HapticCollider: Ungrounded Force Feedback for Rigid Collisions during Virtual Tool Use

When virtual education was implemented in Peru, the limitations of teachers in technological management were evident. For this reason, the research seeks to analyze the perception of university satisfaction regarding the use of virtual teacher tools as part of teaching strategies, in order to improve virtual teaching-learning, achieving student motivation and facilitating this meaningful learning through the use of virtual tools. The method used according to the investigative approach is qualitative, according to its scope it is descriptive and correlational. During the development of the research, it was identified that the satisfaction regarding the use of virtual tools by the teacher is focused on the critical, constructive and positive attitude towards virtual tools and in the acquittal of students' questions regarding the use of virtual tools. On the other hand, the indicator that is related to low student satisfaction focuses on the low diversity of methodological strategies used for the development of virtual learning sessions. Likewise, the Chi-square test shows the significant relationship between the perception of the teacher's competences regarding the use of virtual tools and the perception of the quality of the teaching offered to students during distance education.

This study focused on the correlation on teachers’ profiles, perceived effects on the use of virtual tools in teaching, the extent of use and length of time in utilizing these virtual tools, and the challenges encountered by the teachers in the use of virtual tools to the academic performance of the students. The descriptive-correlational research design was adopted with a structured questionnaire as the main instrument used in gathering the needed data. The study was conducted during the first two weeks of June 2022. The data gathered were treated using Frequency counts, means, and percentages for the descriptive variables. Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation (Pearson r) and Chi- square test were used to find the relationships between and among the variables. The study came out with the following findings: The female-dominated teacher respondents who are married and have enrolled in graduate studies are in their mid-adulthood stage. They have taught for almost two decades, mostly in junior high school, and they have attended training on virtual tools. These teachers perceived that the effects of virtual tools have a very strong effect on their teaching. The teachers’ challenges in using virtual tools are considered a slight challenge. With these virtual tools in teaching, the students performed very satisfactorily. Females spend more time using virtual tools. The extent of the use of virtual tools in teaching is affected by the grade level taught and the seminars/trainings attended along with the use of virtual tools. The student’s academic performance is affected by the highest educational attainment and the grade level taught by the teacher. Also, the length of time in the use of virtual tools affects the extent of use of virtual tools, the extent of use of virtual tools also affects the challenges experienced by the teachers, and the perceived effects to teachers in the use of virtual tools affect the challenges that the teachers experienced in the use of virtual tools. With these, it is concluded that the higher the educational attainment of the teacher and the higher the grade level they taught. On the other hand, the perceived effects on the use of virtual tools in teaching, the extent of use and length of time in utilizing these virtual tools, and the challenges encountered by the teachers in the use of virtual tools do not affect the academic performance of the students.

Getting a handle on virtual tools: An examination of the neuronal activity associated with virtual tool use

In this context of virtualization, the educational sector has seen the need to make use of technological advances, for this reason it is important to know the perception of students, after having fully adapted distance learning through tools. virtual, which have allowed teachers and students to maintain the pedagogical link at a distance, either through the virtual classroom or through the use of simulation software. In this sense, the objective of this article is to identify the perception of teaching through virtual tools in university students and determine its level of effect or relationship in student satisfaction. This research is approached from a qualitative approach using the Likert measurement method and a content analysis methodology using virtual instruments. The results of the study indicate that 92.9% and 89.3% of the students are satisfied, these results focus on the indicators "absolves the questions asked regarding the use of virtual tools" and "knowledge shown by the teacher in the development of the sessions through virtual tools”. Likewise, the correlational analysis, through Spearman's Chi square test, establishes that there is a high relationship or significant effect of 0.850 between the perception of teaching through virtual tools with student satisfaction.

A 2021-22 survey of trade promotion organizations conducted by the World Bank to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their functioning suggests four main findings. First, trade promotion organizations in high-income countries are larger than those in low-income countries, suggesting a stronger capacity to adapt during the pandemic. Second, trade promotion organizations in high-income countries saw a significant jump in their median budget in 2021 indicating a strong response effort. In low-income countries, the budgets of trade promotion organizations declined. Third, most trade promotion organizations in high-income countries put in place a COVID-19 recovery plan, while none of the trade promotion organizations in low-income countries had one in place at the time of the survey. Fourth, trade promotion organizations used several virtual tools during the pandemic, such as business-to-business matching events and training of small firms on e-commerce, and are expecting to increase the use of all virtual tools post COVID-19. Trade promotion organizations’ use of virtual tools in low-income countries remained limited.

The growing social gap between people of different generations has led to a greater interest in the study of intergenerational interactions. Digital technologies have become necessary for people of all ages to perform daily activities, increasingly including older people. The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and virtual tools can provide older people with excellent opportunities to connect with other generations, improving their quality of life and well-being. The aim of this study was to examine the benefits, satisfaction, and limitations of intergenerational interactions generated by the use of virtual tools. The participants are subjects of any age and different social groups residing in Spain and have completed an online survey. The analysis of sociodemographic data of the respondents showed that there is a significant correlation between the use of social networks and all the variables analyzed, except for their level of autonomy. Most participants who participated in intergenerational virtual activities reported the benefits of their social participation, relationships, mood, mental health, and academic education. Moreover, most participants were quite or very satisfied with the person with whom they used the virtual tools, especially if the person was a friend, their partner, sibling, another relative, or colleague. Except for grandparents, people who participated in intergenerational virtual activities and who had no limitations or disabilities were more frequently reported by the participants. In conclusion, intergenerational interactions through the use of virtual tools can contribute to improving the social inclusion and relationships of all people involved.

As communication technology capabilities have improved and the globalization of the workforce has resulted in distributed teams, organizations have been shifting towards virtual teams and virtual meetings over the last decade. This trend has been accelerated with current work-from-home orders due to COVID-19. Even though virtual collaboration has, in the past, been the focus of multiple studies, there are some surprising gaps in our knowledge. For instance, there are few empirical studies examining the impact of virtual devices and tools on creative problem-solving. While there is a substantial body of research on electronic brainstorming and the use of virtual tools for idea generation, less is known about earlier processes such as problem construction or later processes such as idea evaluation and idea selection. Furthermore, as a dynamic process, creativity and innovation is heavily influenced by the people engaged in the process and their collaborative environment, yet there is a gap in the literature regarding the type of virtual tools used in the process (i.e., audio + video vs. audio alone, or the use of file-sharing technologies). In this paper, we will review the current literature on virtual teams, virtual meetings, and creativity. We will then explore theoretical frameworks such as media richness theory that can help us understand how virtuality and virtual tools may influence team creativity across the dynamic range of the creative problem-solving process. Finally, given the limited research in the domain of virtual team creativity we provide questions to help guide future research. Research questions will help identify those areas where virtual teams may be beneficial for creativity and areas where virtual teams may be likely to perform less effectively on creative tasks.

This article presents findings from a study examining the impact of a virtual community of practice (VCoP) on professional development (PD) providers learning how to coach teachers using a virtual coaching model called VECTOR. The study was conducted during a time of widespread school closures amidst a global pandemic, but findings can inform the feasibility and usability of VCoPs in situations where learners are geographically or otherwise isolated from learning experiences. Using a non-parametric t-test, pre-/post-group change showed significant effect sizes in three areas: participants’ use of virtual tools for coaching (ES = 0.551), learning a process to engage in virtual coaching (ES = 0.597), and belief that future coachees (typically classroom teachers) are well-prepared and supported (ES = 0.553). Differences in participants’ prior coaching experience lead to questions that could inform future studies on the ideal makeup of VCoPs, and the impact of participant demographics on learning and other VCoP benefits. Keywords: instructional coaching, professional development, professional learning, communities of practice, virtual, virtual coaching

This literature review article compiles information from the most relevant studies on the use of strategies to encourage reading, reading comprehension, and gamification for learning through virtual tools, applied to the initial level II cycle. In addition, the perspective of the mentioned authors led to suggest that the use of virtual tools in recent times has been of great help because it has motivated students to read and research more about a particular topic and this has allowed students to learn better and in a more fun and interesting way. Likewise, the bibliographic review was accompanied by a systematic search in the databases of Scopus, EBSCO, ProQuest, among others, which made it possible to identify the most outstanding authors for this study, for which they went through a meticulous filter respecting the PRISMA flowchart. On the other hand, we began with 165 studies and after a detailed systematization, 29 studies were selected that met specific characteristics and factors for this study. Likewise, a series of criteria that can help us to evaluate the quality of a literature review article by applying the descriptive method is pointed out.

Technology, in the present time, has been integrated in a variety of human activities, not least in learning. Learning platform provides the integration of technology-based learning environment. Learning platform places technology as “substitute” for a variety of learning activities that previously had to be done manually and must be presented physically to any other form that the virtual tools while providing a social area in order to maintain the importance of the relationship between teacher and student.Through virtual tools, learning platforms provide a learning environment that models the interactions within the class as a whole starting from the preparation of lesson plans, presentation materials, use of media, assignments, group work, assessment, management of the rating value to students. Support for learning administrative aspects are available through the authorization feature and access scope management that aims to clarify the roles, forms of participation and the interaction process of each of group involved in the learning, both students, teachers and system administrators.The variety of learning platform is available either in the form of open source or limited use, either in the form of package systems such as Learning Management System via Moodle and cloud-based tools such as Google’s Classroom, etc. Haiku learning. The following section will describe the use of virtual tools in a learning platform for implementing learning environment as a whole. One thing that can not be avoided and instead be more value in the use of learning platforms are the creation of a new paradigm of learning without paper. Except giving a new form for efficient and optimal learning, in the perspective of the present paperless classroom certainly economical and environmentally friendly.

This paper presents a study of the evaluation of ergonomics using virtual tools in a pre-production phase when verifying the manual assembly of the XC90 car model at the Volvo Car Corporation. The case study focused especially on the verification of visual demands in assembly work due to its complexity. The virtual development process was mapped in observations of the use of virtual tools and interviews with actors involved in the verification. Results show that computer manikins are viable tools in verifying ergonomics early in a development process and that they help to detect many problems prior to physical pre-series. There are, however, substantial improvement potentials, both in the software itself and, even more, in the process of using virtual tools. The study identified several factors that can increase the reliability of the results of computer manikin simulations (e.g. participative ergonomics and documentation issues). The special focus on visual demands shows the need of basic knowledge about human behaviour for making valid simulations. This case study stresses the need for knowledge about simulations in both analysis and interpretations in order to achieve maximum output from a virtual manufacturing process.

Background: Effective and scalable strategies are needed to develop health research capacity in low- and middle‑income countries (LMICs). Health research capacity strengthening (HRCS) focuses on boosting production and utilization of health research, with clinicians as key target participants. Despite the increased prevalence of virtual HRCS programs, there has been no review of the evidence for those targeting LMIC clinicians to date. Objective: This review characterizes the use of virtual tools in HRCS programs for clinicians in LMICs and describes the impacts, facilitators, and barriers associated with these programs. Methods: Following our protocol (PROSPERO; CRD42020152510), we employed an integrative review methodology. We adapted Cooke's Research Capacity Development for Impact framework by adding "equity" as a new domain and used it to evaluate programmatic impacts. We retrieved relevant articles from five databases and gray literature. Included articles were extracted and stratified by degree of virtual delivery. We analyzed virtual tool usage via content analysis. Using NVivo, we coded until theoretical saturation and analyzed data using the constant comparison method. Findings: From 1397 articles, 58 met inclusion criteria. Most programs were hybrid, and e‑courses were the most used virtual tool. Articles described impacts across all framework domains; the most discussed were skills and confidence building. Facilitators included user‑friendly platforms, interactive content, and strategies to improve program access, including financial and technological support. Some programs incorporated hybrid strategies to foster trust among participants and virtual mentors. Barriers included a lack of or an unfavorable local research culture. Conclusions: Recommendations from this review may guide the design and implementation of virtual HRCS programs for LMIC clinicians. These include selecting well‑fitted program participants, intentionally designing program structure and content, conducting needs assessments or pilots, incorporating equity as a programmatic target, ensuring longitudinal program evaluation and monitoring, and utilizing a comprehensive conceptualization of program sustainability.

The forms of business organizations follow some steady trends driven by tendencies like the rapid development of IT and the transition of information systems. The application of virtualization and the use of virtual tools by start-up companies are discussed. The article reviews the phases of the business model and software product development. The activities in them are grouped and sample tools for each is listed. Also, the modern form of organization as the virtual office and corporation are reviewed as becoming necessary. In detail, the startup company is reviewed in the form of a virtual corporation with its characteristics. They are classified and areas of application and management issues are discussed. Finally, the coverage of activities with virtual tools is evaluated and summarized.

Background: In the technological age, virtual tools are important in our lives; they separate the tool’s effector and the tool user. An example is a computer mouse; the onscreen movement of the cursor is not necessarily mapped in a one-to-one fashion with hand movements and lacks much of the somatosensory feedback common in real tool use. Recent work provides evidence that virtual tools may be neurologically represented similarly to real tools. Using a virtual tool to hit targets during a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task, this study assesses whether virtual tools activate the same neuronal networks as real tool use. Participants performed in a single fMRI experiment consisting of two experimental conditions, each with a reversal and non-reversal block of trials. Methods: In the first condition (Vision), the relationship between hand and cursor position was illustrated. During the reversal trials, this information consisted of a stick pivoting around a center point connecting hand position and cursor position; leftward hand movements were required to hit targets appearing on the right. During the non-reversal trials, the relationship between hand and cursor was represented by a stick connecting hand position and cursor that translated with hand movement. The second experimental condition (No Vision) was similar to the first, but the stick was not visible to participants. Results/Conclusions: Behavioral results matched previous studies, with tool visibility in the reversal condition decreasing reaction times when compared to conditions where tool visibility was not provided. Tool visibility elicited activity within the left hemisphere regions previously identified as critical for tool use. Activity within the posterior middle temporal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, anterior intraparietal cortex, dorsal premotor cortex, and supplemental motor area showed condition-dependent activity. The present study demonstrates that the brain utilizes similar networks to support virtual tools as those utilized during real world tool use.

Our research explores the connection between physical and virtual tools. This work is based on research from the cognitive sciences showing that physical and virtual tool use extends our brain's representation of peripersonal space to include the tool. These findings led us to investigate if tool appropriation transfers from virtual to physical tools. The present paper reports the results of a study that revealed that manipulating a tool in the virtual space is sufficient to induce appropriation of a similar physical tool. These results have implications for interaction design in training and simulation applications.