Teresa Monahan

Virtual reality for collaborative e-learning

In the past, the term e-learning referred to any method of learning that used electronic delivery methods. With the advent of the Internet however, e-learning has evolved and the term is now most commonly used to refer to online courses. A multitude of systems are now available to manage and deliver learning content online. While these have proved popular, they are often single-user learning environments which provide little in the way of interaction or stimulation for the student. As the concept of lifelong learning now becomes a reality and thus more and more people are partaking in online courses, researchers are constantly exploring innovative techniques to motivate online students and enhance the e-learning experience. This article presents our research in this area and the resulting development of CLEV-R, a Collaborative Learning Environment with Virtual Reality. This web-based system uses Virtual Reality (VR) and multimedia and provides communication tools to support collaboration among students. In this article, we describe the features of CLEV-R, its adaptation for mobile devices and present the findings from an initial evaluation.

A Web-Based Multimedia Virtual Reality Environment for E-Learning

The past decade has seen major advances in the availability of broadband computer access. With this everincreasing connection speed and improved Internet performance more and more web-based applications are becoming available. More complex graphics and multi-media can now be transmitted over the Internet relatively quickly in real-time and with little delay. One area where web-based applications have proved very successful in the past, is within the e-learning paradigm. Traditionally, online learning applications have used a text-based asynchronous format to deliver learning material to end-users. While this has proved successful, it is recognised that the social and collaborative experience plays an important role in education. This paper describes CLEVR, a Collaborative Learning Environment with Virtual Reality. CLEV-R is a web-based application, that takes advantage of an increased connection speed to deliver a real-time Virtual Reality (VR) environment where learning material is augmented through the use of multi-media. The environment mimics the real world where users, represented by avatars, take on various roles in the VR world.

Using 3D Graphics for Learning and Collaborating Online

Today, the use of e-learning is common place. E-learning courses are now becoming prevalent on the Internet. They offer students great flexibility as well as a wide range of subjects. Traditionally the majority of these courses provide learners with text-based material and allow them to contact the course tutor via email. Virtual Reality (VR) has a lot to offer the e-learning paradigm. 3D virtual worlds can give people a sense of belonging and, as they mimic the real world, they are a natural way to access information. This paper describes CLEV-R, a collaborative learning environment with Virtual Reality. This environment uses VR and multimedia to deliver learning material to students in a stimulating and motivating manner. By using a suite of communication tools, students can learn, collaborate and socialise on line.

Usability Testing of a Collaborative and Interactive University on a Mobile Device

Abstract - The use of mobile devices for delivering learning tools is an attractive concept. Termed mobile learning (m-learning), this new technology allows people to participate in learning activities without being tied to a fixed location and provides users with convenient and flexible access to learning resources anytime and anywhere. While many m-learning applications have been developed to date, most provide tools to help studentsâ?? with specific learning tasks rather than a general interface to online courses. Few sup-port online learning communities or allow users to download multimedia learning content. These features would engage mobile users and enable them to interact with one another, thus allowing them to participate in group learning activities despite their changing location. In this article, we describe an m-learning system which we have developed which aims to incorporate these facilities. This system provides access to multimedia learning resources and supports mobile users in an interactive synchronous learning environment with their desktop peers. Details of the evaluation techniques which we utilised to appraise the system are provided and the results are presented. Feedback suggests that the features offered by our system are beneficial for collaborative m-learning.

Introducing Communities to e-Learning

The popularity of e-learning continues to grow as the convenience which it offers appeals to a wide spectrum of people. A significant number of e-learning applications have been developed offering tools of benefit to both tutors and students. Although online communities are popular in other areas, the establishment of these communities within e-learning has been slow. Communication and social interaction among students plays an important part of learning within the classroom and so should be incorporated into online learning environments. This paper presents guidelines for the development of e-learning systems which recognise the importance of communities and social interaction within an online learning scenario. In particular, we describe our own e-learning systems, CLEV-R and its mobile counterpart, mCLEV-R, along with details of the user trials used to evaluate them. Results indicate that these systems create an effective online learning community for students.

CLEV-R: a collaborative learning environment with virtual-reality

Recently more and more web-based, graphical applications have been developed. Due to a wider availability of broadband and greater connection speeds, these graphics have become progressively more complex and are now often accompanied by multimedia material. We aim to take advantage of these capabilities in the development of CLEV-R, a Collaborative Learning Environment with Virtual Reality. CLEV-R delivers a real time Virtual Reality (VR) environment, where learning material is augmented through the use of multimedia. The introduction of VR offers a new and interactive way to present learning material and provides users with a more motivating and stimulating way to learn.