Students' Collaborative Interactions and Evaluations of Immersive Virtual Reality to Learn and Explain Science (Poster 29)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Nine
  In Poster Session: Learning With Games and Virtual Reality

Abstract

With emergence of immersive virtual reality, research has primarily focused on human-computer interactions or human-puppeteer interactions in the virtual environments. This study investigates how 76 pairs of university students collaborated with each other in the immersive virtual reality environments to learn and integrate scientific knowledge to explain the formation of snowflakes. Most students highly appreciated collaborative interactions in the virtual environments. Depending on the nature of the learning tasks, students’ background knowledge, and their prior social relations, they exhibited different types of collaborative interactions and recognised different strengths and limitations of the new technology as a collaborative learning medium. Further investigation topics on students’ collaborative interactions are suggested.

Authors

• Mihye Won, Curtin University
  Presenting Author

• Henry Matovu, Curtin University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Dewi Ungu, Curtin University
  Non-Presenting Author

• David F. Treagust, Curtin University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Chin-Chung Tsai, National Taiwan Normal University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Mauro Mocerino, Curtin University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Roy Tasker
  Non-Presenting Author