Virtual Campus Research Articles

College Campus Tour using AR/VR

This project focuses on developing an immersive 360° virtual campus tour using augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) technologies to enhance accessibility and engagement for prospective students, alumni, and visitors. Integrated into the college's official website, this virtual tour enables users to explore key campus locations, view event-based images and information by selecting specific dates, and experience campus life from a remote setting. By leveraging high-definition 360° video and interactive elements, the project addresses challenges in accessibility, engagement, and marketing faced by traditional static campus presentations. The system architecture includes modules for video capture, interactive feature integration, and seamless website embedding, utilizing advanced technologies like WebGL, A-Frame, and machine learning algorithms for content retrieval and event-based data integration. The project aims to increase the institution's digital presence and support recruitment and alumni engagement

StaffsVerse: Building a Metaverse Campus Utilising the Unreal Editor for Fortnite

In pursuit of redefining the conventional campus introductory experience, this paper presents the development and implementation of the StaffsVerse project - a virtual campus immersion tool. Designed as a Metaverse representation, the StaffsVerse project intends to transform the physical campus of Staffordshire University into an interactive digital environment. Its purpose extends to serving as a versatile tool for remote education delivery, virtual campus tours, public science outreach, and facilitating a seamless transition for students into the university community. Through immersive digital engagement, the StaffsVerse project seeks to bridge the gap between remote learners and the campus environment while facilitating a smooth integration into academic and social aspects of university life. In contrast to previous implementations of virtual campuses, the StaffsVerse project is unique in leveraging the capabilities of Unreal Editor in Fortnite (UEFN). This approach enables the development of highly detailed, interactive, and engaging environments within the expansive Fortnite ecosystem. The project's primary objective is to harness the infrastructure and extensive user base of one of the world's most widely played multi-platform games, thereby ensuring a low barrier to access. Therefore, this paper will explore how the UEFN system's adaptability can effectively create an accurate virtual replica of the physical Staffordshire University campus. The key contribution of this paper includes an overview of the design and developmental journey of the StaffsVerse project. The evolution of the project will be outlined by discussing the two pivotal iterations of the game-based implementation and explaining the decision-making process that led to the resulting version. The examination extends to the unique features of the UEFN build, addressing the inherent challenges and opportunities specific to the platform. Furthermore, specific game-based decisions are discussed, such as replicating essential campus locations, integrating interactive features, and incorporating elements unique to the virtual environment. The paper will discuss the specific educational opportunities UEFN offers, including the potential for enhancing student engagement through gamified campus experiences, insights into creating a Metaverse university campus, and contributions to the growing discourse on the intersection of game-based virtual environments in learning.

Virtual Campus Libraries’ Role in Community Colleges: Benefit, Challenge and Future

Virtual Campus Libraries’ Role in Community Colleges: Benefit, Challenge and Future

Research on Construction and Application of Virtual Campus Empowered by Metaverse

Research on Construction and Application of Virtual Campus Empowered by Metaverse

Examining the Use of DanMu for Crowdsourcing Control in Virtual Gatherings

The advent of web-based interactive technologies has opened up new possibilities for virtual gatherings in 3D environments. Live-streaming, in particular, has gained increasing attention due to its effectiveness in engaging a large number of users in collective online activities. With an emphasis on audience participation, live-streaming shares common characteristics of the outlook of the metaverse and is driving new waves of interaction in virtual gatherings, such as engaging users through crowdsourcing control. However, this type of social interaction has not been examined in the Asian context, and it lacks systematic investigation of user experience with different crowdsourcing control methods. In this paper, we present a novel crowdsourcing control method based on DanMu, the subtitle system of Bilibili, one of the most successful and prevalent live-streaming platforms in Asia. We organized virtual gatherings by live-streaming a Minecraft virtual campus and examined the use of DanMu for crowdsourcing control. Our first study investigated the influence of three crowdsourcing control methods (First Come First Served, Vote, and Super Command) on collective navigation task efficiency and user experience. These influences were further discussed with user activeness and group sizes in a follow-up study. The results showed that Super Command, a representative mode on top of the democratic voting mechanism, offers better user experiences and social richness in large groups. Participants also rated its usability higher in small groups. Besides, virtual gathering in small groups allows greater pragmatic quality, usability, and a sense of agency than in large groups. Our work provides design guidelines for developers and HCI practitioners to develop crowdsourcing control methods and improve novel virtual gathering experiences in virtual worlds and the future metaverse.

The Technology Stack and System Architecture of the University of Cologne Virtual Campus

The Technology Stack and System Architecture of the University of Cologne Virtual Campus

Review of Digital Campus Construction Led by Virtual Reality Technology

In recent years, the government has issued a series of documents to promote the construction of digital campuses. This initiative serves to encourage the deep integration of information technology and intelligent technology education and digital reform, the combination of virtual reality and campus management is the need for innovative thinking and economic and social development, and then better change our learning style and living environment. The construction of the digital campus is based on virtual reality technology, BIM, GIS, and three-dimensional modeling technology to provide an immersive platform for students, promote the integration of virtual reality technology and education, help teachers, students, and parents to understand all kinds of education information and resources, to achieve their interoperability. From the off-campus environment to the school teaching equipment, teachers to teaching quality certification, and learning, to extracurricular entertainment, opening ceremonies to graduation parties, to bring more efficient, convenient, and safe campus life for teachers, students, and staff in school, and break the traditional information restrictions.

The Study on the Distance Teaching Form Innovation based on the Virtual Value Chain Angle

Based on the internet and the education sharing economy, the distance teaching form innovation corresponding to the form (binary system), which includes campus form innovation (virtual campus, smart campus) and classroom form innovation (virtual classroom, smart classroom). The distance teaching form innovation corresponding to the distance system virtual value chain, which including campus form innovation (virtual campus, smart campus) and classroom form innovation (virtual classroom, smart classroom). The distance teaching form innovation corresponding to the content (cooperation) virtual value chain, which including teacher form innovation ( The distance teaching form innovation corresponds to the content (cooperation) virtual value chain, which includes teacher form innovation ( virtual teacher, robotic teacher), credit form innovation (school credit bank, virtual credit) and certificate form innovation (1+x certificate, virtual certificate). The distance teaching form innovation based on the virtual value chain angle, it’s helpful to build the first class brand of distance education. The distance teaching form innovation based on the virtual value chain angle, it’s helpful to build the first class brand of distance education.

Keystone - A Smart Campus

Abstract: Increasing numbers of institutes have set up facilities on their Web portal as a way of providing users (i.e. Students and Faculties) with information about their facilities and features. Generally in colleges, things are done manually such as submission, handouts, notice, results, records, examinations, etc. so to avoid this we are designing a web portal for our institute, which will be helpful in following features like time saving, easy access and user friendly. In this project, we developed a Smart Campus Web Portal called Keystone App. Keystone App offers campus management solutions with the collaboration of smart features, the Internet and computer applications. The system has many features; these are Online Attendance System, Online Noticeboard, providing study materials and many more. It is a digitalization of campus resources in the real world, allowing different resources to be integrated and generating an ecology. The virtual campus interacts powerfully with the physical campus, improving the efficiency of campus operations and promoting the university's long-term development.

Social Media for Nutrition Education-A Randomized Controlled Trial to Promote Fruit and Vegetable Intake in a University Setting: "The University of Valladolid Community Eats Healthy" Study.

Social media- and internet-based interventions are nowadays widely used tools in health interventions. Although evidence of their effectiveness is still low, their applications could be very promising due to their affordability and wide reach. The current paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention program, "The University of Valladolid Community Eats Healthy" (UVEH), to increase fruit and vegetable (FV) intake in adults from the University of Valladolid (U. Valladolid) employing three online methodologies. A sample of 211 volunteers was randomly assigned into four groups: virtual campus (VC), Facebook (FB), Instagram (IG), and control. An intervention based on the Theory of Planned Behavior was implemented for seven weeks. Data were collected at the beginning (T0) and the end of the program (T1). The Predimed questionnaire was employed to assess FV intake. Vegetable intake was statistically significantly higher in the VC group (17.4% pre vs. 72.7% post). In the rest of the groups, there was also an increase in intake. Fruit consumption increased slightly only in the VC group (23.9% pre vs. 45.5% post). Participation decreased through the weeks: FB (week 2), IG (week 3), and VC (week 4). Retention was higher in the VC (48%) and control (60%) groups. Internet-based interventions employing interactive platforms such as virtual campus can be effective in enhancing participants' dietary habits in a clinically relevant manner.

Campus Culture Construction of Colleges and Universities Based on Virtual Reality Technology

This paper presents a novel approach to campus culture construction in colleges and universities utilizing virtual reality (VR) technology enhanced by Cartesian point Probabilistic LSTM (CPP-LSTM). The study aims to enhance campus culture by creating immersive virtual environments that promote engagement, collaboration, and learning among students and faculty members. Through simulated experiments and empirical validations, the efficacy of the CPP-LSTM-enhanced VR technology is evaluated in creating realistic and interactive virtual campus environments. Results demonstrate significant improvements in user engagement and satisfaction compared to traditional methods. For instance, users interacting with the CPP-LSTM-enhanced VR platform reported a 30% increase in perceived sense of belonging and a 25% improvement in overall satisfaction ratings. Additionally, the CPP-LSTM model enables the generation of personalized virtual experiences based on user preferences and feedback, leading to more immersive and impactful campus culture construction. These findings underscore the potential of VR technology with CPP-LSTM in revolutionizing campus culture construction and fostering a vibrant and inclusive campus community.

Designing an Educational Metaverse: A Case Study of NTUniverse

An up-and-coming concept that seeks to transform how students learn about and study complex systems, as well as how industrial workers are trained, metaverse technology is characterized in this context by its use in virtual simulation and analysis. In this work, a virtual environment is created that duplicates real-world situations and enables immersive and interactive learning in the educational metaverse. For this purpose, we built a digital twin of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) campus as a foundation, called NTUniverse. It is designed as an educational metaverse in which various academic and analytical applications are digitized as 3D content embedded within this virtual campus. The approach to digitally twinning educational systems and embedding them within virtual campuses enables remote and collaborative learning as well as professional technical skills training. It also makes feasible the analysis of abstract concepts, complicated structures, dynamic processes, and sensitive industrial procedures virtually, which is otherwise challenging if not impossible to perform in the real world. The work offers important insights into the behaviors and interactions of systems in the metaverse by evaluating design choices and user interests. NTUniverse is an attempt to explore a novel approach that addresses remote education and training challenges. Three efforts with NTUniverse will be discussed in this work, including (1) digitalization of the NTU campus; (2) campus train modelling and simulation; and (3) science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.

Keystone - A Smart Campus

Abstract: Increasing numbers of institutes have set up facilities on their Web portal as a way of providing users (i.e. Students and Faculties) with information about their facilities and features. Generally in colleges, things are done manually such as submission, handouts, notice, results, records, examinations, etc. so to avoid this we are designing a web portal for our institute, which will be helpful in following features like time saving, easy access and user friendly. In this project, we developed a Smart Campus Web Portal called Keystone App. Keystone App offers campus management solutions with the collaboration of smart features, the Internet and computer applications. The system has many features; these are Online Attendance System, Online Noticeboard, providing study materials and many more. It is a digitalization of campus resources in the real world, allowing different resources to be integrated and generating an ecology. The virtual campus interacts powerfully with the physical campus, improving the efficiency of campus operations and promoting the university's long-term development.

Modelling of Virtual Campus Tour in Minecraft

Virtual tours have revolutionized the way to explore and experience places from the comfort of our own home. Through advanced technology and immersive digital platforms, virtual tours offer a compelling alternative to tradition face-to-face visits. Whether a famous landmark, museum, real estate or natural wonders, virtual tours offer a unique opportunity to navigate and discover these places form a distance. Meanwhile, creating a virtual tour in Minecraft can provide a unique and immersive experience that sets the users apart from other virtual tour platforms. Minecraft is one of the most popular video games in the world and boasts a large and dedicated community of players. Using Minecraft for a virtual tour allow users to reach a larger audience who are already familiar with the game, increasing the likelihood of engagement and participation. In this paper, the aim is to create a virtual campus tour in Minecraft to give the visitors an immersive and interactive experience with creative freedom. A series of buildings have been built such as Siti Hasmah Digital Library, Common Lecture Complex (CLC) and Smart Lab. Visitors can move around the campus with some gameplay mechanics using mouse and keyboard. Building information was also integrated so visitors can see details about each building during the virtual tour. The virtual tour provides access, comfort and a sense of connection to prospective students, their families and international visitors. Additionally, it serves as a low-cost marketing tool that increases engagement, attracts potential students, researchers and staff and ultimately benefits the University’s recruitment efforts.

Exploring Campus through Web-Based Immersive Adventures Using Virtual Reality Photography: A Low-Cost Virtual Tour Experience

This study aims to assess the incorporation of virtual reality (VR) photography into the web-based immersive application “virtual interactive campus tour (VICT).” This application offers users an immersive experience, allowing them to virtually explore university campuses and access information about the facilities and services available. The VICT application offers a cost-effective, attractive, and sustainable alternative for universities to display their resources and interact with potential students. Through black box testing, we conducted user acceptance testing (UAT) and functionality testing, confirming the application’s readiness for deployment and its capability to meet institutional and end-user requirements. This study also examined the potential for universities to use VR to meet the expectations of prospective students. The application is compatible with both desktop and mobile devices. The results indicated that the overall average validity score was 0.88, suggesting that the measure is valid. The validation results were thoroughly tested and reliable. This study emphasizes the potential of immersive web-based tours in higher education and aims to bridge the divide between virtual exploration and physical visits. By offering an immersive virtual campus experience, this innovative tool has the potential to revolutionize university marketing strategies, increase student engagement, and transform campus visit approaches.

Virtual Active Learning to Maximize Knowledge Acquisition in Nursing Students: A Comparative Study.

Nursing students need to acquire knowledge through active methods that promote critical thinking and decision making. The purpose of this study is to analyze whether there are differences in the acquisition of knowledge by nursing students between active face-to-face or virtual teaching methods. In this comparative study, nursing students enrolled in the psychology course were divided into two groups: a face-to-face group that received active teaching methods and a virtual group. The virtual group was exposed to the Effective Learning Strategy (ELS), which included seminars based on video content through the Virtual Campus and answering questions using the H5P tool. In addition, participants engaged in reflection tasks on the content. Covariate data were collected, and knowledge tests were administered to both groups before and after the course. After three months, subjects were re-evaluated with a final exam to assess content retention. A total of 280 students were randomized. No differences were found in students' scores at the end of the knowledge test or in their final grades in the subject. Having study habits (b = 0.12, p = 0.03) and social support from relevant people (b = 0.09; p = 0.03) were associated with better post-intervention scores, and inversely with social support from friends (b = -0.12, p < 0.01). Final grades were inversely associated with digital safety literacy (b = -0.101, p = 0.01). No factors were associated with the scores of each group separately. The ELS virtual active learning model is as effective as face-to-face active learning methods for teaching psychology to first-year nursing students. This study was not registered.

머신러닝기반 메타버스플랫폼 고도화 모델 설계에 관한 연구

Metaverse is a space where communication and interaction similar to those in the real world are possible and new experiences can be pursued through the provision of various contents and services. Owing to the recent advancements in the application of artificial intelligence (AI), Metaverse is expected to expand. The convergence of metaverse and AI overcomes the limitations of communication, resolves difficulties in creating space, and maximizes the use of internal and external data. In this study, we present the status of existing studies implemented within the Metaverse Platform virtual campus of Korea Polytechnic and the design of an advanced model that enhances interaction using machine learning such as the latest GPT technology and LLM. We propose to provide an LLM-based interactive internal information search service to improve the user environment by efficiently utilizing internal data and communicating in natural language. In future studies, we will focus on the detailed design of domain data capable of general-purpose services and implementation of the advanced model designed in this study. Thereafter, we intend to design and construct our own reliable LLM model and perform performance evaluation through with external LLM models.

Technology-Mediated Pragmatics Instruction: Learning Request-Making Through Game-Based Tasks in L2 Learners

This study investigates the impact of technology-mediated pragmatic teaching on L2 learners. Through task-based games, we explored how to instruct English learners in China to learn the speech act of request-making. The game in this study showcases several scenarios to players, including virtual conversations between learners and professors, employers, and friends on a virtual American campus. 105 undergraduate students from a university in China participated in this study, covering 10 virtual request scenarios. They are supposed to choose the most appropriate expression in the context presented in the text and video. According to their choice, the corresponding video of the game will display real-time feedback from the interlocutor, which is the authentic reaction and consequence of the learner’s selection, that is, the other party’s response to the request, such as happily accepting, reluctantly accepting, or refusing the request. The results indicate that in game-based teaching, learners gain much more productive knowledge than receptive knowledge. The participants improved their productive knowledge of making requests after playing the game and maintained this gain at delayed post-tests, but their receptive knowledge remained almost unchanged. In addition, metapragmatic knowledge is positively correlated with the participants’ learning outcome of request-making.

Breaking Boundaries

Although the pandemic increased the adoption of non-education platforms for teaching, it brought challenges to online higher education. These challenges encompass fatigue from excessive use of video conferencing applications, frustration experienced by instructors when students keep their cameras off during online classes, low student engagement, and notable silence in response to questions or concerns. As digital education and online interaction continue to evolve, the concept of the metaverse has emerged as a potential solution to enhance engagement and collaboration within virtual spaces (Mistretta, 2022). The metaverse, as defined by the Acceleration Studies Foundation, represents the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physical-persisted virtual space (Kye et al., 2021). It constitutes an interactive, three-dimensional virtual environment where individuals can interact with one another and digital entities, mirroring real-life interactions. The metaverse encompasses virtual worlds, online games, social networks, augmented and virtual reality experiences, and more. It blurs the line between the physical and digital realms, allowing for seamless and integrated experiences. Built upon the maturity of technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), big data, and blockchain, represents the future of education (Wu &amp; Gao, 2022, cited in George, E. 2023). Hybrid and flexible environments facilitate the integration of these technologies, overcoming physical limitations and enabling students to immerse themselves in a completely virtual environment. Within this environment, students can engage in creative activities that foster learning, critical thinking, collaborative work, socialization, and positively impact student motivation (Almaguer et al., 2021; Burnett et al., 2021; Zhang et al., 2022). Virbela is a virtual reality platform that recreates real-world settings, dynamics, and human interactions in virtual environments. Unlike video conferencing, digital collaboration tools, and online forums, Virbela provides the ability to replicate physical offices, events, or learning spaces while maintaining a sense of community and culture (Virbela, 2023). Tec Virtual Campus is a Tecnologico de Monterrey virtual world created using Virbela. Accessible through a desktop application, this platform offers students a digital space where they can access using customizable avatars and enjoy freedom of movement as if they were on the physical campus (Villanueva, A. 2022). This environment enables the presentation of projects, complete class sessions, participation in forums, organization of educational events, and various other activities, all within an interactive 100% virtual space that utilizes three-dimensional animations and voice-enabled avatars. In this context, we will provide examples of two educational activities implemented within the Virtual Campus for high-enrollment online courses encompassing over 100 students from diverse regions in Mexico. These courses span distinct disciplines: Engineering and Sciences, and Social Sciences and Government. These examples aim to demonstrate that regardless of the subject being studied or course characteristics, this immersive resource can be utilized to add value and innovation to virtual classrooms.

Self-learning by Using Code-Based Games: An Easy Way to Learn Biomolecule’s Nomenclature

The Montessori method was an educational model devised at the beginning of the 20th century by the Italian pedagogue, physician, psychologist, and psychiatrist María Montessori (1870-1952). She observed that her students activated their intelligence and developed their personality by carrying out manual activities. In recent years, one of the activities that she used, gamification, is currently booming in teaching. Games based in words or letters are often used in language learning, either in presential lessons or in mobile applications. In our teaching innovation group (GINDOC-UB/180), we proposed to adapt those word games using codes so that students could achieve a self-learning on the nomenclature of biomolecules, thus improving their knowledge in metabolism. These code-based games were proposed to Biochemistry students at the Chemistry degree of the Universitat de Barcelona. Games were posted on the Virtual Campus using Moodle. A code is part of a communicative system, and it is defined as a set of elements that allows a message to be decoded. In biochemistry, the best-known code is the genetic code that translates 3 nucleotides to an amino acid. The code allows the students to see that it is a degenerated code, and it was the first code-based game used. Nevertheless, only 20 amino acids are involved, and some letters are missing. Thus, we also used other codes such as numeric codes, Morse code, Braille system code, or codes from other alphabets (Japanese katakana or hiragana, Cyrillic alphabet, Arabic alphabet, or runic alphabet). In this work some examples of the games that can be proposed to the students are shown. Proposed games were highly valued by students and allowed a self-learning on the proposed biomolecules. Games based on the genetic code were easier and more enjoyable for the students to solve, and they provided them with additional biochemical knowledge of protein translation.