Designing Web-Based Educational Virtual Reality Environments - Teaching through Multi-User Virtual Environments - page 169

The key benefit of collaborative learning is that
increases interest among learners and promotes
critical thinking. Its role in distance education on
the Web is essential allowing students to work
together in groups searching for solutions in
common problems. Its application in web-based
virtual environments opens up new possibilities
in distance education, creating conditions, which
approach these of learning process in a real
classroom.

of these applications: hypermedia, virtual and
educational nature (Figure 5).

Hypermedia Requirements

Web constitutes both a presentation platform for
a learning content and a communication means
among the members of a virtual classroom. There-
fore, the hypermedia nature of a learning environ-
ment should be considered, first and foremost, by
the designer of the application. In (Avouris, 2000)
a comprehensive study is presented regarding the
designing of a hypermedia application. Based on
this study, the usability of a hypermedia learning
application can be achieved by applying the fol-
lowing requirements:

Designing Requirements

A web-based virtual learning environment (the
term hypermedia virtual learning environment
can be alternatively used) is not just a conven-
tional website used for disseminating educational
content or a web page containing 3D graphics. It
is a combination of virtual reality and web tech-
nologies centralized on the fulfillment of specific
educational objectives. For the effectiveness of the
final application, specific designing rules should
be followed to ensure its usability, i.e. an efficient,
understandable and pleasant communication
between user and system (Nielsen, 1994). In this
paper the designing rules presented are classified
in three categories according to the triple nature

• Webpage loading speed: The loading

speed is considered as one of the most crit-
ical usability factors of a web application
and it heavily depends on the network and
the total size of a webpage.

• Local search engines: Search engines are

considered necessary in websites contain-
ing a large number of web pages.

• Navigation support: A web application

should be designed in such a way, so that
users have a complete view of the overall
structure of the application i.e. users should
always know their accurate location in the
site as well as their possible transition op-
tions. This kind of problems can be effec-
tively addressed by the use of site maps,
which provide the required navigation in-
formation to the users of a web application.

Figure. 5 The triple nature of Web-based virtual
learning environments

• Simple User Interface: The user inter-

face should be simple emphasizing on the
educational material rather than containing
features aiming to impress users.

• Small size of pages: All significant infor-

mation and possible options are preferable
to be visible in just one screen.

• Simple address and title: The website

address and title should be simple, brief,