Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
classrooms , virtual library , meeting rooms (chat
rooms), social areas and a graphical user interface.
Each room or area is equipped with tools and
features to match their purpose (Bouras, et al.,
2001; Monahan, et al., 2008).
The lecture room or classroom is at the heart
of the Virtual Reality environment. To create a
virtual classroom, one must plan for the following
tasks: advising, curriculum development, content
development, articulation and credentialing, learn-
ing delivery, hardware choice, and assessment.
This scenario mainly concerns the lectures given
throughout the virtual environments, anticipating
for virtual classrooms where appropriate teaching
material could be displayed and presented by a
teacher to the students. In a virtual Reality Environ-
ment much of the structured learning takes place
in a 3D classroom. The room is designed for use
by tutors to address students synchronously in a
live lecture. The room contains a large presenta-
tion board where the teacher can upload files in
an intuitive fashion. When a tutor clicks an upload
button on their virtual lectern, a webpage is pre-
sented, where they can upload a new file to the
presentation board or select from a list of previ-
ously uploaded files. The presentation board can
currently display PowerPoint presentations, word
files and a number of image formats. The tutor
can use the communication tools described above
to accompany these lecture slides. Furthermore
they can use audio communication to comment
on the lecture slides or a web-cam broadcast to
demonstrate certain points associated with the
lecture. The lecture room also contains a video
board, which facilitates the tutor to upload movie
files to the Virtual Reality environment (Bouras,
et al., 2001; Harper, et al., 2004; Monahan, et
al., 2008).
An important advantage in this system is the
possibility of integration of virtual laboratories
with Virtual Reality environments. The use of
Virtual Reality tools does not only enhance the
interaction of scientists with the experiment by
offering an easy way of virtually exploring its
components (human virtual reality) but also offers
a solid base for rationalizing what is happening
at microscopic level by providing a Virtual Real-
ity representation of its elementary components
(molecular virtual reality, MVR). Such a combina-
tion of HVR and MVR is also of invaluable help
in designing innovative e-learning approaches.
This scope is absolutely important in applicable
sciences such as engineering, chemistry, physics
and medicine (Gervasi, et al., 2004).
As another element of Virtual Reality envi-
ronment, Meeting Rooms have been designed to
facilitate group meetings and discussions. They
allow students to work together on projects and
other group tasks. To this end, these rooms are
equipped with similar features to those found in
the lecture room. A presentation board and video
board are available for students to upload their own
files for others to see and discuss. When a student
wishes to speak with others in the meeting room,
they can use the text-chat or audio chat facilities
discussed previously. One of the main differences
between the meeting rooms and the lecture room
is the level of restrictions which apply. Upload
facilities in the lecture room are reserved for use
by tutors only, thus if a student tries to upload
files their actions are refused. Such restrictions
do not apply in the meeting rooms on the other
hand, Industry generally supports collaboration
and interaction features which may include around
the clock mentoring, expert led chats, peer-to-peer
chats, seminars, threaded discussions, mentor ed
exercises, discussion boards, workshops, study
groups, and online meetings. Many of these activi-
ties are a simulation by technology of face-to-face
interactions (Harper, et al., 2004; Monahan, et
al., 2008).
With regard to the characteristics of com-
munication task, media richness theory states
that the purpose of communication is to reduce
uncertainty and Equivocality in order to promote
communication efficiency. Uncertainty is associ-
ated with the lack of information. Organization
creates structures such as formal information sys-
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