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Literature has shown that immersive learning environments such as digital educational games and simulations often incorporate storytelling elements in their designs as narrative can be an effective way of making learning more meaningful to students. The purpose of this study is to review the literature on the role narrative can play in the experience of a learner engaging in learning games and to synthesize research on features of story that have demonstrated success in these learning environments. The findings have shown that distributed narrative, intrinsically integrated fantasies, empathetic characters and virtual agents, and adaptiveness or responsivity are four characteristics of game narratives found to be effective. Several learning game analyses were performed to illustrate how these games used narrative to foster greater immersion, engagement, motivation, and learning. Finally, a narrative design strategy for serious games is suggested which integrates the effective narrative features as shown in the example games, along with two analysis frameworks, Game Discourse Analysis and Narrative Centered Informant Design. The findings of this study should provide much-needed insights to designers and researchers who are involved in creating immersive learning environments.

The value of field trips is undisputed across disciplines. Field-site visits whether in social or physical sciences provide grounding for place- and discovery-based learning. Yet field trips have limitations that can now be overcome by the promise of immersive technologies that can improve quality and accessibility. This promise is twofold: First, we can harness advancements made in sensing technologies to create immersive experiences of places across the earth efficiently; second, we can provide detailed empirical evaluations on immersive learning and quantify educational value. We report on a study that splits an introductory geosciences course into two groups with one group experiencing a traditional field trip, while a second group visits the same site virtually, immersing the students in the site using a head-mounted device. Results show the advantages of virtual field trips (VFTs) concerning enjoyment, learning experience, and actual lab scores. We embed the discussion of these results into a more general assessment of the advantages of VFTs and a taxonomy of VFTs as a basis for future studies.

Immersive learning is one of the leading trends in education. Immersive learning uses a simulated or artificial environment for a better learning experience. Design of intelligent learning platform and motivating content development is one key aspect of immersive learning. In this article, we propose an intelligent computer-assisted learning platform that helps school-level students in self-learning. Specifically, the proposed platform focuses on biology learning. The learning platform performs several tasks including automatic identification of important terms and concepts, identification of questionable sentences, visualization of key concepts through relevant images, and conducting a mock test for confidence building. Various techniques have been adopted for the development of the individual functionalities. Working of the individual modules is evaluated by two human experts. In addition, in an individual-level learning setup, the platform is used by 50 Class IX students for studying a module. They provided feedback on the system through a questionnaire. Both the human expert-based and questionnaire-based evaluation results demonstrate that the platform offers satisfactory performance.

This work-in-progress paper describes a pilot of an immersive learning experience called Synapse VR in a biopsychology course on campus at Southern New Hampshire University with undergraduate students conducted in early 2020 by faculty and staff. Theories of cooperative learning and positive interdependence informed the team's coordination of the VR app's assessment framework and classroom delivery model to ensure learning design components promoting self-regulation and co-regulation of learning were accentuated. Synapse VR's first classroom pilot generated a set of suggested learning experience design practices for educators seeking to implement immersive learning experiences in college classrooms.

iLRN 2021. Online and in Virtual Reality (17 May - 10 June, 2021) The interdisciplinary field of immersive learning research is scattered. Combining efforts for better exploration of this field from the different disciplines requires researchers to communicate and coordinate effectively. We call upon the community of immersive learning researchers for planting the Knowledge Tree of Immersive Learning Research, a proposal for a systematization effort for this field, combining both scholarly and practical knowledge, cultivating a robust and ever-growing knowledge base and methodological toolbox for immersive learning. This endeavor aims at promoting evidence-informed practice and guiding future research in the field. This paper contributes with the rationale for three objectives: 1) Developing common scientific terminology amidst the community of researchers; 2) Cultivating a common understanding of methodology, and 3) Advancing common use of theoretical approaches, frameworks, and models. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

This paper describes the Work in Progress (WiP) in the development of an educational Cyber-Physical-Social Eco-System (CPSeS) using XR, AI, and Robotic technologies to support immersive learning. It is presenting the framework of the proposed CPSeS used to create an intelligent educational virtual environment which seamlessly blends the real with virtual worlds and is influenced by its users, real and artificial agents, and elements. The paper is an updated report of the WiP presented at iLRN 2020 conference, focusing on system additions and improvements, its current development status, and future plans and aspirations.

Empirical evidence indicates that, as a result of teachers' belief systems and the absence of self-regulated learning (SRL) development for teaching practice, teachers are challenged by the adoption of SRL in learning and teaching. This study explored a support program for SRL through quasi-experimental design to encourage aspects of SRL (planning, monitoring, evaluation) stimulated in a unique immersive simulation learning environment. Participants were 72 primary school teachers assigned to experimental or control groups. Results show that the teachers from the experimental group have shifted their beliefs towards autonomous learning and used more SRL in lesson planning and teaching reflections.

Conventional methods such as questionnaires and scales to evaluate learners' learning immersion are influenced by individuals' subjective factors. The non-synchronism between the learning state and after-learning investigation also reduces the accuracy. We propose a new method to evaluate learners' learning immersion based on electroencephalogram (EEG) and support vector machine (SVM). We construct 2 learning scenarios to induce immersive senses: VR video learning for high-level immersion and online English word learning for low-level immersion. To distinguish two immersion levels, students' EEGs are collected. After entering their attention score, relaxation score, the synchronization rate between the 2 scores, high alpha and low beta wave into SVM model, the precision accuracy reaches 87.80%. Taken the classified results and the participants' self-reports together, we find VR devices can create a more immersive environment which improves learners' learning effect. Our findings provide evidence supporting the feasibility of predicting learning immersion levels by physiological recordings.

This work-in-progress paper describes a case study of an augmented reality enriched learning material, created for mechanical engineering students that learn computer aided design. The case study learning material details the systematic process of designing a 5 degree of freedom robotic arm. The purpose of this research is to highlight the advantages of immersive learning experiences based on augmented reality in engineering. The augmented reality application is designed as a complementary class material along with the project guide. Augmented reality elements tracked directly on top of the existing project guide has the potential to make both teaching and learning more effective.

A new perspective on using media in the classroom that started to rise in the past few years is immersive learning. This paper considers the learning success of children on the subject of organology and assesses the question, if a virtual environment on the tale “Peter and the Wolf” can support knowledge retention of primary school students relating to various instruments' sound, appearance, hearing impression and groups. In a first pilot study for evaluating this educational virtual environment, eight children filled out a questionnaire before and after the immersive experience. The findings indicate that the environment on the topic of “Peter and the Wolf” could have a positive effect on knowledge retention for fundamental aspects of organology. These first findings for using virtual environments in Music Education encourage the further investigation of using immersive media for teaching and learning in the subject Music.

Software Engineering Education (SEE) community has been looking for alternatives to improve teaching, since the study of Software Engineering (SE) currently involves the application of a lot of theory in the classroom and little application in scenarios that convey the reality of software development. In this sense, Immersive Learning emerges as a potential approach to support the improvement of learning outcomes in SE. Therefore, the goal of this work is to present Immersive Software Engineering Education (iSEE), in which a theoretical framework is proposed by the researchers to support the planning and development of immersive educational applications for SE, as well as a platform to encourage the use of these applications by the SEE community. An example of using the theoretical framework and a preliminary evaluation of a game to teach basic object-oriented concepts are also presented.

This paper presents an entirely new approach to the use of virtual reality (VR) in the educational process for the needs of Industry 4.0. It is based on the proposed comprehensive methodology, including the design, creation, implementation and evaluation of individual courses implemented in a VR environment. An essential feature of the new methodology is its universality and comprehensiveness. Thanks to that, it can be applied in such areas as higher education, aviation, automotive, shipbuilding, energy and many others. The paper also identifies the significant advantages and disadvantages of VR-based education that may determine its use scope and profile. In addition, on the basis of the proposed methodology, a model of a training station using VR technology has been developed to enable the realization of training classes in the field of firefighting activities that should be undertaken during the hazard arising from the operation of a numerically controlled production machine. Results of the conducted training using this station were also presented. The study showed the potential of training based on a virtual environment to improve participants’ skills and knowledge. The development and implementation of adequate courses in the VR environment can reduce costs and increase the safety and efficiency of employees’ performed activities.

Kinesiology is an inherently spatial discipline, both physically and visually. The use of extended reality-immersive lab activities may enhance students’ motivation to learn by enabling students to interact with visual content and illustrate and demonstrate kinesiology content and concepts. Using an instrumental case study method, this article assesses the use of extended reality immersion across three semesters of an upper division kinesiology course focused on motor control. This is a unique approach because it blends established physical motor control and biomechanical data collection techniques with emerging virtual reality technology to enhance—rather than replace—the lab experience. The effectiveness is measured via an experimental design to contribute to the small, but growing, body of knowledge on the efficacy of immersive learning.

The impact of mobility restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic in the year 2020 altered all the planned activities of the MSc Energy for Smart Cities in four European locations (Stockholm, Leuven, Grenoble and Barcelona) with a majority of non-European students. In addition, the master programme has specific activities where students join together in three European cities (Barcelona, Antwerp and Amsterdam). The response was to immediately introduce online tools with two relevant pedagogical innovations. The first one, Immersive Learning, addressed to overcome as much as possible the experience of living in the cities that couldn’t be visited. The solution implemented has been designed to be simple and low cost in order to ensure the maximum reasonable value. The second innovation has been to take advantage of the pandemic obstacles to evolve the Challenge Based Learning towards a new methodology were students actively assume the role of defining the challenges, aligned with their interests and motivations, keeping the connection with the companies and institutions involved in the innovation and startup ecosystem. The positive effect of those innovations has been to increase the engagement and motivation of students despite the difficult situation.

In this work we introduce a learning system based on Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality for studying analytical-geometric structures that are part of the curriculum in mathematics and physics in high school classes. We believe that an immersive study environment has several advantages with respect to traditional two-dimensional environments (such as a book or the simple screen of a PC or even a tablet), such as the spatial understanding of the concepts exposed, more peripheral awareness and moreover an evident decreasing in the information dispersion phenomenon. This does not mean that our teaching proposal has to substitute the traditional approaches, but it can be seen as a robust tool to support learning. In the first phase of our research we have sought to understand which mathematical objects and which tools could have been used to enhance the teaching of mathematics, in order to demonstrate that the use of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality techniques significantly improves the level of understanding of the mathematical subject being studied by the students. The system which provides for the integration of two machine levels, hardware and software, was subsequently tested by a representative sample of students who then provided feedback through a questionnaire.

Project LIVE (Learning through Immersive Virtual Environments) is a cross-disciplinary initiative at the University of South Australia to embed immersive virtual and mixed reality experiences across the breadth of our STEM teaching program. In Earth and Environmental Science, the Project LIVE team has recently created a series of gamified geo-challenges and virtual tours of instructive field sites for use in undergraduate teaching, to both supplement and enhance traditional field experiences. This presentation will demonstrate our flagship geo-challenge developed for the Hallett Cove Geological Heritage Site in Adelaide, South Australia. Entitled Beyond the Ice, it incorporates several complementary elements including an immersive VR experience, web-based geotour, iOS and Android mobile learning game and 360 street view walking trail, all of which are freely available at https://www.projectlive.org.au/beyond-the-ice. The interactive VR quest challenges students to identify fossils with a virtual hand lens, measure glacial striations with a compass, and draw the outlines of rock folds and sedimentary layers that shape the landscape with digital ink. Students are also accompanied by the encyclopaedic ‘VT’ – a virtual robot guide with a geological memory spanning 600 million years – and can take part in quizzes, collect 3D pet rocks, and even uncover hidden ‘Easter eggs’ on their journey of scientific discovery. The uptake and impact of our geo-challenges across both undergraduate student cohorts and STEM outreach audiences will be discussed, along with further geoscience and community engagement opportunities currently being explored.

Immersive learning technology has the potential to increase student engagement and learning. With the onset of the pandemic in March of 2020, the delivery of education changed, and the use of immersive learning technology was impacted. This chapter considers charges and impacts at the K-12, CTE, and post-secondary level—with on-site, remote, and hybrid learning models—during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anticipated trends in education post-pandemic include an increased need for personalized learning; continued growth in remote learning, virtual learning, and online content and resources and increased demand for career and technical education. Consideration is also given to the implications for immersive learning technology post-pandemic. Specific consideration is given throughout the chapter to the use of zSpace in the United States.

The ongoing digital transformation does not spare universities. Quite the contrary, higher education institutions could be even more affected by it than some other organizations due to their unique position in society as seats of learning, as educators of the workforce and as a key enabler of technological advancement. This article discusses disruptive changes in the field of higher education that include changing learner profiles, new competence requirements and the emerging competition from non-conventional actors. Furthermore, it examines the potential effect of digital transformation in ensuring affordable and inclusive access to tertiary education. These trends will significantly shape the higher education of the future. It is therefore even more important to proactively recognize the opportunities and challenges, but also the relevant stakeholders for cooperation. The article draws on a study conducted within the framework of an EU-funded project (“VISION”).

The study analyses the lessons learnt from two cases of entrepreneurship that launched Augmented Reality in educational contexts. The first one focuses on the enhancement of a compulsory book used by elementary-school students all over the country. In this case, the enterprise has a direct customer, the government. The second one is an independent effort to design from scratch a local book. In this case, the company expects a return on investment from selling the book. Both cases exemplify how to use Augmented Reality to improve immersive learning environments. Furthermore, both cases illustrate how to implement the concept of economies of scale to make feasible the implementation of immersive learning. The method of inquiry is the Extended-Case Method. Consequently, the chapter contributes by contrasting previous literature with new scenarios, update it, and remarking future perspectives, opportunities, and issues.

Topic Study Group 25 (TSG 25) on the role and the use of technology in the teaching and learning of mathematics at lower secondary level discussed this topic over four sessions. These sessions focused on diverse topics such as immersive learning environments in the second session topics as self-efficacy, use of digital technologies outside the classroom and pedagogical aspects of using digital technologies were discussed. In the third session we discussed cultural aspects of technologies in the classroom, and in the last session we discussed communication and the mediating role of digital technologies. The group had contributions from all continents (apart from Antarctica), with a slight overweight of the contributions from European countries. The contributions consisted of five long papers, 21 short papers and eight posters

Simulation-based immersive learning serves as an effective means for bridging in-classroom knowledge and real-world practice. Compared with classical lectures based on PowerPoint slides and verbal interpretation, simulation-based immersive learning incorporates additional channels with graphical vision and interactive modes for delivering knowledge. Using simulation technologies in true-to-life settings, students have the freedom to build up their own knowledge base and develop important individual hands-on skills. This chapter aims at investigating the implementation of simulation-based immersive learning and evaluating its benefits in one pilot course offered in the university. We will describe a platform for simulation-based immersive learning and its application to one pilot course. We will also discuss an interactive system within the platform to enable students to reinforce their knowledge through simple practices. The method for assessing learning effectiveness is also depicted. The assessment results indicate certain advantages of the developed simulation-based immersive learning platform.

This project explored how virtual reality (VR) can be used in artificial intelligence (AI) education. A prototype VR application was developed to give students an introduction to deep learning using the Oculus Quest. The application applied escape room elements as an attempt to let students learn the curriculum in an engaging way by doing 3D-puzzles, calculations, and quizzes based on the course-material. The topics were split into separate rooms to let students progress through the curriculum intuitively. 15 people tested the application and responded to a questionnaire. 26 people evaluated the application’s concepts after watching a video. Based on the evaluation, we believe that using such a VR application in AI education can be a good supplementary tool to introduce students to new topics in an engaging way. The main advantage of using VR in this context is to use interactive 3D-visualizations and hands-on activities that are challenging to experience by other means. The questionnaire’s respondents were very positive to the concept, and it could potentially be beneficial in other types of STEM-education as well.

Augmented reality provides students a presence and an immersive learning environment. The purposes of this study were to develop an augmented-reality mathematics word-problem (AR-MW) learning system and to explore its effects on students’ learning. The study had a pre-test–post-test quasi-experimental design. It was conducted with 37 fourth-grade students in Taiwan. Nineteen students used the AR-MW system and 18 students used the traditional approach to learn mathematics word problems about decimal concepts. Overall mathematics achievement scores did not differ between groups. On the post-test, students in the experimental group, but not those in the control group, showed improvement in the word problem score. The overall number of errors decreased significantly in both groups. The number of misunderstood sentence errors decreased significantly in both groups, and the number of computing errors decreased significantly in the experimental group. These findings demonstrate that the AR-MW system effectively enhances students learning of mathematics word problems.

As Immersive Learning research gains traction, questions arise about how educational Virtual and Augmented Realities can be transferred from laboratory settings and pilot projects into everyday teaching. This paper analyzes existing pedagogical frameworks to identify influencing factors and challenges relevant to teaching and learning with immersive learning environments. We distinguish Immersive Learning as individual learning processes supported by immersive technology and Immersive Teaching as the process of teaching with immersive technology. We subsume learner-specific influences (micro-level), teacher- and classroom-specific influences (meso-level) and institutional and governmental factors (macro-level) for Immersive Teaching and Learning. We conclude that, while investigating isolated variables is important for basic research, efforts integrating Virtual and Augmented Reality in everyday classrooms raise new challenges and questions for future research on the complex relationship between various factors.

The article scientifically substantiates the cultural and creative concept of additional environmental education, as a methodological basis for the formation and development of environmental and social responsibility, which involves the development of four levels of value orientations of students: reproductive, heuristic, creative. The concept is aimed at the formation of the individual activity of students in solving environmental problems on the basis of social, scientific and aesthetic axiological systems that determine the content of ecological-biotechnical, ecological-research, ecological-aesthetic activities. The main result of the implementation of this concept is the ability of students to plan their activities for the study, preservation and creative transformation of the environment independently, using traditional and immersive technologies. Scientists have designed a cultural and creative system of additional environmental education for students using immersive learning technologies, which is considered as a tool for the development of environmental and social responsibility of society. The article presents the results of an experimental test of the effectiveness of the cultural and creative system of additional environmental education using traditional and immersive learning technologies, which has shown the high effectiveness of the influence of innovative forms, means and methods of additional environmental education in the formation of environmental value orientations of students.

Tem-se verificado na última década um impulso para implementar e operacionalizar a utilização de estratégias que habitualmente associamos a jogos – como a atribuição de prémios, acumulação de pontos, e estabelecimento de tabelas de pontuação (leaderboards) – de forma cada vez mais sistematizada, com o intuito de aumentar o envolvimento e a motivação de públicos em circunstâncias variadas: na escola, no local de trabalho, em situações de lazer e de marketing, entre outras. O emprego destas estratégias de aprendizagem não é novo: de uma forma ou outra, como docentes, fomos recorrendo a recompensas, concursos, e outros elementos com os nossos alunos, como forma de motivação para a aprendizagem, que agora surgem na literatura relacionada com a ludificação. O que é novidade é a utilização organizada e sistemática, seguindo guiões e observando resultados de testes empíricos controlados. O presente trabalho procura analisar três casos de implementação de ludificação, dois em Portugal (um deles orientado para alunos mais jovens, e o outro para alunos com caraterísticas e motivações diferentes) e um terceiro internacional, na tentativa de encontrar uma estrutura que possa orientar uma experiência de ludificação numa unidade curricular integrada no ensino artístico na Escola Superior de Educação de Viseu. Procura-se compreender que elementos se revelaram pertinentes e estimulantes, e que contributos trazem para a ação docente, no ensino, e para a ação dos alunos, na aprendizagem. Faz-se ainda uma breve menção a uma experiência de immersive learning, com o intuito de enquadrar os casos analisados num contexto mais abrangente. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

This chapter examines the effects of immersive virtual reality (VR) learning units on the learning success of secondary school students. In a three-step research approach an immersive VR prototype that was designed to achieve specific learning goals in the field of mathematics was developed and validated with pedagogues. In a second step the usability of this prototype was tested with 20 secondary school students. Finally, a field experiment was conducted with 67 secondary school students to evaluate the impact of the VR learning environment on the achievement of measurable learning goals. The analysis showed no difference in learning success between a conventional mathematics lesson and the VR learning environment. The subjects of both experimental group (with VR) and control group (conventional lesson) achieved short and medium-term learning success. Some tendencies with respect to differences by gender and by short- versus long-term learning success lack statistical relevance, but can be seen as indications for further research to investigate the potential of immersive learning.

espanolLa evolucion de las tecnologias de la informacion y la comunicacion ha cambiado la forma de relacionarnos y de construir nuestro conocimiento. Esto supone un reto para los sistemas educativos, ya que la escuela debe proporcionar a todos los estudiantes las experiencias educativas que les permitan desarrollar las competencias que se reflejan en el perfil del alumno del siglo XXI al finalizar la ensenanza obligatoria. Corresponde a los profesores encontrar nuevas formas de ensenar, aprovechando los recursos y las herramientas digitales que ponen a su disposicion las tecnologias moviles. La tecnologia puede contribuir de forma significativa a aumentar la motivacion de los estudiantes porque se acerca a lo que les gusta y utilizan en su vida cotidiana. Esta introduccion de la tecnologia en el aula puede promover una ensenanza orientada al estudiante, lo que contribuye al desarrollo de habilidades como la autonomia, el pensamiento critico y la autoestima. Una de las areas que puede contribuir a este cambio de paradigma es la creacion de experiencias en entornos de aprendizaje inmersivos, como el Transmedia Storytelling. Los entornos de aprendizaje inmersivos pueden favorecer la creacion y puesta en marcha de proyectos que promuevan las habilidades lectoras en las escuelas. Este es el objetivo de este articulo. El objetivo de este estudio es evaluar el impacto de la narracion transmedia en el nivel de motivacion de los estudiantes y en la mejora de las practicas pedagogicas implementadas por los profesores implicados. Este estudio de caso se llevo a cabo en la asignatura de portugues en tres clases de 7o curso de una escuela de la region del Medio Tajo. Los resultados obtenidos sugieren un alto nivel de motivacion de estudiantes y profesores. Estos ultimos reconocen que las rutas pedagogicas que utilizan el Transmedia Storytelling contribuyen a la motivacion, la autonomia y la mejora del aprendizaje de los estudiantes. EnglishThe evolution of information and communication technologies has changed the way we relate to each other and how we build our knowledge. This creates challenges for education systems, as school must provide all students with the educational experiences that will enable them to develop the skills reflected in the profile of the 21st-century student on com pletion of compulsory schooling. It is up to teachers to find new ways of teaching, making the most of the resources and digital tools made available by mobile technologies. Technology can make a significant contribution to increasing students' motivation because it is closer to what they like and use in their daily lives. And this introduction of technology into the classroom can promote student-oriented teaching, which contributes to the development of skills such as autonomy, critical thinking and self-esteem. One of the areas that can contribute to this paradigm shift is the creation of experiences in immersive learning environments such as Transmedia Storytelling. Immersive learning environments can favour the creation and implementation of projects that promote reading skills in schools. This is the focus of this article. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of transmedia storytelling on the level of motivation of students and on the improvement of pedagogical practices implemented by the teachers involved. This case study was carried out in the subject of Portuguese in three 7th-grade classes of a school from the Medio Tejo region. The results obtained suggest a high level of motivation of students and teachers. The latter recognise that pedagogical routes using Transmedia Storytelling contribute to the motivation, autonomy and improvement of students' learning.

This review is the result of the merging of a series of five improved and revisited articles. These articles on immersive technologies were first published from 2016 to 2020 within the collective report of the French delegation to the EDUCAUSE annual conference. A notable progression of technologies and their pedagogical uses is demonstrated. The extended reality (XR) community group (EDUCAUSE, 2021) was created in the EDUCAUSE community to facilitate exchanges on these topics. The HP “Campus of the Future” program (Pomerantz, 2019) with American universities has allowed the dissemination of fruitful feedback. The production of VR modules for learning new skills allows for forms of pedagogy to accompany learners in their virtual work environment. The past 2 years have seen the emergence of headsets and cameras at consumer prices with easy-to-implement applications, for example, to make interactive 360-degree photospheres and videospheres.

This chapter describes the creation and deployment of the Immersive Learning Level Editor (iLLE), a new cross-platform IVE engineered at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney. It illustrates the design considerations, discipline-specific workflows and pedagogical strategies employed in beginning to formulate a new and coherent pedagogy for immersive learning that is transferable, distributable and scalable across disciplines and platforms. In this way, it provides a number of methodological templates for contemplating discipline-specific immersive learning needs.

This paper provides a review of the current state of the gender gap in computer science and highlights how immersive games can mitigate this issue. Game-based learning (GBL) applications have been shown to successfully incite motivation in students and increase learning efficiency in both formal and non-formal educational settings. With the rise of GBL, researchers have also used virtual reality to provide pupils with a more immersive learning experience. Both GBL and virtual reality techniques are also used for computer programming education. However, there is a paucity of applications that utilize these techniques to incite interest in computer science from a female perspective. This is a cause for concern as immersive games have been proven to be capable of inciting affective motivation and fostering positive attitudes towards specific subjects. Hence, this review summarises the benefits and limitations of GBL and virtual reality; how males and females respond to certain game elements; and suggestions to aid in the development of immersive games to increase female participation in the field of computer science.

Advances in information technology have enabled the development of audio-visual, interactive experiences in education, often realized in the form of virtual or augmented reality. However, simply adopting these technologies cannot guarantee successful teaching and learning experiences. Success requires the design of a pedagogy that consists of techniques, strategies, and styles, which a teacher can employ to drive the learning process. We propose a pedagogy through which a teacher can infuse immersive technologies in the course of teaching to stimulate students’ learning experiences, thereby improving their enjoyment and learning outcomes. Readers will gain both a research background concerning the use of immersive technologies in teaching and learning, and practical advice on how to effectively design and deliver pedagogically sound, learner-focused, and accessible learning activities.

Objectives: to develop a virtual simulation and learning laboratory in an immersive virtual world that enables students, nursing professionals as well as health professionals to experiment, reflect and contextualize biosafety actions, infection protection concepts and universal precautions. Methods: description of the development of the Immersive Learning Laboratory in Health and Nursing (LIASE) with a focus on biosafety, having as theoretical basis Kolb’s experimental learning cycle and the OpenSimulator platform. Results: development of the Immersive Learning Laboratory in Health and Nursing: Health Biosafety Module - contains five learning stations. Final Considerations: the development of LIASE indicates the possibility of supporting face-to-face learning in a practical laboratory and continuing the study and implementation with the target audience.

The implementation of immersive technologies such as virtual reality is contextualised as a strategy of exploration and experimentation. This brings about changes in the instructional design of virtual environments and pedagogies of lessons that achieve the outcomes of the student-centric values-driven paradigm of Singapore’s education system. Riverside Secondary School’s VR hub is a futuristic virtual reality classroom that provides immersive learning through sensorial experiences. Students’ feedback and results from a preliminary study validates the benefit that VR is a powerful means of visual learning to help students learn molecular and cellular representations that enhance interest and joy in learning. Students develop scientific empathy when VR give them the opportunity to actualise and be a cell or molecule as this generates a first-person perspective that can give rise to more accurate reasoning to explain scientific phenomena.

Virtual reality (VR) is now widely introduced into English education, while mobile VR applications for English as a foreign language (EFL) learners to practice their speaking are still scant. In order to design a prototype for the VR-assisted English-speaking application, a mixed-method research is conducted in the current study. It investigates 22 learners' oral performance, cognitive load and perspectives in a mobile-based VR learning condition. The results indicate learners' speaking performance has significant improvement, while their cognitive load is increased at the same time. Therefore, the application needs to provide functions helpful for users' better understanding on tasks and content. Besides, varied interaction is also necessary to enhance users' immersive learning experience. The prototype design based on the assessment findings is presented in the end of the study, which can be a reference for the application development in the future.