Collaborative Virtual Learning Environment Research Articles

An exploratory study of social presence and cognitive engagement association in a collaborative virtual reality learning environment

As the utilization of virtual reality (VR) in engineering education increases, researchers are increasingly focused on enhancing teaching and learning within VR environments. Cognitive engagement among the participants is a fundamental outcome in any learning environment, where social interaction often plays a pivotal role. This study contributes to VR teaching and learning research by investigating the association between social presence indicators and modes of cognitive engagement in a desktop collaborative virtual reality (VR) learning environment based on the social presence theory and the cognitive engagement definition of the Interactive-Constructive-Active-Passive framework. The study participants logged into the VR platform to collaboratively solve simulated engineering statics problems. The transcripts of students' interaction videos were coded based on codebooks for both social presence and cognitive engagement. The study revealed that social presence indicators are significantly associated with the three modes of cognitive engagement (active, constructive, and interactive). Additionally, interactive open communication emerged as the primary social presence element utilized by students during cognitive engagement with peers in the learning environment. This study's findings have implications for research and practice in enhancing students' cognitive engagement through their social interactions within VR learning environment.

Social network analysis in virtual educational environments: Implications for collaborative learning and academic community development

This paper investigates the impact of Social Network Analysis (SNA) in optimizing virtual education, focusing on enhancing collaborative learning, strengthening virtual academic communities, and identifying challenges for educational innovation. Through SNA, patterns of interaction and collaboration are uncovered that inform the design of inclusive and dynamic educational practices. A theoretical review combining the benefits of bibliometric studies and documentary analysis was conducted. It highlights how ARS facilitates the identification of effective collaborative patterns and barriers to equal participation, promoting strategies for more meaningful collaboration. In addition, the role of ARS in consolidating academic communities by promoting cohesion, mutual support, and active engagement, crucial for student success and well-being, is discussed. Challenges such as forming subgroups and dependence on certain information nodes are analyzed, viewing them as opportunities to innovate in educational design and promote more equitable participation and knowledge construction. This analysis underscores the importance of ARS for developing more effective, equitable, and collaborative virtual learning environments aligned with the values of our digital society.

Shifting Gears in a Pandemic: The Impact of Online Academic Support for International and Domestic Students

During a global pandemic, many students in 2020-2021 turned to peer-facilitated academic support through supplemental instruction (SI) to succeed. In this study, proficient students were hired as SI Leaders and trained to facilitate study sessions in a collaborative virtual learning environment. The impact of online SI support is assessed upon subgroups of 4,831 students enrolled in difficult courses at a four-year public university. Mean course GPAs and pass rates of international students, students of color, and white students with varying levels of SI session attendance were examined. One-way ANOVA and chi-square test results reveal significant differences by level of attendance for students of color and white students, with higher mean course GPAs and pass rates associated with higher levels of attendance at SI sessions for all three subgroups. These results are consistent with feedback from SI attendees and convey the significance of programs like SI, especially in times of crisis.

Comparing Student Performance in Emergency Remote and Face-to-Face Collaborative Learning Courses.

The start of the COVID-19 pandemic forced an unprecedented shift from face-to-face (F2F) instruction to emergency remote teaching (ERT) for over one billion learners worldwide. Studies from K-12 and higher education have begun to address the impact of ERT on student learning and well-being. The lessons learned from ERT will likely shape the response to future public health emergencies and inform the design and implementation of remote courses. As such, it will be important to identify teaching practices in ERT that promoted student engagement and learning. Here, we address whether undergraduate collaborative learning courses were able to support student content knowledge outcomes at similar levels in ERT as compared to F2F classroom environments. Specifically, we tracked student performance in three different team-based undergraduate neuroscience courses. These courses were all taught by the same instructor during the academic years 2020-2021 and 2021-2022. Importantly, we found that student scores on individual and team assessments as well as measures of course satisfaction were similar between ERT and F2F. Taken together, our data suggest that the virtual collaborative learning environment in these courses was not associated with a decrease in student or team performance when compared to a traditional F2F classroom.

(How) Can Machine Learning Support Teaching Staff in a Virtual Collaborative Learning Environment?

Purpose: Supervising roles within virtual collaborative learning (VCL) environments face many different challenges and are often having difficulties keeping an eye on everything and comprehending every participant’s or group’s workflow. To help supervisors with problems like that we developed a software prototype to support their daily workflow and overcome the mentioned challenges. Study design/methodology/approach: This study used a design science research approach to investigate how learning analytics might be able to support teaching staff in VCL settings. Previous studies demonstrated that this approach is very well suited to derive design guidelines for such software artifacts. Initially, a qualitative interview series with four experienced tutors was carried out to get an in-depth understanding of the challenges and tasks teaching staff typically faces in VCL environments. The interview material was systematically analysed to acquire the underlying software requirements. These were then combined with existing knowledge about support software of similar use cases to create a first prototype, primarily based on a supervised machine learning model that classifies online messages sent within the teams. Findings: The software tool we have developed has shown that machine learning processes can indeed be used to support teaching staff in VCL environments. The tool achieves satisfactory classification performance in categorizing chat messages. It could therefore be demonstrated that it is possible to classify chat messages using a software tool. The interviews conducted revealed a particular interest in the statistical evaluations of group activities in Microsoft Teams. This was said to save a lot of time in the subsequent evaluation of the groups. The interviewed eTutors also expressed an interest in receiving private information on the development of possible conflicts within groups. The interest of the interviewed supervisors was very high and additional interviews could lead to further possible feature ideas. In general, the evaluative interviews resulted in positive feedback regarding how our prototype supported eTutors during their work. Originality/value: In current times, spatially distributed and asynchronous education plays a bigger role than ever before. VCL environments are useful tools to overcome these challenges of time and space. However, unlike research on conversational agents or automated feedback systems, the focus of this work is not on the communication interface between software and users or the exclusively quantitative analysis of messages. The goal is to evaluate the content of sent messages within VCL environments using the six defined categories to gain a better qualitative understanding of the teams’ collaboration and its workflow.

Inclusive LGBTQIA+ healthcare: An interprofessional case-based experience for cultural competency awareness.

Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) patients report experiences of discrimination within healthcare settings due to a lack of provider knowledge and biases of healthcare workers. There is an identified need among all health professions to provide more culturally competent healthcare for this community. Early interventions during healthcare profession training programs may be effective to address this need. The overall goal of this study was to assess the educational impact of an active learning session that was specifically designed to enhance LGBTQIA+ cultural competency awareness using an interprofessional setting. This 2-year study involved students from 16 healthcare professional programs joining virtually to form interprofessional teams. A small group case-based learning approach was used and included pre/post-activity surveys to measure the change in student attitude and confidence, as well as the change in perception of the importance of the activity. Results indicate an increase in perception of importance (p < 0.005) and in overall level of confidence (p < 0.001) with respect to LGBTQIA+ issues post-session. Key themes established through the session represent an overall recognition of the importance of interprofessional education and awareness of LGBTQIA+ healthcare needs. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of a case-based approach for enhancing cultural competency awareness across different healthcare professions programs. This session also provided an interprofessional learning environment to allow multiple healthcare professions program students to interact and share perspectives. The positive impact of this intervention in a highly collaborative virtual learning environment also highlights that this immersive active learning approach that can be adopted across different programs and institutions.

Formative Design and Development of a Three-Dimensional Collaborative Virtual Learning Environment Through Learning Experience Design Methods

Formative Design and Development of a Three-Dimensional Collaborative Virtual Learning Environment Through Learning Experience Design Methods

Collaborative Virtual Learning Environments Through the Contemporary Visual Arts

Collaborative Virtual Learning Environments Through the Contemporary Visual Arts

Exploring Pre-University Students’ Construction of Reasoned Argumentation during Computer - Supported Collaborative Discussions Using Sequential Analysis

The prominent role of reasoning skills in predicting academic outcomes is clearly evident over the years in that its inculcation in various face-to-face learning contexts has become progressively dominant, including in the collaborative learning (CL) settings. The pandemic crisis, however, challenged traditional learning approaches to shift to an online mode overnight resulting in dramatic changes of learning delivery whereby teaching is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms. Though impact of CL-based approaches in promoting reasoning skills have been well-documented over the years, a systematic analysis of learners’ behavioural patterns of argumentation and reasoning in a virtual collaborative learning environment is yet to be concretely established. The current study therefore sought to investigate the development of reasoned argumentation skills among pre- university students with mixed language abilities, using open-ending short stories via a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. Adopting the case study research design by applying a mixed-methods approach through both descriptive and sequential analyses, 12 pre-university students from a public research university served as participants of this study. The results show that language ability has a strong predictive factor on reasoned argumentation skills and there is an established tendency of the participants to produce constructive arguments over defensive or challenging viewpoints to alternative ideas. This calls for future studies to further investigate predictive factors of this tendency and to further ascertain the predictive role of language-rich discussions in facilitating various higher order thinking skills among learners.

What do health providers and patients tweet about schizophrenia?

Twitter is the most commonly used social media forum in public health and is considered the radio of the internet. Many health providers utilize this media to disseminate health information. Patient use of social media for mental health topics encourages providers to disseminate quality information and to develop virtual collaborative learning environments. This study explored trends in health information exchanged by patients, doctors and health organizations about schizophrenia through analyses of tweets posted using the #schizophrenia. The likelihood that the information distributed by each user type was scholarly was assessed via qualitative and logistic regression analyses. Specifically, a sequential exploratory multimethod of data analysis guided this study with a sample of 981 tweets. Most tweets focused on the improvement of schizophrenia literacy (n = 366) followed by personal experiences/motivational stories (n = 207) and biological explanations of the disorder (n = 158). Logistic regression results indicated that compared to doctors, patients were less likely to tweet with a scholarly source (OR = 0.481, CI = 0.311, .744; P < .001). All users were less likely to include a scholarly source when tweeting about schizophrenia literacy, personal/motivational experiences, campaign/organizational events or illness management in comparison to those who tweeted about biological explanations of schizophrenia. Results suggest all users disseminated beneficial information that can increase public schizophrenia literacy and illness management, while connecting individuals to organizational events targeting this debilitating disorder. Health providers are encouraged to establish a presence on social media to share scholarly work with patients and promote prompt treatment for schizophrenia.

Usage Considerations of 3D Collaborative Virtual Learning Environments to Promote Development and Transfer of Knowledge and Skills for Individuals with Autism

This emerging technology report explores three-dimensional collaborative virtual learning environments (3D CVLEs) as an intervention modality with potential to foster development of knowledge and skills for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Affordances and unique characteristics of 3D CVLEs are detailed and considered from the perspectives of learning, instruction, and assessment. Research suggests that 3D CVLEs can promote acquisition of social and communicative competencies for individuals with ASD in a safe and controllable manner. However, substantial challenges still exist related to overexposure and cybersickness. This report provides an analysis of current trends in the field, along with considerations of relevance and integration challenges with this unique learner population. Implications for further research are discussed.

Autistic youth in 3D game‐based collaborative virtual learning: Associating avatar interaction patterns with embodied social presence

AbstractThis study examines interaction patterns in a series of game activities for learning social skills by autistic youth in a 3D game‐based collaborative virtual learning environment (CVLE). Researchers studying collaborative learning have indicated the importance of social interactions and social presence. However, few studies have examined the relationship of avatar social interactions with embodied social presence in a 3D game‐based CVLE. Specifically, we examined avatar‐mediated verbal and nonverbal interactions by autistic youth in iSocial, a game‐based 3D CVLE for developing social competencies. How are avatar‐mediated verbal and nonverbal social interactions related to the extent of embodied social presence? Building on prior studies on embodied social presence (ESP) theory and the verbal and nonverbal social interaction framework, this paper aims to explore the link between the combination of verbal (appropriate and inappropriate) and nonverbal (avatar proximity, orientation, joint attention and gesture) interaction patterns and experienced ESP level. We report on the results of 3 cohorts of a total of 11 youth aged from 11 to 14 who were diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder learning in 13 game activities in iSocial. The video data of the participants’ screen recordings were analyzed and coded based on the ESP theory and verbal and nonverbal social interaction framework. Through cluster analysis, the results identify distinct patterns of verbal and nonverbal interaction that are associated with different levels of embodied social presence. The findings of this study (1) shed light on the link between social interactions and embodied social presence and (2) provide a deeper understanding of how the unique spatial and visual characteristics of 3D CVLE and the design of game activities in 3D CVLE may transform collaborative learning, especially for autistic youth.

Digital storytelling for interprofessional collaborative practice to develop quality and service improvements

ABSTRACT‘Service Development and Quality Improvement’ is a professional development module within an interprofessional leadership program accessed by health and social care professionals. It focuses on acquiring skills and knowledge in quality enhancement, quality improvement and service user and patient involvement essential to transforming services. Emphasis is on the co-production of service improvement and enhancing skills in using information technology and different media supported by a virtual and blended learning environment. This Ideas in Action digital storytelling case study useda virtual learning activity supported by a combination of multimedia, discussion boards, group work and structured activities to engage students in peer support. Aspects of the digital storytelling process provide a useful distance learning tool for engaging different professionals in identifying common issues in improving services. Our reflective account of the process by drawing on both tutor and students own commentary on the potential of digital storytelling. Learning digital storytelling within a collaborative virtual learning environment gave rise to three key observable outcomes: a leveling effect in interprofessional collaboration; enhancing curiosity as a vehicle for enriching interprofessional exchange; and emphasizing service users and patient perspective in service improvements.

Eco-dialogical learning and translanguaging in open-ended 3D virtual learning environments: Where place, time, and objects matter

The purpose of this research was to explore the relationships between design, learning, and translanguaging in a 3D collaborative virtual learning environment for adolescent learners of Chinese and English. We designed an open-ended space congruent with ecological and dialogical perspectives on second language acquisition. In such a space, sense-making is contingent on the relational dynamics of place, activities, and artefacts. These spaces encourage meaning-making in situ, manipulation of virtual objects within places, and coordination among players. Our investigation looked at how learners of Chinese and English collaborated on a project in which they decorated a virtual living room. The findings suggest that socioculturally bounded places afford unique learning opportunities. Firstly, learning occurred through referencing, which is the mutual clarification of a virtual object’s meaning, position, and function, in relatively stabilised places, such as a museum, and secondly, learning occurred through coordination between verbal instruction and object manipulation in more adaptive places, which we call eco-dialogical learning. We also found a strong relationship between translanguaging and object manipulation. We conclude the paper from the perspective of how the eco-dialogical model resulted in designs that promoted cognition and interactivity.

Fostering verbal and non-verbal social interactions in a 3D collaborative virtual learning environment: a case study of youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders learning social competence in iSocial

This case study describes the verbal and nonverbal social interaction of 11 youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders in a 3D Collaborative Virtual Learning Environment—iSocial. The youth were developing social competence through participation in a social competence intervention curriculum implemented online so as to provide access to high quality instruction for youth in small and rural communities. The data show the ability and variability of verbal and nonverbal reciprocal social interactions while online. In addition, the results of this case study revealed associations between pedagogical design features of the iSocial 3D CVLE, such as, goal-oriented, narrative embedded, game/role play enriched and peer-supported 3D CVLE activity design and higher frequencies and better quality of reciprocal social interaction. Therefore, these findings have potential to inform future design of 3D social learning spaces.

RECT: A Cloud-Based Learning Tool for Graduate Software Engineering Practice Courses With Remote Tutor Support

Nowadays, remote collaborative learning tools for computer science education mostly emphasize providing learning resources and realizing virtual collaborative learning environment for students. Many people in this field tend to have their mind fixed on the process improvement of such a collaboration as a whole, while few notice that individuals may have different roles and impacts on this type of teamwork. There usually is a “supervisor” on the team, who offers support to all members in the collaborative learning environment. However, such support may not always be as accessible as students demand it to be. Therefore, this paper describes a cloud-based tool to support software engineering practice courses in collaboration with remote tutors. This system utilizes a cloud storage platform to provide sharing of multimedia study materials and a better management of project developing cycles. A remote collaborative component called the Virtual Debug Laboratory is designed to improve and share students’ debugging experience in the same team. The most innovative feature of this system is that it amplifies the role of tutoring in remote collaborative learning environments so that tutors can, in real time, assist students in debugging during actual project developing and demonstrate step by step to the students the process of debugging. The results of the analyzed data regarding the use of this system indicate that the system can potentially enhance students’ abilities in project developing and debugging in software engineering practice courses. It is our hope that these preliminary data can provide a future reference for the software education community.

Collaboration, connectedness, and community: An examination of the factors influencing student persistence in virtual communities

Institutions of higher education are being called upon to provide a more robust pathway to a college degree and improve upon the advanced workforce for the needs of the 21st century. While active collaborative learning environments have been encouraged in higher education to improve student engagement, there is a gap in the literature when it comes to connecting the two research areas of collaborative learning and student intention to persist. This research fills this gap by creating and conducting research to examine a model that measures the factors that significantly influence a student's persistence in a virtual collaborative learning environment. The model examines how collaborative learning, campus connectedness, sense of community, organizational commitment, and turnover intention influence student persistence. The model was tested using a sample of students who participated in a virtual learning community (VLC) and the results suggest that all but one of the factors were found to significantly influence student persistence, with the final factor dependent on the number of hours of system usage. We discuss the implications of the research and the model for team-based theory and organizational practice in education and teamwork.

Preparing for Industry 4.0 – Testing Collaborative Virtual Learning Environments with Students and Professional Trainers

In consideration of future employment domains, engineering students should be prepared to meet the demands of society 4.0 and industry 4.0 – resulting from a fourth industrial revolution. Based on the technological concept of cyber-physical systems and the Internet of Things, it facilitates – among others - the vision of the smart factory. The vision of “industry 4.0” is characterized by highly individualized and at the same time cross-linked production processes. Physical reality and virtuality increasingly melt together and international teams collaborate across the globe within immersive virtual environments. In this context, a large market arises in the field virtual trainings, which means that professional trainers need to explore the potential of new learning settings. In the context of the development from purely document based management systems to complex virtual learning environments (VLEs), a shift towards more interactive and collaborative components within higher educational e-learning can be noticed, but is still far from being called the state of the art. As a result, engineering education is faced with a large potential field of research, which ranges from the technical development and didactical conception of new VLEs to the investigation of students’ acceptance or the proof of concept of the VLEs in terms of learning efficiency. This paper presents three corresponding qualitative studies: In a series of focus groups, it was investigated which kinds of VLEs students prefer in a higher education context. Building upon the results of the focus groups, a collaborative VLE was created within the open world game Minecraft. In two different studies this VLE was tested, first by students and then by professional trainers. First screenings of the video material of the studies indicate a connection between communicational behavior and successful collaborative problem solving in virtual environments. The majority of the trainers who participated in the second study ascribe the new technological possibilities great potential and would consider using it within their own trainings.

Exploring embodied social presence of youth with Autism in 3D collaborative virtual learning environment: A case study

This case study explores the experience of embodied social presence while learning social competence of 11 youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The learning takes place in a series of 13 Naturalistic Practice (NP) learning activities which are part of a 3D Collaborative Virtual Learning Environment (CVLE)-iSocial. iSocial is a translation of a face-to-face clinic based curriculum, Social Competence Intervention-Adolescents (SCI-A), into a 3D CVLE for delivery over the Internet,. This study developed a direct-observation instrument that built upon the Embodied Social Presence (ESP) theory framework to describe youth with ASDs' embodied presence, embodied copresence and embodied social presence. The findings show that youth with ASD achieved embodied presence and embodied copresence in almost all of the NP activities. However, they achieved embodied social presence in only a handful of NP activities. From comparisons between the learning activities that had high or low percentages of achieving ESP, the results indicate associations of design features (narratives, choosing roles, fantasy settings and ease of use of learning tools) with having a higher percentage of youth achieve embodied social presence. Furthermore, the work of this study provides a method for researchers interested in studying ESP and the results can inform future design decisions in the development 3D CVLE and the structure of learning activities within the 3D CVLE.

The Effects of Different Task Types on Learners’ Performance in Collaborative Virtual Learning Environment

This study was conducted to examine how various task types affect the extent to which learners engage in form-related changes (FRC) and meaning-related changes(MRC). To this end,15 Iranian language learners (9 female and 6 male) participated in instruction sessions in which they learned how to self-correct and peer-correct three writing tasks,namely; argumentative, informative, and analytical. Etherpad package was used to facilitate the communication among the learners as they shared their responses and feedback on each other's writings. Data analysis indicated more instances of peer-correction (54%) compared to those of self-correction (46%) in the three task types. The results of a Chi-square analysis illustrated that the difference in the instances of corrections produced was statistically significant (X2=10.890, p=0.00). In this regard, the results indicated that the number of corrections produced in the analytical task was higher than that of other tasks. Another Chi-square test (Chi-Sq = 6.754, DF = 2, P-Value = 0.034) proved that the participants in all task types made statistically significant changes in meaning-related aspects compared to the changes they made to the formal ones in their written products. A t-test analysis revealed that learners’ focus between form and structure was not significantly different whether they work individually or collaboratively. (P-value = 0.3 for argumentative task, P-value = 0.26 for analytical task). However the analysis showed that the emphasis of accuracy and meanings (p-value =0.031 for argumentative task, P-value = 0.033) increased when they worked in groups. The findings of an interview revealed that most of the interviewees agreed that the writing and editing in collaboration with peers were a positive and useful experience.