Virtual Reality (VR) and Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) are technologies that allow users to interact with virtual environments and can create and participate in digital educational experiences and simulations. Due to the VR and VLEs being relatively new technologies in education, acceptance, use, and finally adoption in a classroom…

The purpose of this mixed methods study is to determine if virtual reality (VR) instruction may support learning in community college automotive technical education by measuring learners' levels of presence and faculty perceptions of learning when using VR instruction. Presence is "the subjective experience of being in one place or…

This study aims to offer a contextual framework for a virtual reality learning environment (VRLE) that would assist in interpreting students' and teachers' expectations on how to use VR in the learning process. Due to the current lack of unified recommendations and principles, as well as framework methods, the structure of VRLE, consisting of 4,…

Virtual Reality (VR) and immersive instruction hold great promise to alter instruction for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Yet, the voices of the direct users (e.g., the teachers and students) are often underutilized or not at all utilized in the creation of educational applications, particularly in the field of VR. The purpose of…

The prominence of virtual reality (VR) in the educational field has grown in recent years due to increased availability and lower costs. I conducted a global study regarding how pioneering K-12 teachers use VR to engage students in learning activities. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify how and why teachers used VR for…

LGBTQ youth frequently experience bullying and harassment in the school setting. Teachers are in an ideal position to prevent student harassment, yet most don't have adequate training. This study evaluated the effectiveness of "Step In Speak Up," an interactive online simulation. In a randomized controlled trial, 1390 participants…

Integrating Information Technology Communications in the classroom has been an important part of pre-service teacher education for over a decade. The advent of virtual worlds provides the pre-service teacher with an opportunity to study teaching and learning in a highly immersive 3D computer-based environment. Virtual worlds also provide a place…

These proceedings contain the papers of the International Conference e-Learning 2018, which was organised by the International Association for Development of the Information Society, 17-19 July, 2018. This conference is part of the Multi Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems 2018, 17-20 July, which had a total of 617 submissions.…

This study surveyed post-secondary instructors in 15 countries regarding their experiences using the virtual world Second Life as a teaching tool. Qualitative analysis of responses to open-ended questions suggests that Second Life offers a great deal of potential in realizing Grabinger and Dunlap's (2000) attributes of a rich environment for…

Participation in learning communities, and the construction of knowledge in communities of practice, are important considerations in the use of 3D immersive worlds. This article describes the creation of this type of learning environment in AETZone, an immersive virtual environment in use within graduate programs at Appalachian State University…

This paper presents an exploratory study that created a virtual reality environment (VRE) to stimulate motivation and creativity in imaginative writing at primary school level. The main aim of the study was to investigate if an interactive, semi-immersive virtual reality world could increase motivation and stimulate pupils' imagination in the…

This paper presents a study that used narrative inquiry to explore staff experiences of learning and teaching in immersive worlds. The findings introduced issues relating to identity play, the relationship between pedagogy and play and the ways in which learning, play and fun were managed (or not). At the same time there was a sense of imposed or…

A research program was undertaken to study the functional learning environment (FLE) in which computers operate, i.e., those environments in which learning activities have a function or purpose from the child's viewpoint. Results of three projects illustrate the importance of teachers in creating and interpreting children's learning environments.…

Background: Although much has been written about the ways in which new technology might transform educational practice, particularly in the area of literacy learning, there is relatively little empirical work that explores the possibilities and problems--or even what such a transformation might look like in the classroom. 3D virtual worlds offer a…

This volume of the 30th annual proceedings of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education conference presents: plenary panel papers; research forum papers; short oral communication papers; and poster presentation papers from the meeting. Information relating to discussion groups and working sessions is also provided.…