Efficient, intuitive user interfaces for classroom-based immersive virtual environments

Abstract

The educational benefits of immersive virtual environments (VEs) have long been touted, but very few immersive VEs have been used in a classroom setting. We have developed three educational VEs and deployed them in university courses. A key element in the success of these applications is a simple but powerful user interface (UI) that requires no training, yet allows students to interact with the virtual world in meaningful ways. We discuss the design of this UI and the results of an evaluation of its usability in university classrooms.