine Chapel depicted in Figure 20 [109]) and not a 2D representation of a 3D object (as shown in the picture of the real world Sistine Chapel depicted in Figure 21). This means that learners can explore the architectural space from both the inside and out. By being inside, learners can actually experience the physical layout of a building and not have to only imagine what it would be like. In this way a virtual environment provides a more concrete, accessible and tactile environment for users to explore [108].

Given that learners can directly interact with the content being presented in a 3D environment, there is a reduced need for symbols or keys to confer meaning, instead educators can use reconstructions of the natural world [110]. An example of this would be the presentation of a map. Instead of having to decode the different symbols in use to represent buildings, roads, gradients etc. learners can instead directly examine the environment in order to gain an understanding of the topography and configuration of the region. In this way the intrusiveness of the user interface is reduced, with the learner free to concentrate on the data being presented [105-107, 111, 112]. As such, the use of a virtual environment allows learners to directly construct knowledge of the environment, bypassing the need to decode arbitrary symbols [110].

Within the constructivist domain, the level of authenticity of learning scenarios is also of importance: whilst each learning scenario does not have to be entirely faithful to real world examples, it is, however, important that the level of authenticity is appropriate to the task being undertaken. When considering 3D virtual environments and virtual reality technologies, a synergy with this approach can be seen. With the 3D perspective also comes the ability for educators to employ new metaphors to convey knowledge and meaning [32, 56, 107, 113, 114]. As such, instead of having to adapt and simplify content to fit in with existing representations, educators can adopt more natural approaches which, whilst inherently more complex, are more akin to the natural world, and are therefore more familiar to learners. This is a distinct advantage and significantly reduces the risk of oversimplification or reduction bias [55, 107]. In addition it encourages learners to feel familiar and at ease with their virtual surroundings and allows them to make assumptions about how the environment operates: for example, the presence of gravity or the way in which items can be moved around. These familiar concepts make it far easier for learners to work with the virtual environment in a way that is relevant to their immediate learning goals, as well as the real world [55].

Given the complexity surrounding implementations which are entirely faithful to the real world, reconstructions generally operate on a selective realism basis, with irrelevant or unneeded features removed from the reconstruction. This helps to maintain a clear and uncluttered environment which is less likely to cause confusion amongst learners. In addition it also simplifies the implementation process. However, selective realism needs to be treated carefully, as it runs the risk of introducing reductive bias which can lead to learning exercises being excessively or inappropriately simplified [47].

Finally, as the environment of virtual reality systems is dynamic and changing, educators have the ability to use multiple senses to convey meaning. As discussed by Dede [115], multisensory presentation can be used to build in redundancy, thereby reducing the chance of misunderstandings arising. This has a significant advantage in an educational context, with educators able to use multiple channels of communication to ensure that learners construct an accurate understanding of the environment being explored. An example of this would be the use of audio and graphics to show an explosion occurring. The graphical representation shows the force of the explosion, with the audio reinforcing the significant amounts of energy being released. In addition, educators can model the explosion so that it has an affect on the surrounding environment, for example knocking down trees, damaging buildings that are close by and discolouring the ground, thereby allowing the learner to explore the consequences of violent explosions, thus reinforcing the amount of energy being released.