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The researchers examined the relationship between informal digital gameplay and learner profiles in two Japanese private universities. Seventy-eight participants responded to 59 items on a digital questionnaire that consisted of four sections: 1) Learner Profiles, 2) Digital Game Usage, 3) Open-Responses, and 4) Demographics. The results of the study demonstrated that students positively identified with the learner profiles featured on the questionnaire (M = 3.80). The highest mean values were associated with the profiles of Digital Citizen (M = 4.30) and Knowledge Constructor (M = 4.15). It was discovered that participants engaged in digital gameplay most often with smartphones (M = 3.64) and game consoles (M = 2.79). Simulation (M = 2.81) and real-time strategy (M = 2.66) games were the most frequently played. The results of a Pearson Product Moment Correlation showed that there was no significant relationship between informal digital gameplay and learner profiles. Furthermore, self-identified gamers and non-gamers did not significantly differ on the Learner Profile Total Scale or subscales.

This paper explored students' experiences in an international virtual student mobility (VSM) program at a Japanese national university implemented in collaboration with partner universities in the Asia Pacific region and Europe. Through students' narratives, the study discerned how students perceive "mobility" and the concept of "international students" after participating in a virtual student mobility program. Findings revealed a tension between students' understanding of "mobility," official narratives, and students' actual experiences. While VSM programs facilitate communication and knowledge exchange across borders and develop cross-cultural communications, prevailing binary definitions in student mobility, such as "inbound" vs. "outbound," "domestic" vs. "international," or "study abroad" vs. "internationalization at home," limit VSM potential to be fully realized. This misalignment of the traditional understanding of student mobility that emphasizes place and borders challenges the official narrative of student mobility and urges educators to re-align and re-frame how we understand "international students."

Computerized assessments and interactive simulation tasks are increasingly popular and afford the collection of process data, i.e., an examinee's sequence of actions (e.g., clickstreams, keystrokes) that arises from interactions with each task. Action sequence data contain rich information on the problem-solving process but are in a nonstandard, variable-length discrete sequence format. Two methods that directly extract features from the raw action sequences, namely multidimensional scaling and sequence-to-sequence autoencoders, produce multidimensional numerical features that summarize original sequence information. This study explores the utility of action sequence features in understanding how problem-solving behavior relates to cognitive proficiencies and demographic characteristics. This is empirically illustrated with the process data from the 2012 PIAAC PSTRE digital assessment. Regularized regression results showed that action sequence features are more predictive of examinees' demographic and cognitive characteristics compared to final outcomes. Partial least squares analysis further aided the identification of behavioral patterns systematically associated with demographic/cognitive characteristics.

In this article, we, culture bearers and music educators, discuss ways of using East Asian virtual musical instruments to promote culturally diverse music activities in classrooms. We introduce affordable tablet-based virtual instruments (Korean "hyang-piri," Chinese "erhu," and Japanese "koto") and hands-on music activities to help students gain deeper understandings of East Asian music cultures. We provide an introduction of each instrument in its acoustic and tablet-based form, appropriate instrumental techniques to express unique musical and cultural characteristics (e.g., mode, vibrato, and ornamentations), and a teaching sequence of a sample piece. Such a performance-based and culturally diverse musical experience is intended to cultivate students' intercultural sensitivity and attitudes that honor diverse cultures.

With an increase in interactions with non-human agents, understanding and forecasting the consequences of human interactions with them have become increasingly crucial. The present study focused on a subset of non-human agents known as virtual characters. To investigate whether people respond in the same way to a virtual character as they do to a real human, we replicated a classic test of human-human social interaction, specifically, the social facilitation and inhibition effects. The theory of social facilitation/inhibition states that in the presence of others, people perform simple or learned tasks better and complex or novel tasks worse. In the present study, participants were given different tasks (letter typing, Sudoku, and maze) of varying difficulty (easy and difficult) to complete either alone, in the presence of a real person, or in the presence of a virtual character. The participants' task performance was determined by the number of subjects completed within the specified time. The results of 60 participants demonstrated a significant improvement in the performance of easy tasks when a virtual character was present compared with performing those tasks alone, providing evidence for social facilitation effects. For the difficult tasks, task performance did not show decline in the presence of a virtual character. According to these findings, it is possible to avoid social inhibition in the presence of a virtual character. The present study will be a reference for scholars interested in further investigating how non-human agents impact social facilitation effects and implement virtual agents in educational settings.

Three modes of deliberate vocabulary study were investigated to determine how well they assisted learners' recall of the meaning of target concrete nouns. Two modes of tablet-based augmented reality, one context-independent (AR1) and one context-dependent (AR2), were compared with each other and with paper-based word cards (WC) in the deliberate study of three sets of nonwords representative of concrete nouns. An orthogonal Latin square design was used to counterbalance 39 participants. We hypothesized that both AR conditions would be more beneficial than word cards in terms of participants' ability to retain the meaning of the target words as demonstrated by performance on Yes/No and meaning-recall test items, and that AR2 conditions would be more beneficial as compared with AR1 conditions. Generalized linear mixed models revealed that both AR study modes significantly outperformed word cards. The context-dependent and context-independent augmented reality study modes did not significantly differ indicating that a visuospatial bootstrapping effect (VSB) was likely at play regardless of how dependent on or independent of their respective scenes the items studied were. These findings offer pedagogical implications of mobile-based AR use in vocabulary study and language learning in general.

The objective of this research was to understand the current situation and challenges associated with the internationalization of the curriculum (IoC) in English-medium instruction (EMI) programs at Japanese universities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing a conceptual framework and ideas of 'enablers' and 'blockers' of IoC, we analyzed the qualitative data from interviews with 11 faculty members involved in both in-class and online teaching in EMI programs at different Japanese universities. Findings from our analysis revealed a general lack of awareness of IoC, with those that were aware either relating it to the international nature of their academic disciplines or expressing uncertainty in how to incorporate IoC into pedagogical practices. Perceived blockers included quantitative approaches to internationalization policy and funding at the government-level that largely neglected IoC, a lack of commitment and organizational support at the institutional level, and constraints on physical international mobility due to the pandemic. Enablers included the expansion of collaborative online international learning (COIL) programs for virtual student mobility and the general commitment to academic freedom in Japan that allows educators to teach without excessive external interference, enabling them to personally internationalize their curriculum if they wished to do so. The findings suggest that IoC is still a novel concept in Japan that may evolve in the dramatically altered higher education landscape going forward.

Augmented Reality (AR) & Virtual Reality (VR) are now wide open to all fields. The objectives of this study are to analyze the comparison of trend research on the top 200 cited AR and VR publications in all areas, to identify the comparison of trend mapping visualization on AR and VR publications in Physics learning research, to compare the top 10 most productive author of the AR and VR in Physics learning research, to determine the top-cited author, subject areas and affiliation of the AR and VR in Physics learning research, to analyze the comparison of the distribution of AR and VR publications in Physics learning research. This research analyzes bibliometrics on 'AR' and 'VR' keywords as general fields and specifies it to implement AR and VR in Physics education and compare them. The metadata gathered is from the Scopus database and investigated by VOSViewer. This research shows that the trend of research in AR and VR in all fields is increasing each year. The top keywords used in AR and VR to Physics learning are 'AR' and 'VR', with total link strengths of 479 and 1,882. AR and VR can be integrated into the classroom from toddler to secondary school. Implications of the review of the top 10 cited publications require more improvement and optimization of AR and VR stability.

The purpose of this study was to examine the studies related to augmented reality applications in sports science and to discuss the results based on this. Articles selected for analysis were found through searches journals in the Web of Science database from 1975 to 2018 were examined and searched using the keywords ("physical education" or "physical activity" or "sport$") and ("augmented reality"). As a result of the search, 44 articles were reached, and 11 articles were excluded from the research because they were not related to augmented reality applications or sports science. The publication classification form consists of the titles "Years, Authors Number, Country, Journals, Age, Sample Size, Variables, Sample Method, Research Method, Data Collection Method and Data Analysis Method." There are a limited number of studies where sports and augmented reality technology are used and interacted together. With the spread of the use of augmented reality and similar technologies in the field of sports sciences, it is thought that such fields as health and education will be positively affected.

This study investigated the role of virtual reality (VR) in computer science (CS) education over the last 10 years by conducting a bibliometric and content analysis of articles related to the use of VR in CS education. A total of 971 articles published in peer-reviewed journals and conferences were collected from Web of Science and Scopus databases to conduct the bibliometric analysis. Furthermore, content analysis was conducted on 39 articles that met the inclusion criteria. This study demonstrates that VR research for CS education was faring well around 2011 but witnessed low production output between the years 2013 and 2016. However, scholars have increased their contribution in this field recently, starting from the year 2017. This study also revealed prolific scholars contributing to the field. It provides insightful information regarding research hotspots in VR that have emerged recently, which can be further explored to enhance CS education. In addition, the quantitative method remains the most preferred research method, while the questionnaire was the most used data collection technique. Moreover, descriptive analysis was primarily used in studies on VR in CS education. The study concludes that even though scholars are leveraging VR to advance CS education, more effort needs to be made by stakeholders across countries and institutions. In addition, a more rigorous methodological approach needs to be employed in future studies to provide more evidence-based research output. Our future study would investigate the pedagogy, content, and context of studies on VR in CS education.

The increasing use of online virtual laboratories (OVLs) in educational institutions as a recent educational technology application necessitates developing a new educational platform for assisting instructors in using such technology in the teaching process without web programming obstacles. The OVLs are online environments that provide students with several types of content such as simulations, videos, scientific images, and infographics related to real laboratory experiments. This article proposes a unified online virtual laboratory platform (OVLP) to support instructors who teach real laboratory experiments in multi-domains. To evaluate the proposed platform, five university instructors and five experts of ICT in education have participated in this study. The data were collected using online questionnaires for both specialists, respectively. Regarding the results, they confirm that the proposed platform is acceptable for teaching real laboratory experiments, especially in the tested domains.

Purpose: This study aims to explore if and to what extent an online avatar-assisted virtual classroom can work to alleviate groups of Japanese university students' anxiety around giving spoken presentations. It also explores how to create a more inclusive language learning environment and encourage interaction between the students in the virtual classroom. Design/methodology/approach: A self-reported survey compares the same group of students' responses to three learning contexts: an everyday in-person or conventional English learning classroom; an online videoconferencing-based classroom, via Zoom; and an online "virtual" or avatar-based classroom simulation, via the software "Gather". Findings: The findings suggest that the avatar-assisted virtual classroom helps students experience the least amount of fear and apprehension when speaking out loud in English and improves their speaking confidence. Similar to the findings in terms of everyday in-person lessons, the overwhelming majority of students attending Zoom lessons showed high levels of anxiety toward speaking out loud. Originality/value: Challenges making use of the target language remain a persistent source of stress for Japanese students. The global shift toward online learning and the associated technologies have created opportunities to experiment with novel approaches to teaching. The discussion considers the data in the context of online classroom environments and existing speaking anxiety research. While the sample size is small, this study seeks to provide a safe and non-threatening learning environment for disadvantaged and diverse students, as well as suggestions for further research.

The use of three-dimensional virtual worlds (3DVWs) in language education has been widely acknowledged in the field, and researchers have expressed a growing interest in their proliferation in second language (L2) learning and instruction. In order to improve the Thai-speaking abilities of learners of Thai as a foreign language (TFL) in three Asian nations, this study implemented collaborative tasks in the Redesign of Instruction for foreign Language and Communication Achievement (RILCA) World hosted by Second Life over a 10-weeks period. The participants were forty second-year undergraduate students enrolled in Thai courses in China, Japan, and Hong Kong. A pre-experimental design was employed, which involved administering a pretest measure, followed by ten identical collaborative tasks, and a posttest to each of the three classes in RILCA World. The results of the investigation demonstrate that the use of collaborative tasks in RILCA World can provide L2 learners with educational opportunities that are unrestricted by time and geography and enhance TFL speaking results. The implications of these findings for the applicability of 3DVWs and collaborative tasks in boosting foreign language speaking skills are highlighted. The collaborative tasks and insights presented in this study not only serve as a practical resource for TFL educational scenarios, but also contribute to the body of knowledge regarding a range of L2 learning and teaching in 3DVWs.

Mobile learning is well established in literature and practice, but under-evolved from a rigorous learning design perspective. Activity theory presents a sophisticated way of mapping and understanding learning design, but for mobile learning this does not always translate into change in practice. The reported research addresses this by coupling a mobile learning specific approach to activity theory with a practice-based framework: the design for transformative mobile learning framework mapped to the pedagogy-andragogy-heutagogy continuum matrix (the DTML-PAH Matrix). Seven case studies are analysed using this approach and presented narratively along with framework informed analysis. Findings include that the DTML-PAH Matrix can be used to provide clearer implications and guidance for mobile learning practice, and that the DTML-PAH Matrix can also be guided by the practice over time. Implications for further research and practice are discussed.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to focus on a designed research methodology to distil existing research findings from an esrc/ahrc funded japan/uk network on location-based virtual reality experiences for children in order to generate new knowledge. Design/methodology/approach: The structured co-production methodology was undertaken in three stages. These were: (1) a collaborative workshop which produced a series of collage narratives, (2) collaborating with a non-human entity in the form of a digital coded tool to reconfigure the workshop responses and mediate the hierarchy of roles, (3) the co-production of a zine as a collaborative reflection method, which shared via postal service enabled a dialogue and exchange of round Robin interventions by the network members. Findings: The analysis of the data collected in this study highlighted five themes that could be used by other researchers on a wide range of projects. These were: (1) knowing through making, (2) the importance of process, (3) beyond linear representations, (4) agency of physical materials and (5) agency of digital code. Research limitations/implications: The context of the study being undertaken during the first phase of the global pandemic, revealed insight into a method of co-production that was undertaken under emergency remote working conditions. The knowledge generated from this can be applied to other research contexts such as working with researchers or participants across global borders without the need to travel. Originality/value: The research provides an innovative rethinking of co-production methods in order to generate new knowledge from multidisciplinary and multimodal research.

Past research on digital games and virtual worlds suggests that these platforms provide multiple benefits for language learning, including positive effects on motivation and opportunities for authentic learner interaction. Despite this, adoption of these platforms in classrooms appears largely nonexistent. We provide a review of research on the use of games and virtual worlds in language learning and report on the results of a recent survey and series of interviews with university language teachers in Japan. Analysis provides insight into the challenges of adopting technology in language teaching and on the types of platforms that may ultimately see wide adoption.

This study explored the effect of differing levels of interactivity in a VR language learning system on learner oral task performance. 30 participants were divided into 15 pairs which undertook two spot-the-difference tasks. One in a static-VR system, the other in an interactive-VR system which required them to move objects into the correct position in a 3D environment. Oral performance was measured along complexity, accuracy and fluency dimensions. Results suggested that the static-VR system pushed learners to produce more fluent and lexically complex output than the interactive-VR system. There was no significant difference in output in terms of accuracy. Reasons for these results are explored and implications for teachers provided. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research in this area.

The rise of augmented reality hits the world of Information, Communication and Technology which brings about the booming phenomenon of mobile games. One of hot mobile game with the successful application of augmented reality is "Pokémon Go," issued in August 2016. The uses of augmented reality not only give the gamers a new kind experience to learn new technology, but also provide a new way for teachers and learners to benefit the origins of English and its meanings of each pocket monster. Each pocket monster stands for a new word that is created by its founder. In each new word, the uses of prefix, root and suffix have been established and named, as the single-word utterances of the pokémon names are the sentences. Hence, this article aims at: (1) the overview of augmented reality and educations; (2) the applications of augmented reality into the mobile games; (3) the uses of prefix, root and suffix in learning English and pokémon languages; and (4) the experiments. A total number of 61 students were divided into the experimental group and the control group. The questionnaires, descriptive statistics, a paired-sample t-test, one sample t-test, and ANCOVA were employed into the quantitative data. The research questions were to evaluate: (1) students' learning attitudes; (2) learning satisfactions; and (3) learning achievements in order to show the differences of pre-test and post-test between the experimental group and the control group. The experimental results indicate that the experimental group had significant performances than the control group in promoting their learning attitudes, learning satisfactions and learning achievements.

During the 2018-2019 academic year, the authors had the opportunity to begin work on a unique multi-year virtual heritage "Virtual Shikoku Pilgrimage" (VSP) project. The main goal of this project is to design and develop an immersive virtual landscape exploration platform that uses 3-D digital technologies, including the Unity video game engine development platform and 3-D modeling software such as Blender and SketchUp, to recreate the cultural and natural landscapes of the temples and surroundings that make up the 750-mile (1,200-kilometer) 88-temple Buddhist pilgrimage around the perimeter of the island of Shikoku, Japan. This project aims to utilize the virtual landscape platform to embed digital stories and media elements within an immersive virtual space that allows teachers and students of a wide range of disciplines to more broadly delve into the experience of the Shikoku Pilgrimage from their own homes and classrooms. Those who access the completed VSP platform will be able to virtually traverse the changing landscapes of the routes, enter temples, and interact with others along the pilgrimage just as one would do in Shikoku. The first phase of the VSP project focused on background research, initial design ideas, the research trip to Japan in May 2019, and the initial design and development of a prototype focused on the first three temples in the pilgrimage. This article details how, over a period of two semesters, the VSP project leaders took six undergraduate research fellows to Japan with a focus on two main components of the VSP project: digital recreation of the natural and cultural landscape as well as narrative content for the embedded digital stories that users would explore as they navigated the virtual landscape platform.

Recent studies have shown that simulation games may be useful tools for supporting foreign language education. However, much of this research has focused on games using 3D graphic technology, which entail technical requirements that may render them too complex for use in many educational contexts. Accordingly, we wanted to determine if less complex simulation games could also support the acquisition of a foreign language. We conducted a quasi-experiment using whole classes comprising EFL learners at a Japanese university. A treatment group used an online vocabulary learning application (Quizlet) in conjunction with a simple simulation game (3rd World Farmer), and a control group used the vocabulary learning application alone. Although using the simulation game showed no short-term benefit, the treatment group outperformed the control group on a delayed post-test administered 11 weeks after treatment. We conclude that the effect of simulation games can be used in foreign language learning to improve long-term retention of target language vocabulary.

This study examines relative weighting of two acoustic cues, vowel duration and spectra, in the perception of high front vowels by Japanese learners of English. Studies found that Japanese speakers rely heavily on duration to distinguish /i?/ and [character omitted] in American English (AmE) as influenced by phonemic length in Japanese /ii/ and /i/, while spectral cues are more important for native AmE speakers. However, little is known as to whether and how this non-native perceptual weighting can change as a result of L2 learning. By employing computational and experimental methods, the present study shows that Japanese learners of English exhibit different cue weighting depending on which language they think they hear. The experiment shows that listeners use more spectral cues and less durational cues when they think they are listening to 'English' stimuli as opposed to 'Japanese' stimuli, despite the stimuli being identical. This result is generally in line with our computer simulation, which predicts distinct developmental paths in first language (L1) and second language (L2) perception. The Second Language Linguistic Perception (L2LP) model, which incorporates the language mode hypothesis, provides a comprehensive explanation for the current findings.

Gamification of language learning is a clear trend of recent years. Widespread use of smartphones and the rise of mobile gaming as a popular leisure activity contribute to the popularity of gamification, as application developers can rely on an unprecedented reach of their products and expect acceptance of game-like elements by the users. In terms of content, however, most mobile apps implement traditional language learning activities, such as reading, listening, translating, and solving quizzes. This article discusses gamification of learning natural language grammar with a mobile app WordBricks, based on a concept of more user-centric lab-style experimental activities. WordBricks challenges users to create syntactically accurate sentences by arranging jigsaw-like colored blocks. Users receive instantaneous feedback on the syntactic compatibility each time any two blocks are placed together. This Scratch-inspired virtual language lab harnesses grammar models used in computational linguistics and allows users to discover underlying grammatical constructions through experimentation. The system was evaluated in a number of diverse settings and shows how the principles of gamification can be applied to second-language acquisition. We discuss general features that enable the users to engage in game-playing behavior and analyze open challenges, relevant for a variety of language learning systems.

Virtual environments have the potential to be an important teaching tool for emotionally sensitive issues capable of producing a sense of presence, perspective-taking and introspection in users in a risk-free, rapid feedback experience. In designing such experiences, it is essential that users are regularly engaged in a collaborative design process. However, engaging in design, development, and evaluation can in itself provide a learning experience. Here, the authors present an approach to engaging children in the design, development and evaluation of a virtual learning environment, specifically a serious game, focused on inculcating empathy, ethical reasoning, and reflection for coping with bullying. It was demonstrated that children's involvement not only contributed to an improved virtual environment, but significantly engaging in the design process provided children with a novel and effective learning opportunity.

Recent studies of learner interaction in virtual worlds have tended to select basic tasks involving open-ended communication. There is evidence that such tasks are supportive of language acquisition, however it may also be beneficial to consider more complex tasks. Research in task-based learning has identified features such as non-linguistic goals that are seen as promoting rich learner interaction. In this preliminary work, we report on the development of goal-orientated tasks for the virtual environment Minecraft, offering a qualitative examination of learner interaction using three such tasks. Results show the potential for easily modifiable platforms such as Minecraft to support the implementation of goal-orientated tasks for virtual environments.

Observation training of home dental practice is easily influenced by the site and time, and differences in learning content are likely to occur among students. The aim of the present study is to prototype virtual reality (VR) teaching material for home dental practice to provide dental students with the chance to observe patients receiving home dental care. The VR teaching material was created before the study, using a patient's home as the medical treatment scene, and practical training was then conducted using this VR teaching material with dental students. To examine its educational effectiveness, 101 dental students, who attended practical training between June 2018 and January 2019, responded to survey questions before and after watching the VR teaching material. They took a comparative examination, based on the questionnaire results, using text mining and hierarchical cluster analysis. Two variables were tested: changes in self-confidence regarding knowledge of home dental practice (knowledge confidence) and changes in self-confidence regarding treatment assistance (assistance confidence). There was a significant increase in student's knowledge confidence and assistance confidence scores (p < 0.001). Moreover, hierarchical cluster analysis indicated a change in the cluster before and after they watched the VR teaching material. Given that VR teaching material makes it possible to conduct home observation training for a variety of reasons, such as lack of available facilities or patient reservation issues, the findings indicate that VR teaching material can supplement dental students' training in home dental practice.

One of the crucial issues for successful technology-enhanced out-of-class language learning (OCLL) is the learners' continuance intention to use technology. Considering the strong mutual relationship between learners' intention and motivation, the present study extended the technology acceptance model (TAM) with the self-determination theory (SDT) to investigate Japanese EFL learners' intention to use learning technologies for OCLL. The study was conducted in a technology-enhanced OCLL environment using a web-based e-portfolio system. The hypothesised model included two principal antecedents of behavioural intention introduced by TAM--perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use--in addition to the three psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness introduced by SDT. Path analysis was conducted to find the multivariate relationships between the constructs in the model based on the collected data from 162 Japanese EFL learners. The results indicated that SDT determinants could significantly predict perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, among which perceived competence was the most influential factor. Furthermore, perceived usefulness highly influenced the learners' intention to continue technology-enhanced OCLL, which in turn influenced their actual usage of the system.