Abstract
The Virtual World is a technology that has created countless opportunities for teaching and learning, innovating traditional and online education, and promoting a more sustainable and accessible education. Through their avatars and digital representations, students can navigate, observe, and manipulate virtual objects, while interacting with their classmates inside the simulated 3D environment. This study examined how preservice teachers experience and participate in a VW that simulates a university campus, considering three main components: interactivity, sense of presence, and state of flow. A total of 103 pedagogy students, enrolled in an educational technology course, participated in the study. A postintervention survey was implemented, as well as a self-report about the immersive experience. The results show a high level of agreement with the survey’s affirmations, which allows for the determination of the favorable levels of interactivity, presence, and flow, as well as the meaningful and positive associations among these technological properties. Guidelines are argued to deepen the Virtual World’s potential and are given for the design of pedagogical activities in those environments.
Highlights
The Virtual World is a technology that has created countless opportunities for teaching and learning, innovating traditional and online education, and promoting a more sustainable and accessible education
On the basis of these principles, Kolb holds that students must confront four modes of experiential learning: (i) Concrete experiences, where they engage in a new situation with an open mind and without prejudice; (ii) Reflective observation, where they reflect on and observe those experiences from different perspectives; (iii) Abstract conceptualization, where they can transform their observations by creating concepts that are generalizations or logical principles; and, (iv) Active experimentation, where they use their developed theories to solve a given challenge or problem [26]
Participants reflected on the experience, about the different strategies used by their peers to approach the situation, the resources available for teaching, and their strengths, as well as aspects to improve in their roles as teachers
Summary
Educational neuroscience experts argue that this technology is promising because of its capacity to create three-dimensional scenes that produce vivid and emotional experiences for students [18]. The sense of presence consists of the illusion of being at a certain place, despite knowing that one is not there It happens as users explore the boundaries of an immersive system, i.e., the more they investigate, the greater the likelihood of presence breaks [22]. In Girvan’s words, the sense of presence would suggest that the user feels represented in the space and that others acknowledge that representation [9]. They are aware that others know of their arrival, departure, and any of their actions while in the VW. SandovalHenríquez and Badilla-Quintana argue that, by developing activities with immersive technology, students achieve better focus and undergo less stress as they enjoy them [25]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
