Australian preservice teachers (PSTs) are required to show evidence that they can 'engage with parents/carers' (AITSL Standard 7.3). This paper reports on a pilot study of PSTs, in their final year within an Initial Teacher Education programme, in a mixed reality learning environment immersing themselves in authentic and challenging conversations…

Background: Collaborative computer simulations are available on some online platforms which support students at distributed locations to synchronously collaborate on the simulations to learn sciences. However, how students collaborate with each other in collaborative simulations is not clear. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate…

Researchers increasingly recognize the importance of high school students with disabilities being prepared to advocate for postsecondary academic accommodations. The purpose of this study was to inform how self-advocacy instruction can reflect the authentic context in which postsecondary students with learning disabilities (LD) and with attention…

Securing clinical locations for Bachelor of Nursing Science (BSN) programs is always a complex challenge, particularly when clinical experiences are focused on vulnerable populations such as pediatric psychiatric patients. To provide students with a meaningful clinical experience during the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, we developed a…

This mixed-method study explored the changes in Turkish EFL learners' reported willingness to communicate and communication anxiety after conducting ten real-life tasks in a virtual world. Sixty-five university EFL learners (experimental = 30; control = 35) participated in this study. The participants were the first-year students of a foreign…

Interactive simulations allow preservice teachers to connect education theory and pedagogy in scaffolded environments. We created digital simulations with scenarios from in-person simulations and used them to prepare novice teachers for conversations with parents. Using a design-based approach we implemented the simulations in an education class,…

The aim of this study was to discover what potential benefits of Virtual Reality (VR) use students perceived in comparison to smartphone use in an English-speaking activity. Two surveys were conducted over three interventions in order to ascertain these student perceptions. Ten students enrolled in an elective English class at a Japanese…

This study describes the influence of a Virtual Learning Object [VLO] in the promotion of reading strategies in a class of English for Specific Purposes for the majors of Social Communication and Journalism at a private institution of higher education in Bogota, Colombia. Students' failure to meet the school standards led to the design and…

This study investigates the effects of using open social VR for university English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' intercultural communication learning. The project involved two stages: (1) carefully designed activities for students to practice different language-learning tasks with their peers; (2) implemented in an open social VR…

Preparing future school administrators to engage in effective communication with parents and teachers is a necessary component of master's of educational leadership preparation programs. Mixed reality experiences (i.e., a life-like virtual rehearsal experience) provide students with opportunities to engage in realistic practice in a low risk…

This meta-analysis synthesizes research findings on the effects of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) based on its three main elements: (1) the collaboration per se, (2) the use of computers, and (3) the use of extra learning environments or tools, or supporting strategies in CSCL. In this analysis, 425 empirical studies published…

The study aimed at enhancing Chinese as a second language (CSL) students' listening comprehension by using authentic contexts in Second Life (SL). Twenty-seven CSL students from 4 countries participated in the 6-week study. A within-subject design was adopted to confirm the effects of 3D immersive experiences on CSL students' listening…

This research links learner engagement with interactions when Hybrid Virtual Learning models are used. Various aspects have been considered, such as learners' prior experiences related to virtual worlds, their preconceptions regarding their use as a learning tool, and the impact that instructional designers' choices have on enhancing the…

Building pedagogical applications in virtual worlds is a multi-disciplinary endeavor that involves learning theories, application development framework, and mediated communication theories. This paper presents a project that integrates game-based learning, multi-agent system architecture (MAS), and the theory of Transformed Social Interaction…

This study investigated the research trends in language learning in a virtual reality environment by conducting a content analysis of findings published in the literature from 2004 to 2013 in four top ranked computer-assisted language learning journals: "Language Learning & Technology," "CALICO Journal," "Computer…