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The role of environment design in an educational M ulti‐ U ser V irtual E nvironment
Author(s) -
Papachristos Nikiforos M.,
Vrellis Ioannis,
Natsis Antonis,
Mikropoulos Tassos A.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
british journal of educational technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.79
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1467-8535
pISSN - 0007-1013
DOI - 10.1111/bjet.12056
Subject(s) - exploratory research , learning environment , psychology , mathematics education , test (biology) , computer science , medical education , multimedia , sociology , medicine , paleontology , anthropology , biology
This paper presents empirical results from an exploratory study conducted in an authentic educational situation with preservice education students enrolled in an undergraduate course, which was partially taught in S econd L ife. The study investigated the effect of environment design on presence, learning outcomes and the overall experience of the students. Two different educational virtual environments (a traditional university auditorium and an open‐air setting) were designed and presented to different groups of students ( n = 51). Results indicate that students' experience from the educational activities, their attitudes toward the environment and the induced sense of presence are not affected by the design of the educational setting. Learning outcomes seem to be slightly better in virtual educational settings that replicate traditional educational settings. Experience shows that undergraduate university classes can be successfully taught in S econd L ife and such environments elicit satisfaction, positive experiences and attitudes and high levels of social presence from the participants. Course design in a M ulti‐ U ser V irtual E nvironment ( MUVE ) should take into account the time and training necessary for all students to become familiar with the virtual environment and possible time losses due to technical issues. This study could act as support to construct and test hypotheses regarding the role of educational setting design in teaching and learning in MUVE s.