The study presents the authors' research for the purpose of designing ImGame, a virtual environment inviting users to playfully learn about the concept of immersion and its historical antecedents. The authors describe ImGame's current pre-production stage and examine the basic characteristics of the feeling of immersion. They intend to deepen the…

Aim/Purpose: This paper describes a technologies education model for introducing Simulation Learning and Extended Reality (XR) solution creation skills and knowledge to students at the tertiary education level, which is broadly applicable to higher education-based contexts of teaching and learning. Background: This work is made possible via the…

Although education is framed as a future-oriented enterprise, we often fail to serve the diverse futurities of youth, particularly in formal learning environments. The cultural norms of formal learning environments are rooted in dominant ways of being and knowing and this shapes how learning environments and learning technologies can be designed.…

This article describes use of a virtual environment in a multi-disciplinary context to enhance discipline specific skills. A virtual environment built by reusing gaming technology was modified in a collaboration across Computing, Construction Management and Nursing & Midwifery disciplines. A two-staged pilot evaluation considered (i) a…

In response to COVID-19 the Division of Experience-based Learning and Career Education at the University of Cincinnati embraced flexibility and innovation to expand on the existing practice of facilitating cooperative education employment experiences for students to re-envisioned opportunities that considered student wellbeing as the paramount…

The concept of virtual mobility is increasingly receiving attention in the literature. As one central advantage, virtual mobility enables international and intercultural experiences for non-traditional students regularly found in distance education. However, hitherto there is a lack of empirical data on the students' experiences with virtual…

The paper provides a high-level review of the current state of techno-pedagogical design in Augmented Reality Learning Experiences (ARLEs). The review is based on a rubric constructed from the Meaningful Learning with ICT framework and the Orchestration Load reduction framework, providing, respectively, a view of primarily student- and primarily…

For the first time in history, an entire statewide public institution of higher education is extending all of its 16 campuses into the online virtual world of Second Life and is creating one of the largest virtual collaborative learning communities in the world. There are three levels of assessment and research for this initial-entry project: (1)…

In a digital era in which technology plays a role in most aspects of a child's life, having the competence and confidence to use computers might be a necessary step, but not a goal in itself. Developing character traits that will serve children to use technology in a safe way to communicate and connect with others, and providing opportunities for…

While many reports espouse the potential impact that 3-D virtual worlds are expected to have on teaching and learning in higher education in a few years, there are few empirical studies that inform instructional design and learning assessment in virtual worlds. This study explores the nature and process of learning in Second Life in a graduate…

Virtual environments can resolve many practical and pedagogical challenges within higher education. Economic considerations, accessibility issues, and safety concerns can all be somewhat alleviated by creating learning activities in a virtual space. Because of the removal of real-world physical limitations like gravity, durability and scope,…

The model of learning best suited to the future may be one which sees learning as the process of managing the different kinds of participation an individual might have in complex social systems. Learning capability and engagement is thus dependent on the relationship between an individual identity and social systems. We report on the incorporation…

This paper examines the effective deployment of conversational agents in virtual worlds from the perspective of researchers/practitioners in cognitive psychology, computing science, learning technologies and engineering. From a cognitive perspective, the major challenge lies in the coordination and management of the various channels of information…

The article presents a brief overview of the Neighbourhood Game Design Project, a studio-based curriculum intervention aimed at engaging students in the design of place-based mobile games and interactive stories using geo-locative technologies (for example, GPS enabled cell phones). It describes the three curricular components that defined the…

The goal of this project is to develop a unique simulation environment that can be used to increase students' interest and expertise in Computer Science curriculum. Hands-on experience with physical or simulated equipment is an essential ingredient for learning, but many approaches to training develop a separate piece of equipment or software for…