A virtual reality user interface for learning in 3D environments

Computer assisted learning is a common issue among the research communities globally. The benefits of such technologies are widely accepted, so more and more educational applications are being developed. However, educational software aims to be used by students for learning. Therefore educational applications have to be as attractive as possible to increase the engagement of students. To serve this purpose many researchers employ several aspects of multimedia technology to improve the aesthetics and the appeal of educational software. One very attractive and popular application area, that involves and demands advanced multimedia technologies and could be used for educational purposes, is computer games. In this paper a virtual reality game for educational purposes is described. This tutoring system incorporates a virtual reality user interface similar to that of common commercial games. The game is enriched with student modeling mechanisms that ensure the individualisation of the interaction. In order to create the virtual environment of the game, Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) was used. Implementation issues of the virtual reality environment, and associated matters are being discussed.

[1]  D. Box,et al.  Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) 1.1, W3C Note , 2000 .

[2]  Claudia Adams,et al.  Computer Games as a Learning Resource , 1998 .

[3]  Eugene F. Provenzo,et al.  Video Kids: Making Sense of Nintendo , 1991 .

[4]  Paulo F. Pires,et al.  Building Reliable Web Services Compositions , 2002, Web, Web-Services, and Database Systems.

[5]  Mark D. Griffiths,et al.  Computer game playing in adolescence: prevalence and demographic indicators , 1995 .

[6]  Tom Boyle,et al.  Design for multimedia learning , 1997 .

[7]  Mark K. Singley,et al.  Deploying Intelligent Tutors on the Web: An Architecture and an Example , 1999 .

[8]  James Snell,et al.  Introduction to Web services architecture , 2002, IBM Syst. J..

[9]  Kori M. Inkpen,et al.  We Have Never-Forgetful Flowers In Our Garden: Girls'' Responses to Electronic Games , 1993 .

[10]  Ricardo Quirós,et al.  Web-based Virtual Environments for Teaching , 2002 .

[11]  W. Robert J. Funnell,et al.  A VRML-based anatomical visualization tool for medical education , 1998, IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine.

[12]  Robert Richards,et al.  Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) , 2006 .

[13]  S. Papert.  The children's machine: rethinking school in the age of the computer , 1993 .

[14]  J. McGrenere,et al.  Design : Educational Electronic Multi-Player Games A Literature Review , 1996 .

[15]  John Self,et al.  The defining characteristics of intelligent tutoring systems research: ITSs care, precisely , 1998 .

[16]  Anne McDougall,et al.  Mainstreaming AIED into Education , 2000 .