KELVAR 2016 - 2016 Workshop on K-12 Embodied Learning through Virtual & Augmented Reality (KELVAR)

K-12 education is currently undergoing a technological revolution creating opportunities for Virtual-, Augmented-, and Mixed-Reality based learning. An increasing number of classrooms are being equipped with interactive whiteboards, tablet devices, and personal student computers. This technology integration will continue to increase as mobile devices penetrate into all socioeconomic strata, and as new VR/AR/MR technologies become affordable to schools. Classroom learning of the future could be assisted by multi-projector systems, touchscreen displays, head-mounted displays, and other immersive technologies.
These technological innovations have the potential to engage students in more effective kinds of learning than compared to traditional approaches, by leveraging the affordances of VR/AR/MR media. Such affordances include the ability to engage students with interactive 3D simulations of real-life phenomena, presenting information that is spatially- and temporally- integrated with real objects, leveraging whole-body motions to depict and reinforce learning content, etc.
One particularly unique strength of these technologies is their ability to teach educational content through Embodied Learning, whereby students use their whole body to understand, experience, and interact with the learning content. Embodied learning can take many forms in which learning happens through motions of the physical body, such as: an handheld-augmented-reality experience where the student movestheir body around a plant, in order to understand its internal structure and explore photosynthesis from different layers of abstraction; or, a CS programming course in which student creations are projected onto the classroom surfaces, where students program and collaborate by physically interacting with each other’s programs; or, an HMD-based virtual-reality experience where the student solves mathematical equations by using their hands to physically move numbers from one side of the equal sign to the another.
Technology developers, HCI researchers, cognitive scientists and learning sciences researchers are beginning to understand the mechanisms and benefits of embodied learning, as well as other unique affordances which make VR/AR/MR especially suited for education. But there are many questions about the integration of such experiences into the classroom, such as: What curriculum topics should (and should not) be addressed through such technologies? What psychological mechanisms underlie embodied learning and other unique affordances of VR/AR/MR technology? How can we design experiences to be usable by children of different ages? How will classroom relationships and pedagogical approaches be influenced by such technologies?
In this workshop we aim to bring together developers and researchers who are interested in creating educational experiences for the classroom of the future. The workshop will enable participants to be exposed to and discuss different approaches for integrating virtual-, augmented- and mixed-reality technologies, specifically focusing on the challenges and potential for embodied learning in the classroom.
Submission Topics
We welcome thought-provoking position papers, case studies, and preliminary research results on topics related to VR/AR/MR learning:
VR, AR & MR Technologies and Applications for the Classroom
Embodied Cognition and Learning
User Experience Design for Children
Curriculum-based Educational Applications
Student-Teacher Relationships and Pedagogical Implications
Classroom Integration of Technology
Intended Audience
We expect the audience will be attendees to the IEEE Virtual Reality 2016 conference, specifically those interested in educational technology:
Academic researchers in augmented / virtual / mixed reality
Learning psychologists
Industry organizations for children’s education
Teachers and educational researchers
Informal education technology designers