Presentations Immersive Technology in the Public School Classroom: When a Class MeetsSamuel Williams(1), Rowena Enatsky(2), Holly Gillcash(2), James Murphy(2), Denis Gracanin(1)
1: Virginia Tech, United States of America; 2: CLS STEM+, United States of AmericaWatch the presentation videoRecent research suggests that students feel disconnected in distance educational environments. There is an immediate and sustained need for innovative approaches that provide personalized and interactive instruction, digital equity, and scale-up remote teaching. Shared, collaborative virtual spaces, such as Mozilla Hubs, can provide new learning modalities for educators and students, especially during the pandemic. We describe our experience with using Mozilla Hubs in formal and informal educational settings. We conducted several user studies to collect qualitative feedback from the participants. These studies include an educator workshop, a girl scout meeting, and a class gathering. The findings provide an insight how practical, useful, and entertaining such virtual spaces are to the participants.
Project Learn&Play: Piloting A Game-based Instruction For Students In Comparison To An Engineering LectureAnna Seidel, Franziska Weidle, Claudia Börner
Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, GermanyWatch the presentation videoChallenges stemming from change processes such as the climate crisis are ubiquitous. To address these challenges, highly skilled specialists are needed. However, engineering courses show a decrease in enrolment numbers and high drop-out rates. Furthermore, engineering students represent a rather homogeneous group. Since diverse groups are more innovative and effective in addressing future problems, it is desirable to increase not only the quantity but also the diversity of enrolments. Therefore, the project x utilises a game-based instruction to raise interest in engineering. To examine the effects of the game as well as differences in contrast to conventional instructions, a study in a within-subject-design was conducted. Regarding motivational variables, the self-concept of ability and cognition, only a main effect of cognition and an interaction effect for cognition and gender could be detected. Furthermore, recorded gameplay sessions gave useful insights into the engagement process as well as influential effects.
