Virtual Learning Environments: Merits and Challenges in Literature and Practice
Abstract: The emergence of virtual learning environments has offered both merits and challenges for practitioners and researchers. While the pros and cons have been addressed by many researchers, there are still caveats both in literature and in practice in (1) how to best incorporate these environments to maximize learning outcomes and students’ engagement, and (2) how to measure students’ performance when engaged in virtual learning environments. In this symposium, the presenters who are among the practitioners and researchers in the field address both goals by their experience and ongoing research. First, the merits, challenges, and accessibility of virtual spaces will be reviewed from the literature and the pitfalls in the literature will be addressed. Then, the emergence of pedagogical practices will be reviewed in a special education context to see how smart technologies were integrated into a middle school autism classroom to improve student engagement and learning. Finally, the preliminary findings from a pilot study investigating performance and mental workload in Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) environments will be presented.
Presider: Pankaj Khazanchi, Liberty University/Cobb County School District