Remote Mixed Reality Collaborative Laboratory Activities: Learning Activities within the InterReality Portal

Abstract

Abstract-Technology is changing our way to experience education from one-dimensional (physical) to multi-dimensional (physical and virtual) education using a diversity of resources such as web-based platforms (eLearning), videoconferences, eBooks and innovative technologies (e.g. mixed reality, virtual worlds, immersive technology, etc.). This represents bigger opportunities for universities and educational institutions to collaborate with partners from around the world and to be part of today's knowledge economy. This also enables greater opportunities to experience distance learning, modifying our experience of both space and time, changing specific spatial locations to ubiquitous locations and time as asynchronous/synchronous according to our necessities. The use of virtual and remote laboratory activities is an example of the application of some of these concepts. In this work-in-progress paper we propose a different approach to the integration of the physical and virtual world by creating remote mixed reality collaborative laboratory activities within an InterReality Portal learning environment, thereby extending our previous progress towards these goals. The learning goal of our mixed reality lab activity is to produce Internet-of-Things-based computer projects using combinations of Cross-Reality (xReality) and Virtual objects based on co-creative and collaborative interaction between geographically dispersed students.

Exploring Virtual Reality in the Higher Education Classroom: Using VR to Build Knowledge and Understanding

“…Guiding questions are critical to evaluate stimulation, as this heuristic may not be observable in students while using MR. Therefore, the broader concepts of mixed reality could be approached to create multiple reality states, extending beyond virtual reality into augmented virtuality and augmented reality to provide a truly 'blended reality' learning environment [Peña-Ríos et al 2012]. The empathy map presented in Figure 5 focused on the actions and expressions of the students while they were using VR as a knowledge-building tool, and so does not contain examples indicating the stimulation of users.…”

“…Collaborative learning increases the efficiency of the activity through the involvement of more than a single student, particularly for the individuality of being immersed in VR; although the efficiency of the learning activity was rated highly by most students (M = 1.94; SD = 1.00; α= 0.84). To support this finding, VR has also been explored as a tool within higher education for collaborative work among team members working together in an IVE, but in remote locations from one another [Oprean et al 2017, Peña-Ríos et al 2012. Although the students acknowledged the largely solo experience, they also expressed their thoughts on the potential for using the platforms for collaboration through such activities as "virtual classes" and field trip opportunities.…”

VR Binoculars: an immersive visualization framework for IoT data streams

“…documentation of equipment), easily accessed through a VR interface [22]. More applied approaches proposed the development of learning environments [23] and workspaces that combine physical and virtual elements powered by IoT for industrial applications [24]. In the medical field, Fan et al(2014) explored how an IoT-Based rehabilitation system for medical applications can be develop, and they suggest the use of VR and AR tools as a technique for facilitating human-machine interactions [25].…”

Interactions within Distributed Mixed Reality Collaborative Environments

“…space, but the action can only be followed and shared in the virtual world. In [4], we proposed the use of xReality objects to achieve collaborative bi-directional communications between real and virtual objects; allowing sharing both, real and virtual objects. xReality objects are "smart networked objects coupled to their virtual representation, updated and maintained in real time to create a mirrored state (dual reality)" [5].…”