EuroAIED: Virtual reality and virtual learning environments session


1. The "Internet-Based Learning Environments" Session

Session Organizers/Chairs: Paolo Petta, Austrian Research Institute for AI, Austria * Jenifer Tennison, University of Nottingham, England * Daniel Schneider , University of Geneva , Switzerland.

Session Content: What new problems and solutions does virtual reality provide for designers of interactive learning systems? Is VR the inevitable outcome, or the antithesis, of situated cognition? Is there evidence that VR can be used effectively to gain conceptual understanding? Is the real power of VR technology in education the ability to augment reality? How can we design and implement effective networked systems to support (1) enhanced educational hypertext, (2) interactive shared learning environments and (3) human-computer collaboration? In particular, can we design WWW and MUD-based systems that include interactive, collaborative and adaptive features; interface and information agents; tutoring and "learning-by-doing" components?

2. Session Program

  1. Introduction - "organizing" the theme : Session Organizers
    (5 minutes)
  2. Immersive VR (presentation and short discussion of the two accepted papers)
    (25 minutes)
  3. Discussion (subject to modification!)

3. Pre-conference work and discussion

EuroAIED Tree: VR and VLE Session

4. Presented Papers

Constructing Collaborative Stories Within Virtual Learning Landscapes
Maria Roussos, Andrew E. Johnson, Jason Leigh, Christina A. Vasilakis and Thomas G. Moher
University of Illinois at Chicago, USA

What is the value of virtual reality for conceptual learning? Towards a theoretical framework
Denise Whitelock, Paul Brna and Simon Holland
The Open University and Lancaster University, UK

Information about the conference

"Virtual reality and virtual learning environments" is a Working Session within the European Conference on AI in Education (EuroAIED), September 30-October 2, 1996 help in Lisbon, Portugal. EuroAIED is intended to provide an opportunity for researchers to develop principles for the design of systems to support learning. The "principles" may be derived from artificial intelligence, cognitive science, human-computer interaction, and related fields; the "systems" include tutoring systems, learning environments, simulations, multimedia systems, WWW-based systems, etc.; and "learning" includes learning by schoolchildren, university students and industrial trainees. EuroAIED is intended to fill a gap for European researchers caused by the major AI-ED conferences being outside Europe from 1993 to at least 1999.

5. Pointers


D.K.S.