Authors: Roussou, M., Gillingham, M., Moher, T.

Publication: American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting (AERA), San Deigo, CA

URL: http://www.evl.uic.edu/mariar/DOCS/aera_paper.html

There is little principled empirical work to support the educational effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) because it is a new and fairly inaccessible medium. The purpose of the studies described in this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of a virtual environment, specifically an immersive virtual reality environment, as a learning medium in domains with a high conceptual and social content. The learning environment used is called NICE (Narrative-based, Immersive, Constructionist / Collaborative Environments), an immersive participatory virtual world for young users based on a constructivist approach to education, on collaborative learning, and on narrative development. NICE is designed to encourage exploration and experiential learning by utilizing the strengths of virtual reality: a combination of immersion, direct engagement, immediate visual feedback, and interactivity.

Date: April 13, 1998 - April 17, 1998

Related Entries

Directory:

• Maria Roussou
• Tom Moher

Events:

• Netmeeting with Maria Roussou

Research:

• The Round Earth Project
• N.I.C.E: Narrative-based Immersive Constructionists / Collaborative Environments

Related Categories

• Applications
• Education
• Human Factors
• Tele-Immersion