Abstract
Possibilities are described to affect the feeling of social presence and group awareness in desktop collaborative virtual environments, also known as virtual classrooms. Social presence is the feeling of being present with another person in a virtual environment. Awareness information of the activities of other group members serves as a background for one’s own activities. In general, virtual classrooms allow various kinds of verbal and nonverbal communication between tutors and learners. The communication channels can be adapted according to the needs of the users in a specific collaborative learning situation. The article provides an overview of the representation of users (avatars) and the available communication channels in virtual classrooms. In particular, the possibility of conveying nonverbal information is addressed as it has the potential to affect the feeling of social presence and group awareness in learning situations.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Gulz, A., Haake, M.: Design of animated pedagogical agents – A look at their look. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 64, 322–339 (2006)
Bromme, R., Hesse, F.W., Spada, H.: Barriers, biases and opportunities of communication and cooperation with computers: Introduction and overview. In: Bromme, R., Hesse, F.W., Spada, H. (eds.) Barriers and biases in computer-mediated knowledge communication, pp. 1–14. Springer, New York (2005)
Kirschner, P.A., Kreijns, K.: Enhancing sociability of computer-supported collaborative learning environments. In: Bromme, R., Hesse, F.W., Spada, H. (eds.) Barriers and biases in computer-mediated knowledge communication, pp. 169–191. Springer, New York (2005)
Hesse, F.W., Garsoffky, B., Hron, A.: Interface-Design für computerunterstütztes kooperatives Lernen [Interface design for computer-supported collaborative learning]. In: Issing, L.J., Klimsa, P. (eds.) Information und Lernen mit Multimedia, pp. 252–267. Psychologie Verlags Union, Weinheim (1995)
Schweizer, K., Paechter, M., Weidenmann, B.: Sozial wahrnehmbare Merkmale von Agenten in virtuellen Lernumgebungen aus Rezipientensicht [Socially perceivable features of agents in virtual environments from the recipient’s perspective]. Künstliche Intelligenz 2, 22–27 (2000)
Allmendinger, K.: Passung von Medium und Aufgabentyp: Der Einfluss nonverbaler Signale in desktop-basierten kollaborativen virtuellen Umgebungen [Fit between medium and task type: The influence of nonverbal signals in desktop-based collaborative virtual environments] (2005), http://w210.ub.uni-tuebingen.de/dbt/volltexte/2005/1658 (retrieved March 24, 2007)
Peterson, M.: Learner interaction management in an avatar and chat-based virtual world. Computer Assisted Language Learning 19(1), 79–103 (2006)
Walther, J.B., Tidwell, L.C.: Nonverbal cues in computer-mediated communication, and the effect of chronemics on relational communication. Journal of Organizational Computing 5(4), 355–378 (1995)
Short, J., Williams, E., Christie, B.: The social psychology of telecommunications. Wiley, London (1976)
Taylor, T.L.: Living digitally: Embodiment in virtual worlds. In: Schroeder, R. (ed.) The social life of avatars: Presence and interaction in shared virtual environments, pp. 40–62. Springer, London (2002)
Garau, M.: Selective Fidelity: Investigating priorities for the creation of expressive avatars. In: Schroeder, R., Axelsson, A.-S. (eds.) Avatars at work and play: Collaboration and interaction in shared virtual environments, pp. 17–38. Springer, Dordrecht (2006)
Dourish, P., Bellotti, V.: Awareness and coordination in shared workspaces. In: Proceedings of CSCW 1992, Toronto, pp. 107–114. ACM Press, New York (1992), http://www.informatik.uni-trier.de/~ley/db/conf/cscw/cscw1992.html (retrieved May 6, 2004)
Müller, K., Kempf, F., Leukert, S.: Besser Kollaborieren durch VR? Evaluation einer VR-Umgebung für kollaboratives Lernen [Better collaboration using VR? Evaluation of a VR-Environment for collaborative learning]. In: Beck, U., Sommer, W. (eds.) Learntec 2002, Bd. 2, pp. 475–482. Karlsruher Messe- und Kongress-GmbH, Karlsruhe (2002)
Allmendinger, K., Richter, K., Tullius, G.: Synchrones Online-Lernen in einer kollaborativen virtuellen Umgebung: Evaluation der interaktiven Möglichkeiten [Synchronous online-learning in a CVE: Evaluation of the interactive possibilities]. In: Merkt, M., Mayrberger, K., Schulmeister, R., Sommer, A., van den Berk, I. (eds.) Studieren neu erfinden – Hochschule neu denken, pp. 95–104. Waxmann, Münster (2007)
Richardson, J.C., Swan, K.: Examining social presence in online courses in relation to students’ perceived learning and satisfaction. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 7(1), 68–88 (2003)
Clayes, E.L., Anderson, A.H.: Real faces and robot faces: The effects of representation on computer-mediated communication. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 65, 480–496 (2007)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Allmendinger, K., Kempf, F., Hamann, K. (2009). Collaborative Learning in Virtual Classroom Scenarios. In: Cress, U., Dimitrova, V., Specht, M. (eds) Learning in the Synergy of Multiple Disciplines. EC-TEL 2009. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 5794. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04636-0_33
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04636-0_33
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-04635-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-04636-0
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)