Exploring activity theory as a tool for evaluating interactivity and learning in virtual environments for children

Abstract

This paper explores the use of Activity Theory for the evaluation of user behaviour in immersive virtual environments. Specifically, the study of user behaviour focuses on interactivity, which is argued to be one of the most important processes that take place between a user and the system in virtual reality. The ultimate intention is to study the role and the effect of interactivity on learning and conceptual change and to examine how interaction and conceptual learning are related in the context of virtual environments developed primarily for informal educational settings. As a first step to this study, a set of exploratory experiments was carried out with children aged 7–12. The children were asked to complete tasks, such as the assembly of ancient columns from parts, which were designed to promote constructivist learning and explore the methods of carrying out in-depth experiments with children. This paper describes the analysis of these exploratory case studies from an Activity Theory perspective.