Virtual Immersive and 3D Learning Spaces: Emerging Technologies helps push the conceptual and applied boundaries of virtual immersive learning. Virtual immersive spaces bring with them plenty of promise, of sensory information-rich learning experiences that will enable a much wider range of experiential learning and training—delivered to computer desktops, augmented reality spaces, digital installations, and mobile projective devices. This work explains how these spaces may be exploited for effective learning in terms of the technologies, pedagogical strategies, and directions.

The emergent phenomena of virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality is having an impact on ways people communicate with technology and with each other. Schools and higher education institutions are embracing these emerging technologies and implementing them at a rapid pace. The challenge, however, is to identify well-defined problems where these innovative technologies can support successful solutions and subsequently determine the efficacy of effective virtual learning environments. Emerging Technologies in Virtual Learning Environments is an essential scholarly research publication that provides a deeper look into 3D virtual environments and how they can be developed and applied for the benefit of student learning and teacher training. This book features a wide range of topics in the areas of science, technology, engineering, arts, and math to ensure a blend of both science and humanities research. Therefore, it is ideal for curriculum developers, instructional designers, teachers, school administrators, higher education faculty, professionals, researchers, and students studying across all academic disciplines.

The potential to integrate augmented reality into educational settings has led to the development of myriad programs for implementing these transformative technologies into education. However, the transformative learning processes possible for learners can best be developed through integration in immersive virtual learning environments. The integration of augmented reality (AR) technologies into education involves matching the potential of AR with the most effective instructional model for immersing learners in the learning process. With current research focused heavily on blended or online learning, augmented reality fits right into the new technologies and trends that are being developed and utilized on a consistent basis. There is a need for research that provides detailed curriculum guides, templates for designing virtual worlds, evaluation processes, and immersive learning procedures that can be utilized to provide the best educational environment for student success. Implementing Augmented Reality Into Immersive Virtual Learning Environments provides current research for the integration of transformative new technologies into multiple educational settings. Examining the why, what, and how of integrating augmented reality into immersive virtual learning technologies, this book covers various educational settings, such as nursing education, sports coaching, language education, and more. While highlighting the benefits for virtual reality, its role in remote learning, the logistics of simulation, and branches of it such as gamification, this book is ideally intended for teachers, school administrators, teacher educators, practitioners, IT specialists, educational software developers, researchers, academicians, and students interested in integrating augmented reality in educational programs.

Technology has had direct impact on education in increasing the way that society continues to learn. Applications of immersive environments, virtual worlds, and augmented reality have significant implications for how teaching and learning are achieved in contemporary education. Immersive Environments, Augmented Realities and Virtual Worlds: Assessing Future Trends in Education brings together current research and performance in trends in education. While examining cyber behavior and the use of virtual worlds, immersive technologies and augmented realities aim to improve teaching and enhancing learning.

Immersive technology as an umbrella concept consists of multiple emerging technologies including augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), gaming, simulation, and 3D printing. Research has shown immersive technology provides unique learning opportunities for experiential learning, multiple perspectives, and knowledge transfer. Due to its role in influencing learners’ cognitive and affective processes, it is shown to have great potential in changing the educational landscape in the decades to come. However, there is a lack of general cognitive and affective theoretical framework to guide the diverse aspects of immersive technology research. In fact, lacking the cognitive and affective theoretical framework has begun to hamper the design and application of immersive technology in schools and related professional training. Cognitive and Affective Perspectives on Immersive Technology in Education is an essential research book that explores methods and implications for the design and implementation of upcoming immersive technologies in pedagogical and professional development settings. The book includes case studies that highlight the cognitive and affective processes in immersive technology as well as the successful applications of immersive technology in education. Featuring a wide range of topics such as curriculum design, K-12 education, and mobile learning, this book is ideal for academicians, educators, policymakers, curriculum developers, instructional designers, administrators, researchers, and students.

In 1988, the NATO panel governing human sciences (Panel 8 on Defence Applica of Human and Bio-Medical Sciences) established a Research Study Group to synthe tions size information relevant to Advanced Technologies Applied to Training Design. During its first phase, the RSG established an active exchange of information on advanced tech nologies applied to training design and stimulated much military application of these tech nologies. With the increased emphasis on training throughout the alliance, Panel 8, during its April 1991 meeting decided to continue with Phase II of this RSG focusing in the area of advanced training technologies that were emerging within the alliance. In order to ac complish its mission, the RSG held a series of workshops. Leaders in technology and training were brought together and exchanged information on the latest developments in technologies applicable to training and education. This volume represents the last in a se ries based on the NATO workshops. In Part One, it details findings from the last work shop, Virtual Reality for Training; and in Part Two, we provide a summary perspective on Virtual Reality and the other emerging technologies previously studied. These include computer-based training, expert systems, authoring systems, cost-effectiveness, and dis tance learning. It is a natural extension to proceed from learning without boundaries to virtual envi ronments. From the extended classroom to the individual or team immersion in a distrib uted, virtual, and collaborative environment is an easy conceptual step.

Cities are composed of a combination of urban and rural spaces, buildings and boundaries, and human bodies engaged in political, social, and cultural discourses. Together, these combine to create what the contributors to this volume call multiple landscapes. Developing a new theoretical conceptualization of cities, this book unites American and European approaches to comparative urban studies by investigating the concept of multiple landscapes in two sister cities: New Orleans and Innsbruck. As the essays reveal, both New Orleans and Innsbruck have long been centers of multicultural exchange, have strong senses of historical heritage, and profit from the spectacular geographies in which they are situated. Geography, in particular, links both cities to environmental, technological, and security challenges that must be considered in connection with aesthetic, cultural, and ecological debates. Exploring the many connections between New Orleans and Innsbruck, the interdisciplinary essays in this book will change the way we think about cities both local and abroad.

Gaming applications are rapidly expanding into the realm of education. Game-based education creates an active and enjoyable learning environment, especially for children and young adults who regularly use gaming for recreational purposes. Due to the evolving nature of education, gaming provides a transformative learning experience for diverse students. The Handbook of Research on Gaming Trends in P-12 Education provides current research intended to aid educators, school administrators, and game developers in teaching today’s youth in a technology-immersive society. This publication melds together gaming for entertainment purposes as well as gaming applied within educational settings with an emphasis on P-12 classrooms. Featuring exhaustive coverage on topics relating to virtual reality, game design, immersive learning, distance learning through 3D environments as well as best practices for gaming implementation in real-world settings, this handbook of research is an essential addition to the reference collection of international academic libraries.

The quality of students’ learning experiences is a critical concern for all educational institutions. With the assistance of modern technological advances, educational establishments have the capability to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of their learning programs. Impact of Learning Analytics on Curriculum Design and Student Performance is a critical scholarly resource that examines the connection between learning analytics and evaluations and their impact on curriculum design and student performance in educational institutions. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics, such as academic support, large scale assessment, and educational research methods, this book is geared towards educators, professionals, school administrators, researchers, and practitioners in the field of education.

Over the last three decades, higher education institutions have experienced massive changes. In particular, institutions of higher education have been positioned as a means to contribute to the knowledge economy and gain a level of competitive advantage in the global marketplace. Advancing Knowledge in Higher Education: Universities in Turbulent Times addresses ways in which knowledge is shaped, produced, and reworked to meet international demands for productive workforces. Divided into three sections that interrogate the higher education policy context, knowledge production, and knowledge workers, this reference publication focuses on the role of higher education in business value creation and competitive advantage, serving as a useful reference for academicians, professionals, researchers, and students.