Home // International Journal On Advances in Software, volume 17, numbers 3 and 4, 2024 // View article
Authors:
Gerhard Hube
Nicholas Müller
Keywords: Virtual Learning Environments; Online Teaching; Tertiary Education; 2D Desktop Environments; Zoom; gather.town; 3D Desktop Environment
Abstract:
This study builds un our previous research examining various virtual learning environments for tertiary education, including a comparative analysis with traditional classroom teaching. The main focus was to evaluate the suitability of a 2D Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) for tertiary education utilizing, the desktop-based 2D immersive environment gather.town, and to contrast it with conventional video conferencing systems. The results of the previous studies indicate that the desktop-based 2D environment is an appropriate learning environment for the tertiary sector. In addition, an analysis of exam grades showed that students demonstrated superior performance with gather.town compared to classic video conferencing systems. This study builds on the previous research by conducting a comprehensive analysis of the learning environments, including a comparison with traditional face-to-face teaching. It can be confirmed that there is a significantly higher level of immersion in the 2D desktop environment, gather.town, in comparison to the classical video conferencing tool, zoom. However, the effects of significantly higher learning engagement and better grades, as observed in comparison 2023, could not be confirmed. Further studies are planned for the winter term 2024/25, with the aim of obtaining results for the next level of immersion, achieved through the use of a 3D desktop environment.
Pages: 249 to 257
Copyright: Copyright (c) to authors, 2024. Used with permission.
Publication date: December 30, 2024
Published in: journal
ISSN: 1942-2628