Situational learning in real and virtual space: lessons learned and future directions

ABSTRACT

This work started with the informal observation of my daughter as she actively inquired about her world around her. Her seemingly innocent questions have profound implications for real time science education. How could these common daily experiences of information seeking behavior be supported or augmented, and transferred to a virtual or augmented reality application for education and knowledge acquisition? How to make it effective? What research has been done? This paper highlights key educational research and reviews important empirical findings from science education implemented in virtual reality and other computer graphics technologies. Based on recent literature and user interface design experience a list of design heuristics and recommendations are offered as guidelines to virtual reality educators and software developers. Lastly, there is a summary of future research opportunities and challenges.

References

1. Bowman, D. A., North, C., Chen, J., Polys, N. F., Pyla, P. S., and Yilmaz, U. 2003. Information-Rich Virtual Environments: Theory, Tools, and Research Agenda. In Proceedings of VRST'03, Osaka, Japan.]]
2. Bransford, J. D. E. A. 1990. Anchored Instruction: Why We Need it and How Technology Can Help. Erlbaum Associates.]]
3. Crowley, K. & Jacobs, M. 2002. Islands of Expertise and the Development of Family Scientific Literacy. In G. Leinhardt, K. Crowley & K. Knutson (Eds, Learning Conversations in Museums. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.]]
4. Dede, C. 1995. The Evolution of Constructivist Learning Environments: Immersion in Distributed, Virtual Worlds. Educational Technology & Society, 35, 5, 46--45.]]
5. Dede, C., Salzman, M. C., and Loftin, R. B. 1996. The Development of a Virtual World for Learning Newtonian Mechanics. Brusilovsky, P., Kommers, P. & Streitz, N (Eds.) Multimedia, Hypermedia, and Virtual Reality. Springer-Verlag.]]
6. Dede, C. Salzman, M., Loftin, R. B. & Ask, K. 1997. Using Virtual Reality Technology to Convey Abstract Scientific Concepts, Learning the Sciences of the 21st Century: Research, Design, and Implementing Advanced Technology Learning Environments. Lawrence Erlbaum.]]
7. Dede, C. & Ketelhut, D. 2003. Designing for Motivation and Usability in a Museum-based Multi-User Virtual Environment. In Proceedings of AERA 2003.]]
8. Dede, C., Clarke, J., Ketelhut, D., J., Nelson, B., and Bowman, C. 2005. Students' Motivation and Learning of Science in a Multi User Virtual Environment. In Proceeding of AERA 2005.]]
9. Flaxman, M. 2004. Visual Simulation of the Interaction Between Market Demand, Planning Rules, and City Form. Sketch Paper presented at the ACM SIGGRAPH 2004, LA, ACM Press/ ACM SIGGRAPH.]]
10. Gardner, H. 1993. Creating Minds: An Anatomy of Creativity Seen Through the Lives of Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham, and Gandhi. Basic Books.]]
11. Gibson, J. J. 1979. The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.]]
12. Goldman, S. R., Petrosino, A., Sherood, R. D., Garrison, S., Hickey, D., Bransford, J. D. & Pellegrino. 1996. Anchoring Science Instruction in Multimedia Learning Environments. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.]]
13. Harrington, M. C. R. 2005. Virtual Beechwood: Simulated Ecological Environments for Education. Doctoral Consortium Abstract presented at the COSIT'05.]]
14. Johnson, A., Moher, T., Ohlsson, S. & Gillingham, M. 1999, (November / December 1999). The Round Earth Project - Collaborative VR for Conceptual Learning. IEEE 99, 60--69.]]
15. Lave, J., & Wenger, E. 1990. Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge University Press.]]
16. Mclellan, H. 1995. Situated Learning Perspectives. Educational Technology Publications.]]
17. Prism. (September 2005). http://www.prism.washington.edu/.]]
18. Rickel, J. & Johnson, L. 1999. Animated Agents for Procedural Training in Virtual Reality: Perception, Cognition, and Motor Control. Applied Artificial Intelligence, 13, 343--382.]]
19. Rosenbloom, A. 2004. Interactive Immersion in 3D Computer Graphics. Communications of the ACM, 47, 8, 29--31.]]
20. Salzman, M., Dede, C. & Loftin, B. 1996. ScienceSpace: Virtual Realities for Learning Complex and Abstract Scientific Concepts. In Proceedings of IEEE Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium, IEEE Press, 246--253.]]
21. Salzman, M., Dede, C., Loftin, B. & Chen, J. 1999. A Model for Understanding How Virtual Reality Aids Complex Conceptual Learning. Presence-Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 8, 3, 293--316.]]
22. Shneiderman, B. 2003. Leonardo's Laptop. MIT Press.]]
23. Wickens, C. D. 1992. Virtual Reality and Education. IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, 1, 842 - 847.]]
24. Winn, W. 1993. A Conceptual Basis for Educational Applications of Virtual Reality. University of Washington, Human Interface Technology Laboratory, Washington Technology Center, Seattle, Washington.]]
25. Youngblut, C. 1998. Educational Uses of Virtual Reality Technology (No. IDA Document D-2128 LOG: H 98-000105): IDA: Institute for Defense Analyses.]]

Index Terms

• Applied computing

  • Education

• Computing methodologies

  • Artificial intelligence

    • Computer vision

      • Image and video acquisition

        • 3D imaging

  • Computer graphics

    • Animation

• Human-centered computing

  • Human computer interaction (HCI)

• Social and professional topics

  • Professional topics

    • Computing education