Collaboration and learning within immersive virtual reality

We are studying collaboration and learning within immersive virtual reality (IVR) using a head-mounted display technology. This research, supported by the College of Education and Human Interface Technology Laboratory at the University of Washington, is currently concerned with the activities of 56 ninth grade students at work in a public school environment. Subjects worked as individuals and in pairs while investigating the concepts of global warming within an audio-enhanced virtual reality model of Seattle called Global Change World (GCW). Three groupings of subjects were provided with different collaborative experiences while immersed within the GCW virtual learning environment: (1) Individuals who received minimal support during the learning exercise provided; (2) Paired peers who collaborated throughout the learning exercise; and (3) Individuals who completed the learning exercise in collaboration with an in-world expert companion. It is concluded that collaborative IVR learning experiences can be successfully integrated into existing school curricula in spite of a significant lack of knowledge regarding the nature of human communication, interaction, and learning within VLEs.