Manufacturers set the pace in the Augmented Reality race
Vuforia® Expert Capture Technology and Microsoft’s HoloLens glasses were used to create a virtual guide hosted in the cloud and then accessed by engineers in a number of factories across the UK
Industry has been searching for some time for an answer to an ageing workforce and the worrying scenario of traditional engineering skills being potentially lost forever.
AR can be used to record skills as engineers are performing them, saving them in the Cloud for generations to come – almost like a virtual technical library.
Importantly, these instructions can be delivered at the point of use, which has been proven to speed up learning.
Cabada, E., Kurt, E., & Ward, D. (2021). Constructing a campus-wide infrastructure for virtual reality. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 0(0), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/10691316.2021.1881680
As an interdisciplinary hub, academic libraries are uniquely positioned to serve the full lifecycle of immersive environment needs, from development through archiving of successful projects. As and informal learning environment that or discipline neutral and high traffic, the academic library can serve as a clearinghouse for experimentation and transmission of best practices across colleges.
these foundational questions:
1. What VR infrastructure needs do faculty and researchers have?
2. Where is campus support lagging?
3. What current partnerships exist?
4. What and where is the campus level of interest in VR?
As marketing for workshops and programs can be challenging, particularly for large institutions, data was collected on where workshop participants learned about Step Into VR. The responses show that users learned of the workshops from a variety of ways with email ( 41 % ) as the most cited method (Figure 4). These marketing emails were sent through distributed listservs that reached nearly the entire campus population. Facebook was called out specifically and represented the second largest marketing method at 29% with the library website, friends, instructors, and digital signage representing the remaining marketing channels.
While new needs continue to emerge, the typical categories of consultation support observed include:
• Recommendations on hardware selection, such as choosing the best VR headset for viewing class content
• Guidance on developing VR applications that incorporate domain-specific curricular content
• Support for curricular integration of VR
• Recommendations on 360 capture media and equipment for documenting environments or experiences, such as the GoPro Fusion and Insta360 One X
• Advice on editing workflows, including software for processing and rendering of 360 content
Alex Fogarty
p. 9
While many library patrons understand the basic concepts of recording video on a camera, 360 cameras present a large divergence from this process in several primary ways. The first is a 360 camera captures every direction at once, so there is no inherent “focus,” and no side of a scene that is not recorded. This significantly changes how someone might compose a video recording, and also adds complexity to post-production, including how to orient viewers within a scene. The second area of divergence is that many of these devices, especially the high-end versions, are recording each lens to a separate data file or memory card and these ftles need to be combined, or “stitched,” at a later time using software specific to the camera. A final concern is that data ftles for high-resolution 3 D capture can be huge, requiring both large amounts of disk space and high-end processors and graphic cards for detailed editing to occur. For example, the Insta360 Pro 2 has 6 sensors all capable of data recording at 120 Mbps for a grand total of 720 Mbps. This translates into 43.2 gigabytes of data for every minute o
Lischer-Katz, Z., & Clark, J. (2021). Institutional Factors Shaping XR Technology Accessibility Policy & Practice in Academic Libraries. Survey. The EDUCAUSE XR (Extended Reality) Community Group Listserv <XR@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU>. https://uarizona.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1Ya9id4uCXoktLv
participate in a survey is being sent out to those responsible for managing and providing XR technologies in academic libraries. This survey is part of a study titled “Institutional Factors Shaping XR Technology Accessibility Policy & Practice in Academic Libraries.” The principal investigator (PI) is Dr. Zack Lischer-Katz, PhD (Assistant Professor, School of Information, University of Arizona) and the co-principal investigator (Co-PI) is Jasmine Clark (Digital Scholarship Librarian, Temple University).
An Institutional Review Board (IRB) responsible for human subjects research at The University of Arizona reviewed this research project and found it to be acceptable, according to applicable state and federal regulations and University policies designed to protect the rights and welfare of participants in research
Please feel free to share this survey widely with colleagues.
Introduction
Over the past five years, many academic libraries have begun systematically integrating innovative technologies, including virtual reality (VR) and other “XR” technologies, into their spaces and services. Even though schools, libraries, and the library profession all stress equitable access to information and technology for all community members, accessibility – understood in terms of the design of spaces, services, and technologies to support users with disabilities – is rarely given sufficient consideration when it comes to the design, implementation, and administration of XR technology programs. Because XR technologies engage the body and multiple senses they show great potential for providing enhanced means for disabled users to access information resources; however, without accessibility policies in place, the embodied aspects of XR technologies can create new barriers (e.g., chairs and other furniture that cannot be adapted, controllers that cannot be adjusted for different degrees of dexterity, etc.)
Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study is to develop new understanding about the current landscape of accessibility policies and practices for XRtechnology programs and to understand the barriers to adoption of XR accessibility policies and practices.
The main research objective is to understand what policies and practices are currently in place in academic libraries and their level of development, the existing beliefs and knowledge of library staff and administrators involved with XR technology programs and spaces, and the institutional factors that shape the adoption of accessibility policies for XR technology programs.
The survey will be open from February 1, 2021 to April 30, 2021. More information regarding confidentiality and consent can be found at the beginning of the survey.
The 7th International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN 2021) will be an innovative and interactive virtual gathering for a strengthening global network of researchers and practitioners collaborating to develop the scientific, technical, and applied potential of immersive learning. It is the premier scholarly event focusing on advances in the use of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and other extended reality (XR) technologies to support learners across the full span of learning–from K-12 through higher education to work-based, informal, and lifelong learning contexts.
Following the success of iLRN 2020, our first fully online and in-VR conference, this year’s conference will once again be based on the iLRN Virtual Campus, powered by VirBELA, but with a range of activities taking place on various other XR simulation, gaming, and other platforms. Scholars and professionals working from informal and formal education settings as well as those representing diverse industry sectors are invited to participate in the conference, where they may share their research findings, experiences, and insights; network and establish partnerships to envision and shape the future of XR and immersive technologies for learning; and contribute to the emerging scholarly knowledge base on how these technologies can be used to create experiences that educate, engage, and excite learners.
Note: Last year’s iLRN conference drew over 3,600 attendees from across the globe, making the scheduling of sessions a challenge. This year’s conference activities will be spread over a four-week period so as to give attendees more opportunities to participate at times that are conducive to their local time zones.
##### TOPIC AREAS #####
XR and immersive learning in/for:
Serious Games • 3D Collaboration • eSports • AI & Machine Learning • Robotics • Digital Twins • Embodied Pedagogical Agents • Medical & Healthcare Education • Workforce & Industry • Cultural Heritage • Language Learning • K-12 STEM • Higher Ed & Workforce STEM • Museums & Libraries • Informal Learning • Community & Civic Engagement • Special Education • Geosciences • Data Visualization and Analytics • Assessment & Evaluation
##### SUBMISSION STREAMS & CATEGORIES #####
ACADEMIC STREAM (Refereed paper published in proceedings):
– Full (6-8 pages) paper for oral presentation
– Short paper (4-5 pages) for oral presentation
– Work-in-progress paper (2-3 pages) for poster presentation
– Doctoral colloquium paper (2-3 pages)
PRACTITIONER STREAM (Refereed paper published in proceedings):
– Oral presentation
– Poster presentation
– Guided virtual adventures
– Immersive learning project showcase
NONTRADITIONAL SESSION STREAM (1-2 page extended abstract describing session published in proceedings):
– Workshop
– Special session
– Panel session
##### SESSION TYPES & SESSION FORMATS #####
– Oral Presentation: Pre-recorded video + 60-minute live in-world discussion with
others presenting on similar/related topics (groupings of presenters into sessions determined by Program Committee)
– Poster Presentation: Live poster session in 3D virtual exhibition hall; pre-recorded video optional
– Doctoral Colloquium: 60-minute live in-world discussion with other doctoral researchers; pre-recorded video optional
– Guided Virtual Adventures: 60-minute small-group guided tours of to various social and collaborative XR/immersive environments and platforms
– Immersive Learning Project Showcase: WebXR space to assemble a collection of virtual artifacts, accessible to attendees throughout the conference
– Workshop: 1- or 2-hour live hands-on session
– Special Session: 30- or 60-minute live interactive session held in world; may optionally be linked to one or more papers
– Panel Session: 60-minute live in-world discussion with a self-formed group of 3-5 panelists (including a lead panelist who serves as a moderator)
Please see the conference website for templates and guidelines.
##### PROGRAM TRACKS #####
Papers and proposals may be submitted to one of 10 program tracks, the first nine of which correspond to the iLRN Houses of application, and the tenth of which is intended for papers making knowledge contributions to the learning sciences, computer science, and/or game studies that are not linked to any particular application area:
Track 1. Assessment and Evaluation (A&E)
Track 2. Early Childhood Development & Learning (ECDL)
Track 4. Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access, & Social Justice (IDEAS)
Track 5. K-12 STEM Education
Track 6. Language, Culture, & Heritage (LCH)
Track 7. Medical & Healthcare Education (MHE)
Track 8. Nature & Environmental Sciences (NES)
Track 9. Workforce Development & Industry Training (WDIT)
Track 10. Basic Research and Theory in Immersive Learning (not linked to any particular application area)
##### PAPER/PROPOSAL SUBMISSION & REVIEW #####
Papers for the Academic Stream and extended-abstract proposals for the Nontraditional Session Stream must be prepared in standard IEEE double-column US Letter format using Microsoft Word or LaTeX, and will be accepted only via the online submission system, accessible via the conference website (from which guidelines and templates are also available).
Proposals for the Practitioner Stream are to be submitted via an online form, also accessible from the conference website.
A blind peer-review process will be used to evaluate all submissions.
##### IMPORTANT DATES #####
– Main round submission deadline – all submission types welcome: 2021-01-15
– Notification of review outcomes from main submission round: 2021-04-01
– Late round submission deadline – Work-in-progress papers, practitioner presentations, and nontraditional sessions only: 2021-04-08
– Camera-ready papers for proceedings due – Full and short papers: 2021-04-15
– Presenter registration deadline – Full and short papers (also deadline for early-bird registration rates): 2021-04-15
– Notification of review outcomes from late submission round: 2021-04-19
– Camera-ready work-in-progress papers and nontraditional session extended abstracts for proceedings due; final practitioner abstracts for conference program due: 2021-05-03
– Deadline for uploading presentation materials (videos, slides for oral presentations, posters for poster presentations): 2021-05-10
– Conference opening: 2021-05-17
– Conference closing: 2021-06-10
*Full and short papers can only be submitted in the main round.
##### PUBLICATION & INDEXING #####
All accepted and registered papers in the Academic Stream that are presented at iLRN 2021 and all extended abstracts describing the Nontraditional Sessions presented at the conference will be published in the conference proceedings and submitted to the IEEE Xplore(r) digital library.
Content loaded into Xplore is made available by IEEE to its abstracting and indexing partners, including Elsevier (Scopus, EiCompendex), Clarivate Analytics (CPCI–part of Web of Science) and others, for potential inclusion in their respective databases. In addition, the authors of selected papers may be invited to submit revised and expanded versions of their papers for possible publication in the IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies (2019 JCR Impact Factor: 2.714), the Journal of Universal Computer Science (2019 JCR Impact Factor: 0.91), or another Scopus and/or Web of Science-indexed journal, subject to the relevant journal’s regular editorial and peer-review policies and procedures.
##### CONTACT #####
Inquiries regarding the iLRN 2020 conference should be directed to the Conference Secretariat at conference@immersivelrn.org.
mounting research suggests that gaming in immersive virtual environments can directly affect and impact regions of the brain responsible for memory, spatial orientation, information organizations, and fine motor skills.
the ICRC officially established its Virtual Reality Unit (VRU) to delve further into computer-generated environments as a way to educate, communicate and advocate respect for IHL.
By 2017, the VRU had amassed a library of virtual environments for FAS’ IHL training sessions but there was a desire within the VRU, as well as in FAS and ICRC’s Learning & Development, to develop more advanced VR opportunities for a wider audience.
A 2018 report researched global financial investment in XR and a 2019 meta-analysis consolidated global academic findings that used VR to measure behaviour.
December 2019 … the production of an XR Quick Start Guide in April 2020 which introduces ICRC staff to lessons learned and best practices for initiative development.
What is AR (how is it different from VR or MR) https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2019/03/25/peter-rubin-future-presence/
p. 225
“augmented reality: Bringing artificial objects into the real world-these can be as simple as a ” heads-up display,” like a speedometer project it onto your car’s windshield, or as complex as seen to be virtual creature woke across your real world leaving room, casting a realistic shadow on the floor” https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2018/11/07/can-xr-help-students-learn/
p. 12
Augmented reality provides an “overlay” of some type over the real world through
the use of a headset or even a smartphone.
There is no necessary distinction between AR and VR; indeed, much research
on the subject is based on a conception of a “virtuality continuum” from entirely
real to entirely virtual, where AR lies somewhere between those ends of the
spectrum. Paul Milgram and Fumio Kishino, “A Taxonomy of Mixed Reality Visual Displays,
Augmented reality superimposes a digital layer on the world around us, often activated by scanning a trigger image or via GPS (think Pokemon Go!). Virtual reality takes users away from the real world, fully immersing students in a digital experience that replaces reality. Mixed reality takes augmented a step further by allowing the digital and real worlds to interact and the digital components to change based on the user’s environment.
Gamifying Library orientation using Metaverse: https://mtvrs.io/GenerousJubilantEeve
(the gateway to the Library orientation project)
Metaverse experience through the user’s phone:
Discuss the following statement:
“low-end AR (Metaverse), like low-end VR (360 degrees) has strong potential to introduce students, faculty and staff to immersive teaching and learning“
Holland, B. (2020). Emerging Technology and Today’s Libraries. In Holland, B. (Eds.), Emerging Trends and Impacts of the Internet of Things in Libraries (pp. 1-33). IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-4742-7.ch001
The purpose of this chapter is to examine emerging technology and today’s libraries. New technology stands out first and foremost given that they will end up revolutionizing every industry in an age where digital transformation plays a major role. Major trends will define technological disruption. The next-gen of communication, core computing, and integration technologies will adopt new architectures. Major technological, economic, and environmental changes have generated interest in smart cities. Sensing technologies have made IoT possible, but also provide the data required for AI algorithms and models, often in real-time, to make intelligent business and operational decisions. Smart cities consume different types of electronic internet of things (IoT) sensors to collect data and then use these data to manage assets and resources efficiently. This includes data collected from citizens, devices, and assets that are processed and analyzed to monitor and manage, schools, libraries, hospitals, and other community services.
Makori, E. O. (2020). Blockchain Applications and Trends That Promote Information Management. In Holland, B. (Eds.), Emerging Trends and Impacts of the Internet of Things in Libraries (pp. 34-51). IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-4742-7.ch002
Blockchain revolutionary paradigm is the new and emerging digital innovation that organizations have no choice but to embrace and implement in order to sustain and manage service delivery to the customers. From disruptive to sustaining perspective, blockchain practices have transformed the information management environment with innovative products and services. Blockchain-based applications and innovations provide information management professionals and practitioners with robust and secure opportunities to transform corporate affairs and social responsibilities of organizations through accountability, integrity, and transparency; information governance; data and information security; as well as digital internet of things.
Hahn, J. (2020). Student Engagement and Smart Spaces: Library Browsing and Internet of Things Technology. In Holland, B. (Eds.), Emerging Trends and Impacts of the Internet of Things in Libraries (pp. 52-70). IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-4742-7.ch003
The purpose of this chapter is to provide evidence-based findings on student engagement within smart library spaces. The focus of smart libraries includes spaces that are enhanced with the internet of things (IoT) infrastructure and library collection maps accessed through a library-designed mobile application. The analysis herein explored IoT-based browsing within an undergraduate library collection. The open stacks and mobile infrastructure provided several years (2016-2019) of user-generated smart building data on browsing and selecting items in open stacks. The methods of analysis used in this chapter include transactional analysis and data visualization of IoT infrastructure logs. By analyzing server logs from the computing infrastructure that powers the IoT services, it is possible to infer in greater detail than heretofore possible the specifics of the way library collections are a target of undergraduate student engagement.
Treskon, M. (2020). Providing an Environment for Authentic Learning Experiences. In Holland, B. (Eds.), Emerging Trends and Impacts of the Internet of Things in Libraries (pp. 71-86). IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-4742-7.ch004
The Loyola Notre Dame Library provides authentic learning environments for undergraduate students by serving as “client” for senior capstone projects. Through the creative application of IoT technologies such as Arduinos and Raspberry Pis in a library setting, the students gain valuable experience working through software design methodology and create software in response to a real-world challenge. Although these proof-of-concept projects could be implemented, the library is primarily interested in furthering the research, teaching, and learning missions of the two universities it supports. Whether the library gets a product that is worth implementing is not a requirement; it is a “bonus.”
Rashid, M., Nazeer, I., Gupta, S. K., & Khanam, Z. (2020). Internet of Things: Architecture, Challenges, and Future Directions. In Holland, B. (Ed.), Emerging Trends and Impacts of the Internet of Things in Libraries (pp. 87-104). IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-4742-7.ch005
The internet of things (IoT) is a computing paradigm that has changed our daily livelihood and functioning. IoT focuses on the interconnection of all the sensor-based devices like smart meters, coffee machines, cell phones, etc., enabling these devices to exchange data with each other during human interactions. With easy connectivity among humans and devices, speed of data generation is getting multi-fold, increasing exponentially in volume, and is getting more complex in nature. In this chapter, the authors will outline the architecture of IoT for handling various issues and challenges in real-world problems and will cover various areas where usage of IoT is done in real applications. The authors believe that this chapter will act as a guide for researchers in IoT to create a technical revolution for future generations.
Martin, L. (2020). Cloud Computing, Smart Technology, and Library Automation. In Holland, B. (Eds.), Emerging Trends and Impacts of the Internet of Things in Libraries (pp. 105-123). IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-4742-7.ch006
As technology continues to change, the landscape of the work of librarians and libraries continue to adapt and adopt innovations that support their services. Technology also continues to be an essential tool for dissemination, retrieving, storing, and accessing the resources and information. Cloud computing is an essential component employed to carry out these tasks. The concept of cloud computing has long been a tool utilized in libraries. Many libraries use OCLC to catalog and manage resources and share resources, WorldCat, and other library applications that are cloud-based services. Cloud computing services are used in the library automation process. Using cloud-based services can streamline library services, minimize cost, and the need to have designated space for servers, software, or other hardware to perform library operations. Cloud computing systems with the library consolidate, unify, and optimize library operations such as acquisitions, cataloging, circulation, discovery, and retrieval of information.
Owusu-Ansah, S. (2020). Developing a Digital Engagement Strategy for Ghanaian University Libraries: An Exploratory Study. In Holland, B. (Eds.), Emerging Trends and Impacts of the Internet of Things in Libraries (pp. 124-139). IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-4742-7.ch007
This study represents a framework that digital libraries can leverage to increase usage and visibility. The adopted qualitative research aims to examine a digital engagement strategy for the libraries in the University of Ghana (UG). Data is collected from participants (digital librarians) who are key stakeholders of digital library service provision in the University of Ghana Library System (UGLS). The chapter reveals that digital library services included rare collections, e-journal, e-databases, e-books, microfilms, e-theses, e-newspapers, and e-past questions. Additionally, the research revealed that the digital library service patronage could be enhanced through outreach programmes, open access, exhibitions, social media, and conferences. Digital librarians recommend that to optimize digital library services, literacy programmes/instructions, social media platforms, IT equipment, software, and website must be deployed. In conclusion, a DES helps UGLS foster new relationships, connect with new audiences, and establish new or improved brand identity.
Nambobi, M., Ssemwogerere, R., & Ramadhan, B. K. (2020). Implementation of Autonomous Library Assistants Using RFID Technology. In Holland, B. (Ed.), Emerging Trends and Impacts of the Internet of Things in Libraries (pp. 140-150). IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-4742-7.ch008
This is an interesting time to innovate around disruptive technologies like the internet of things (IoT), machine learning, blockchain. Autonomous assistants (IoT) are the electro-mechanical system that performs any prescribed task automatically with no human intervention through self-learning and adaptation to changing environments. This means that by acknowledging autonomy, the system has to perceive environments, actuate a movement, and perform tasks with a high degree of autonomy. This means the ability to make their own decisions in a given set of the environment. It is important to note that autonomous IoT using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is used in educational sectors to boost the research the arena, improve customer service, ease book identification and traceability of items in the library. This chapter discusses the role, importance, the critical tools, applicability, and challenges of autonomous IoT in the library using RFID technology.
Priya, A., & Sahana, S. K. (2020). Processor Scheduling in High-Performance Computing (HPC) Environment. In Holland, B. (Ed.), Emerging Trends and Impacts of the Internet of Things in Libraries (pp. 151-179). IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-4742-7.ch009
Processor scheduling is one of the thrust areas in the field of computer science. The future technologies use a huge amount of processing for execution of their tasks like huge games, programming software, and in the field of quantum computing. In real-time, many complex problems are solved by GPU programming. The primary concern of scheduling is to reduce the time complexity and manpower. Several traditional techniques exit for processor scheduling. The performance of traditional techniques is reduced when it comes to the huge processing of tasks. Most scheduling problems are NP-hard in nature. Many of the complex problems are recently solved by GPU programming. GPU scheduling is another complex issue as it runs thousands of threads in parallel and needs to be scheduled efficiently. For such large-scale scheduling problems, the performance of state-of-the-art algorithms is very poor. It is observed that evolutionary and genetic-based algorithms exhibit better performance for large-scale combinatorial and internet of things (IoT) problems.
Kirsch, B. (2020). Virtual Reality in Libraries. In Holland, B. (Eds.), Emerging Trends and Impacts of the Internet of Things in Libraries (pp. 180-193). IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-4742-7.ch010
Librarians are beginning to offer virtual reality (VR) services in libraries. This chapter reviews how libraries are currently using virtual reality for both consumption and creation purposes. Virtual reality tools will be compared and contrasted, and recommendations will be given for purchasing and circulating headsets and VR equipment. Google Tour Creator and a smartphone or 360-degree camera can be used to create a virtual tour of the library and other virtual reality content. These new library services will be discussed along with practical advice and best practices for incorporating virtual reality into the library for instructional and entertainment purposes.
Heffernan, K. L., & Chartier, S. (2020). Augmented Reality Gamifies the Library: A Ride Through the Technological Frontier. In Holland, B. (Ed.), Emerging Trends and Impacts of the Internet of Things in Libraries (pp. 194-210). IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-4742-7.ch011
Two librarians at a University in New Hampshire attempted to integrate gamification and mobile technologies into the exploration of, and orientation to, the library’s services and resources. From augmented reality to virtual escape rooms and finally an in-house app created by undergraduate, campus-based, game design students, the library team learned much about the triumphs and challenges that come with attempting to utilize new technologies to reach users in the 21st century. This chapter is a narrative describing years of various attempts, innovation, and iteration, which have led to the library team being on the verge of introducing an app that could revolutionize campus discovery and engagement.
Miltenoff, P. (2020). Video 360 and Augmented Reality: Visualization to Help Educators Enter the Era of eXtended Reality. In Holland, B. (Eds.), Emerging Trends and Impacts of the Internet of Things in Libraries (pp. 211-225). IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-4742-7.ch012
The advent of all types of eXtended Reality (XR)—VR, AR, MR—raises serious questions, both technological and pedagogical. The setup of campus services around XR is only the prelude to the more complex and expensive project of creating learning content using XR. In 2018, the authors started a limited proof-of-concept augmented reality (AR) project for a library tour. Building on their previous research and experience creating a virtual reality (VR) library tour, they sought a scalable introduction of XR services and content for the campus community. The AR library tour aimed to start us toward a matrix for similar services for the entire campus. They also explored the attitudes of students, faculty, and staff toward this new technology and its incorporation in education, as well as its potential and limitations toward the creation of a “smart” library.
my note: the LITA publication about the Emporia State University (see below) pursues the same goals of the project two SCSU librarians, Susan Hubbs, MLIS, and Plamen Miltenoff, Ph.D. MLIS, have developed:
Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a popular technology for gaming and learning, with its uses for teaching presently being investigated in a variety of educational settings. However, one area where the effect of this technology on students has not been examined in detail is as tool for new student orientation in colleges and universities. This study investigates this effect using an experimental methodology and the population of new master of library science (MLS) students entering a library and information science (LIS) program. The results indicate that students who received a VR orientation expressed more optimistic views about the technology, saw greater improvement in scores on an assessment of knowledge about their program and chosen profession, and saw a small decrease in program anxiety compared to those who received the same information as standard text-and-links. The majority of students also indicated a willingness to use VR technology for learning for long periods of time (25 minutes or more). The researchers concluded that VR may be a useful tool for increasing student engagement, as described by Game Engagement Theory.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Brady Lund, Emporia State University
Brady Lund is a doctoral student at Emporia State University’s School of Library and Information Management, where he studies the intersection of information technology and information science, among other topics.
Presentation 1: Inspiring Faculty (+ Students) with Tales of Immersive Tech (Practitioner Presentation #106)
Authors: Nicholas Smerker
Immersive technologies – 360º video, virtual and augmented realities – are being discussed in many corners of higher education. For an instructor who is familiar with the terms, at least in passing, learning more about why they and their students should care can be challenging, at best. In order to create a font of inspiration, the IMEX Lab team within Teaching and Learning with Technology at Penn State devised its Get Inspired web resource. Building on a similar repository for making technology stories at the sister Maker Commons website, the IMEX Lab Get Inspired landing page invites faculty to discover real world examples of how cutting edge XR tools are being used every day. In addition to very approachable video content and a short summary calling out why our team chose the story, there are also instructional designer-developed Assignment Ideas that allow for quick deployment of exercises related to – though not always relying upon – the technologies highlighted in a given Get Inspired story.
Presentation 2: Lessons Learned from Over A Decade of Designing and Teaching Immersive VR in Higher Education Online Courses (Practitioner Presentation #101)
Authors: Eileen Oconnor
This presentation overviews the design and instruction in immersive virtual reality environments created by the author beginning with Second Life and progressing to open source venues. It will highlight the diversity of VR environment developed, the challenges that were overcome, and the accomplishment of students who created their own VR environments for K12, college and corporate settings. The instruction and design materials created to enable this 100% online master’s program accomplishment will be shared; an institute launched in 2018 for emerging technology study will be noted.
Presentation 3: Virtual Reality Student Teaching Experience: A Live, Remote Option for Learning Teaching Skills During Campus Closure and Social Distancing (Practitioner Presentation #110)
Summary: During the Coronavirus pandemic, Ithaca College teacher education majors needed a classroom of students in order to practice teaching and receive feedback, but the campus was closed, and gatherings forbidden. Students were unable to participate in live practice teaching required for their program. We developed a virtual reality pilot project to allow students to experiment in two third-party social VR programs, AltSpaceVR and Rumii. Social VR platforms allow a live, embodied experience that mimics in-person events to give students a more realistic, robust and synchronous teaching practice opportunity. We documented the process and lessons learned to inform, develop and scale next generation efforts.
Sunday, June 21 • 8:00am – 9:00am Escape the (Class)room games in OpenSim or Second Life FULLhttps://ilrn2020.sched.com/event/ceKP/escape-the-classroom-games-in-opensim-or-second-lifePre-registration for this tour is required as places are limited. Joining instructions will be emailed to registrants ahead of the scheduled tour time.The Guided Virtual Adventure tour will take you to EduNation in Second Life to experience an Escape room game. For one hour, a group of participants engage in voice communication and try to solve puzzles, riddles or conundrums and follow clues to eventually escape the space. These scenarios are designed for problem solving and negotiating language and are ideal for language education. They are fun and exciting and the clock ticking adds to game play.Tour guide(s)/leader(s): Philp Heike, let’s talk online sprl, Belgium
Presentation 1: Evaluating the impact of multimodal Collaborative Virtual Environments on user’s spatial knowledge and experience of gamified educational tasks (Full Paper #91)
Authors: Ioannis Doumanis and Daphne Economou
>>Access Video Presentation<<
Several research projects in spatial cognition have suggested Virtual Environments (VEs) as an effective way of facilitating mental map development of a physical space. In the study reported in this paper, we evaluated the effectiveness of multimodal real-time interaction in distilling understanding of the VE after completing gamified educational tasks. We also measure the impact of these design elements on the user’s experience of educational tasks. The VE used reassembles an art gallery and it was built using REVERIE (Real and Virtual Engagement In Realistic Immersive Environment) a framework designed to enable multimodal communication on the Web. We compared the impact of REVERIE VG with an educational platform called Edu-Simulation for the same gamified educational tasks. We found that the multimodal VE had no impact on the ability of students to retain a mental model of the virtual space. However, we also found that students thought that it was easier to build a mental map of the virtual space in REVERIE VG. This means that using a multimodal CVE in a gamified educational experience does not benefit spatial performance, but also it does not cause distraction. The paper ends with future work and conclusions and suggestions for improving mental map construction and user experience in multimodal CVEs.
Presentation 2: A case study on student’s perception of the virtual game supported collaborative learning (Full Paper #42)
Authors: Xiuli Huang, Juhou He and Hongyan Wang
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The English education course in China aims to help students establish the English skills to enhance their international competitiveness. However, in traditional English classes, students often lack the linguistic environment to apply the English skills they learned in their textbook. Virtual reality (VR) technology can set up an immersive English language environment and then promote the learners to use English by presenting different collaborative communication tasks. In this paper, spherical video-based virtual reality technology was applied to build a linguistic environment and a collaborative learning strategy was adopted to promote their communication. Additionally, a mixed-methods research approach was used to analyze students’ achievement between a traditional classroom and a virtual reality supported collaborative classroom and their perception towards the two approaches. The experimental results revealed that the virtual reality supported collaborative classroom was able to enhance the students’ achievement. Moreover, by analyzing the interview, students’ attitudes towards the virtual reality supported collaborative class were reported and the use of language learning strategies in virtual reality supported collaborative class was represented. These findings could be valuable references for those who intend to create opportunities for students to collaborate and communicate in the target language in their classroom and then improve their language skills
Presentation 1: Reducing Cognitive Load through the Worked Example Effect within a Serious Game Environment (Full Paper #19)
Authors: Bernadette Spieler, Naomi Pfaff and Wolfgang Slany
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Novices often struggle to represent problems mentally; the unfamiliar process can exhaust their cognitive resources, creating frustration that deters them from learning. By improving novices’ mental representation of problems, worked examples improve both problem-solving skills and transfer performance. Programming requires both skills. In programming, it is not sufficient to simply understand how Stackoverflow examples work; programmers have to be able to adapt the principles and apply them to their own programs. This paper shows evidence in support of the theory that worked examples are the most efficient mode of instruction for novices. In the present study, 42 students were asked to solve the tutorial The Magic Word, a game especially for girls created with the Catrobat programming environment. While the experimental group was presented with a series of worked examples of code, the control groups were instructed through theoretical text examples. The final task was a transfer question. While the average score was not significantly better in the worked example condition, the fact that participants in this experimental group finished significantly faster than the control group suggests that their overall performance was better than that of their counterparts.
Presentation 2: A literature review of e-government services with gamification elements (Full Paper #56)
Authors: Ruth S. Contreras-Espinosa and Alejandro Blanco-M
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Nowadays several democracies are facing the growing problem of a breach in communication between its citizens and their political representatives, resulting in low citizen’s engagement in the participation of political decision making and on public consultations. Therefore, it is fundamental to generate a constructive relationship between both public administration and the citizens by solving its needs. This document contains a useful literature review of the gamification topic and e-government services. The documents contain a background of those concepts and conduct a selection and analysis of the different applications found. A set of three lines of research gaps are found with a potential impact on future studies.
Presentation 1: Connecting User Experience to Learning in an Evaluation of an Immersive, Interactive, Multimodal Augmented Reality Virtual Diorama in a Natural History Museum & the Importance of Story (Full Paper #51)
Authors: Maria Harrington
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Reported are the findings of user experience and learning outcomes from a July 2019 study of an immersive, interactive, multimodal augmented reality (AR) application, used in the context of a museum. The AR Perpetual Garden App is unique in creating an immersive multisensory experience of data. It allowed scientifically naïve visitors to walk into a virtual diorama constructed as a data visualization of a springtime woodland understory, and interact with multimodal information directly through their senses. The user interface comprised of two different AR data visualization scenarios reinforced with data based ambient bioacoustics, an audio story of the curator’s narrative, and interactive access to plant facts. While actual learning and dwell times were the same between the AR app and the control condition, the AR experience received higher ratings on perceived learning. The AR interface design features of “Story” and “Plant Info” showed significant correlations with actual learning outcomes, while “Ease of Use” and “3D Plants” showed significant correlations with perceived learning. As such, designers and developers of AR apps can generalize these findings to inform future designs.
Presentation 2: The Naturalist’s Workshop: Virtual Reality Interaction with a Natural Science Educational Collection (Short Paper #11)
Authors: Colin Patrick Keenan, Cynthia Lincoln, Adam Rogers, Victoria Gerson, Jack Wingo, Mikhael Vasquez-Kool and Richard L. Blanton
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For experiential educators who utilize or maintain physical collections, The Naturalist’s Workshop is an exemplar virtual reality platform to interact with digitized collections in an intuitive and playful way. The Naturalist’s Workshop is a purpose-developed application for the Oculus Quest standalone virtual reality headset for use by museum visitors on the floor of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences under the supervision of a volunteer attendant. Within the application, museum visitors are seated at a virtual desk. Using their hand controllers and head-mounted display, they explore drawers containing botanical specimens and tools-of-the-trade of a naturalist. While exploring, the participant can receive new information about any specimen by dropping it into a virtual examination tray. 360-degree photography and three-dimensionally scanned specimens are used to allow user-motivated, immersive experience of botanical meta-data such as specimen collection coordinates.
Presentation 3: 360˚ Videos: Entry level Immersive Media for Libraries and Education (Practitioner Presentation #132)
Authors: Diane Michaud
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Within the continuum of XR Technologies, 360˚ videos are relatively easy to produce and need only an inexpensive mobile VR viewer to provide a sense of immersion. 360˚ videos present an opportunity to reveal “behind the scenes” spaces that are normally inaccessible to users of academic libraries. This can promote engagement with unique special collections and specific library services. In December 2019, with little previous experience, I led the production of a short 360˚video tour, a walk-through of our institution’s archives. This was a first attempt; there are plans to transform it into a more interactive, user-driven exploration. The beta version successfully generated interest, but the enhanced version will also help prepare uninitiated users for the process of examining unique archival documents and artefacts. This presentation will cover the lessons learned, and what we would do differently for our next immersive video production. Additionally, I will propose that the medium of 360˚ video is ideal for many institutions’ current or recent predicament with campuses shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Online or immersive 360˚ video can be used for virtual tours of libraries and/or other campus spaces. Virtual tours would retain their value beyond current campus shutdowns as there will always be prospective students and families who cannot easily make a trip to campus. These virtual tours would provide a welcome alternative as they eliminate the financial burden of travel and can be taken at any time.
IM 690 lab plan for March 31, online: Virtual Worlds
If at any point you are lost in the virtual worlds, please consider talking/chatting using our IM 690 zoom link:https://minnstate.zoom.us/j/964455431 or call 320 308 3072
Readings: Currently, if you go to the SCSU online dbases
,if they are working at all, don’t be surprised when clicking on EBSCOhost Business Source Complete to see this msg:
and if you execute a search:
“AltSpaceVR” + “education”, you will find only meager 1+ results.
Google Scholar, naturally, will yield much greater number.
So, search and find an article of your interest using Google Scholar. I used “immersive learning” + “education” for my search.
I chose to read this article: https://journal.alt.ac.uk/index.php/rlt/article/view/2347/2657
since it addressed design principles when applying mixed reality in education. What article did you find/choose/read/are ready to share your analysis with?
Tuesday, March 31, 5PM lab
As usually, we will meet at this Zoom link: https://minnstate.zoom.us/j/964455431 All of us will be online and we will meet in the Zoom room. Please come 10 min earlier, so we can check our equipment and make sure everything works. Since we will be exploring online virtual worlds, please be prepared for technical issues, especially with microphones.
For this lab, please download and install on your computers the AltSpaceVR (ASVR) software: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/altspacevr/9nvr7mn2fchq?activetab=pivot:overviewtab Please consider the impediment that Microsoft has made the 2D mode for PC available only for Windows. If you are a Mac user and don’t have PC available at home, please contact me directly for help.
In addition, pls have a link to the video tutorial; https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2020/03/13/im690-asvr-2d-tutorial/
pls be informed about MediaSpace issues of the last two weeks, which can result in poor rendering of the video. If issues persist and you still need help downloading and installing the software, contact me directly for help. Please do your best to have ASVR installed on your computer before the lab starts on Tues, March 31, 5PM, so we can use our time during the lab for much more fun activities!
Intro to ASVR.
Please watch this 5 min video anytime you feel a bit lost in ASVR
pls consider the issues with MediaSpace and be patient, if the video renders and/or does not play right away. The video is meant to help you learn how to navigate your avatar in ASVR.
the first 15-20 min in the lab, we will “meet” in ASVR, figure out how to work on our ASVR avatar, how to use the computer keyboard to move, communicate and have basic dexterity. We must learn to “make friends” with Mark Gill (ASVR name: MarkGill47), Dr. Park (ASVR name: dhk3600) and Dr. Miltenoff (ASVR name: Plamen), as well as with your class peers, who will be sharing their ASVR contact info in the Zoom Chat session. Once we learn this skills, we are ready to explore ASVR.
Mark Gill will “lead” us through several virtual worlds, which you will observe and assess from the point of view of an Instructional Designer and an educator (e.g. how these worlds can accommodate learning; what type of teaching do these virtual worlds offer, etc.)
Eventually, Mark Gill will bring us to the SCSU COSE space, created by him, where he will leave us to discuss.
Discussion in the COSE ASVR room
We will start our discussion with you sharing your analysis of the article you found in Google Scholar for today’s class (see above Readings). How do your findings from the article match your impressions from the tour across virtual worlds in ASVR? How does learning happen?
Final projects
the rest of the time in the lab will be allocated for work on your final projects.
Dr. Park and Dr. Miltenoff will work individually with your groups to assist with ideas, questions regarding your projects,
Click here to 