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Educational virtual environments: design rationale and architecture

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Abstract

The use of collaborative virtual environments in e-learning is one of the most promising uses of virtual reality technology. While much research has been done in the area of networked virtual environments corresponding to the sharing of events, very little research has been done on specific services and functionality. However both the requirements and the kind of the offered services affect significantly the design of a system. In this paper we present the design and implementation of a platform suitable for educational virtual environments, which are collaborative virtual environments aiming at offering collaborative e-learning services to the users. Apart from the platform itself, we present the technological choices, and a new method for sharing virtual environments. Furthermore, we present an e-learning environment to support e-learning services using collaborative virtual environments from both the technical and functional point of view, along with the end-user evaluation results.

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Notes

  1. Hyperwave eKnowledge Suite, http://www.hyperwave.de

  2. WebCT, http://www.webct.com/

  3. Microsoft, http://www.microsoft.com

  4. Centra Symposium, http://www.centra.com

  5. Active Worlds, http://www.activeworlds.com/

  6. The Sense 8 Product Line, http://www.sense8.com

  7. ParallelGraphics, http://www.parallelgraphics.com/

  8. Moove's Rose, http://www.moove.com

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  10. Worlds, http://www.worlds.com/

  11. The Dive Home Page, http://www.sics.se/dive/

  12. SPLINE, http://www.merl.com/projects/spline/

  13. EVE prototype is available at http://ouranos.ceid.upatras.gr/vr

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our partners of INVITE IST project for their co-operation and valuable results regarding the use of CVEs in e-learning. We also wish to thank D. Psaltoulis, and C. Psaroudis for their help in the implementation of EVE prototype, and Athina Rompou for the editing of this paper. Lastly, our thanks go to the independent reviewers of this paper, for their valuable comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Academic Computer Technology Institute, Kazantzaki Str. Patras University, GR 26500, Rion, Patras, Greece

    C. Bouras & T. Tsiatsos

  2. Computer Engineering and Informatics Department, University of Patras, Patras, Greece

    C. Bouras & T. Tsiatsos

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  1. C. Bouras
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  2. T. Tsiatsos
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Correspondence to C. Bouras.

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Bouras, C., Tsiatsos, T. Educational virtual environments: design rationale and architecture. Multimed Tools Appl 29, 153–173 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-006-0005-7

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