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Designing navigation and wayfinding in 3D virtual learning spaces

Published: 28 November 2011 Publication History

Abstract

As the use of virtual worlds in education continues to grow, it is important that designers and educators consider the interaction design and usability of three-dimensional (3D) virtual learning spaces as being integral to student learning and engagement. In a previous project on the design of learning spaces in virtual worlds, we uncovered that difficulties with navigation and wayfinding are the key usability problems that impact on the student experience. Second Life is the most commonly used virtual world for educational purposes. Based upon empirical investigations in Second Life, we have derived heuristics and guidelines for the design of 3D virtual learning spaces to facilitate navigation and wayfinding. Qualitative data arising from heuristic evaluations and user observations enabled a variety of navigational aids to be assessed for their suitability in designs of 3D virtual learning spaces. We have also derived best practice examples for navigational aids such as maps, signs, paths and landmarks.

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Cited By

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  • (2022)Assessement of Assisted Navigation in NUI Virtual Architectural EnvironmentsLearning and Collaboration Technologies. Novel Technological Environments10.1007/978-3-031-05675-8_2(14-23)Online publication date: 16-Jun-2022
  • (2021)Examining the use of the virtual world to enhance group learning in hybrid coursesJournal of Computing Sciences in Colleges10.5555/3447286.344729136:4(32-40)Online publication date: 12-Jan-2021
  • (2020)Examine the adoption of a virtual world to improve the hybrid coursesJournal of Computing Sciences in Colleges10.5555/3381613.338161635:5(17-27)Online publication date: 30-Jan-2020
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Published In

cover image ACM Other conferences
OzCHI '11: Proceedings of the 23rd Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference
November 2011
363 pages
ISBN:9781450310901
DOI:10.1145/2071536
Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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  • Human Factors & Ergonomics Soc: Human Factors & Ergonomics Soc

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 28 November 2011

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Author Tags

  1. 3D learning spaces
  2. 3D virtual environments
  3. Second Life
  4. navigation
  5. usability
  6. virtual worlds
  7. wayfinding

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  • Research-article

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OzCHI '11
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  • Human Factors & Ergonomics Soc

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Overall Acceptance Rate 362 of 729 submissions, 50%

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Cited By

View all
  • (2022)Assessement of Assisted Navigation in NUI Virtual Architectural EnvironmentsLearning and Collaboration Technologies. Novel Technological Environments10.1007/978-3-031-05675-8_2(14-23)Online publication date: 16-Jun-2022
  • (2021)Examining the use of the virtual world to enhance group learning in hybrid coursesJournal of Computing Sciences in Colleges10.5555/3447286.344729136:4(32-40)Online publication date: 12-Jan-2021
  • (2020)Examine the adoption of a virtual world to improve the hybrid coursesJournal of Computing Sciences in Colleges10.5555/3381613.338161635:5(17-27)Online publication date: 30-Jan-2020
  • (2020)Alpaca: AR Graphics Extensions for Web Applications2020 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR)10.1109/VR46266.2020.1581207820146(174-183)Online publication date: Mar-2020
  • (2018)The Development of a Virtual University Campus Using Second LifeEnhancing Knowledge Discovery and Innovation in the Digital Era10.4018/978-1-5225-4191-2.ch008(148-161)Online publication date: 2018
  • (2018)(Re)Defining Smart EducationEnhancing Knowledge Discovery and Innovation in the Digital Era10.4018/978-1-5225-4191-2.ch001(1-12)Online publication date: 2018
  • (2017)Studying user-defined body gestures for navigating interactive mapsProceedings of the XVIII International Conference on Human Computer Interaction10.1145/3123818.3123851(1-4)Online publication date: 25-Sep-2017
  • (2017)Virtual reality geographical interactive scene semantics research for immersive geography learningNeurocomputing10.1016/j.neucom.2016.07.078254(71-78)Online publication date: Sep-2017
  • (2016)Reflections on the Second Life Platform used in the Development of a Virtual University CampusInternational Journal of Knowledge Society Research10.4018/IJKSR.20161001027:4(12-23)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2016
  • (2015)Building Technology and Science Experiences in 3D Virtual WorldProcedia Computer Science10.1016/j.procs.2015.09.07565(259-268)Online publication date: 2015
  • Show More Cited By

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