In this paper, we report the scientific experience of HELMeTO 2020, the second edition of the International Workshop on Higher Education Learning Methodologies and Technologies Online, held virtually in Bari (Italy) in September 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The call received 59 proposals from nine countries, 39 papers were accepted to…

Learning-by-teaching has been identified as one of the more effective approaches to learning. Recently, educational researchers have investigated virtual environments in order to utilize the learning-by-teaching pedagogy. In a face-to-face learning-by-teaching situation, the role of the learners is to teach their peers or instructors. In virtual…

The ASCUE conference is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year making me wonder if we will be able to attend the 100th conference in 2067. By then, many of us may very well be biologically deceased. However, there is technology currently in development making it possible for a digital version of ourselves to attend not only the 2067 conference…

Forget the pills, hypnosis, and meditation. Losing weight or boosting self-confidence can be achieved by adopting an avatar and living in virtual reality, says Jeremy N. Bailenson, an assistant professor of communications at Stanford University. As the director of Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab, Mr. Bailenson has explored ways that…

There is a "reality" to being online which we know to be false. We are simultaneously "there" but "not there" as we talk, work and play with others in online spaces. We move between physical and virtual spaces in ways that realise the predictions made for computers in the mid-20th Century and enact scenarios from science fiction. We are left…

The first of two articles discusses virtual reality (VR) and online databases; the second one reports on an interview with Thomas A. Furness III, who defines VR and explains work at the Human Interface Technology Laboratory (HIT). Sidebars contain a glossary of VR terms and a conversation with Toni Emerson, the HIT lab's librarian. (LRW)

Discussion of virtual reality (VR) focuses on the promise that VR offers for information systems by describing current systems which use VR and by projecting possible developments for the future. Types of information problems which could be helped by VR are considered, as well as those that could not be helped. (Contains 13 references.) (LRW)

The HyperCard-based computer-assisted instructional environment described--called the Virtual Computer (VC)--uses simulation to help learners acquire basic concepts about the functioning of computers. Discussion of the instructional design of the program includes Elaboration Theory, four learning phases, use of metaphors and analogies, other…

Reviews literature in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) as it applies to educational environments. Topics include the origin of HCI; human factors; usability; computer interface design; goals, operations, methods, and selection (GOMS) models; command language versus direct manipulation; hypertext; visual perception; interface…

Examines relationships between the two major components of computer simulations, the computer and participants; highlights major differences between computer-assisted, computer-based, and computer-controlled simulations; and describes three computer-assisted simulations to illustrate the interdependence of the major components. (MBR)

This article examines the concept of interactivity and discusses human-to-human interactivity versus computer-to-human interaction in education. Levels of communicative interdependence are explained, variables that are important ingredients of interactivity are discussed, learner control is discussed, and two interactive instructional systems are…

Discussion of the interaction between students and computers focuses on an evaluation of simulation-based learning with medical students in order to develop a framework for a dialog-based support system. It is based on a dialog analysis that employs transactional analysis and logical dialog game theory. (Author/LRW)

Presents an overview of a computerized Decision Support System (DSS) for academic administrators. Following a discussion of its capabilities, the various components of a DSS are examined as well as the development tools needed. Examples follow of DSS in two universities, and various development and implementation issues are considered. (TE)

This report is the second of two volumes which document the research and analysis project that resulted in the development of Instructor Support Feature (ISF) Guidelines. These guidelines are intended to aid operational users from the Air Force major commands, Simulator Systems Program Office procurement personnel, and contractors in the…

Contemporary culture exhibits an increasingly polarized spectrum of attitudes toward virtualization: those who want photorealism and those who seek sheer fantasy. This author describes "Virtual Realism," his strategy for balancing the two social forces. His students at California's Art Center College of Design are putting it to the test.…