Contribution: The study examines the predictive and mediating significance of social and teaching presences on cognitive presence in a Community of Inquiry (CoI) mediated by a desktop virtual reality (VR). The findings of this study have implications for how to leverage VR learning environments to support meaningful collaborative engagement.…

This qualitative research study explored levels of social presence in Second Life (virtual world) associated with phases of knowledge construction. The study explored images and data collected from users at two discussion-based activities. The findings revealed the three levels of social presence, according to the Interactional Process Model of…

As more and more students seek out online educational opportunities, emerging technology and platforms must provide the most effective experience for learners to expand their knowledge and skill sets. The research study aimed to investigate social presence, collaboration, and design opportunities in head-mounted, virtual reality as compared to the…

This study aims to investigates the design and development of Immersive Virtual Reality Systems (IVRS) to enhance social interaction and communication skills among children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Thailand. Given the challenges of limited access to specialized care, the IVRS platform offers an innovative, home-based alternative for…

Online conferencing platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams have been widely adopted as substitutes for physical classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. This dramatic change is accompanied by many challenges for educators to keep their students engaged online and promote live interactions to mimic a real classroom environment. While progress has…

This systematic review examines the pedagogical gap of how VFTs are adopted and integrated in K-12 classroom teaching and learning. Specifically, it focuses on the grade levels and subject areas, learning outcomes and pedagogical activities involved VFTs at elementary and secondary levels. The results of this review show the current usage of VFTs…

The aim of this research was to develop social interaction for early childhood children in Lampang province, Thailand by using virtual reality technology. The population in this study was early childhood children from 355 schools in Lampang province, under the jurisdiction of Lampang Primary Educational Service Area 1, 2, and 3. The sample group…

Three Dimensional Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) are promising tools in education because of the unique affordances they offer. These learning affordances imply certain actions that in turn can lead to corresponding learning activities. There seems to be a lack of reports on which of the affordances of MUVEs for learning and teaching are…

Biases influence the decisions people make in everyday life, even if they are unaware of it. The current study investigates the extent bias behavior transfers into social interactions in virtual worlds by investigating the effect of aversive racism on helping behaviors and learning within a virtual world for medical triage training. In a 2 × 2 × 2…

It has been recognized that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show discrepancies between their abstract capacities to solve social cognition dilemmas and their ability to spontaneously decipher live social interactions. In the last 15 years, different paradigms have been designed to investigate how individuals with ASD grasp…

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments could be innovative teaching resources, providing a social space for students to engage in transformative learning. However, poor design and structure mean CSCL do not readily support skill acquisition. This study examined student engagement and learning experiences using a virtual…

Background: Videogames and virtual worlds have frequently been studied as learning environments in isolation; that is, scholars have focused on understanding the features of games or virtual worlds as separate from or different than "real world" environments for learning. Although more recently, scholars have explored the teaching and…

Three-dimensional Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) are being increasingly used in many areas, and they are becoming more and more integrated with learning and teaching. MUVEs can be used in learning and teaching to facilitate student learning and collaboration. This study identified the effects of MUVEs on collaborative learning and social…

Background: Collaborative virtual environments (CVEs) have the potential to support sociocommunicative interactions for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but little is known about the sense of presence participants feel in CVEs or how CVEs can be used to assess skills. Method: Ten children with ASD and 10 typically developing (TD)…

This study explores how visual narratives stemming from the experience of healthy embodiment in social virtual worlds, especially for individuals living with chronic disease or disability, both fosters relationships and more broadly impacts physical and emotional life experience and overall quality of life. It does so through the lens of social…