RETTL: Facilitating socially constructed learning through a shared, mobile-based virtual reality platform in informal learning settings

虚拟现实（VR）技术在STEM教育中具有巨大的潜力，因为它们提供了在真实的世界中无法获得的沉浸式学习体验。然而，使用VR头戴式显示器的交互通常是一种孤独的体验，将学习者与社交和学习环境隔离开来。这使得通过与同龄人和教师的合作学习具有挑战性。此外，许多学习者被排除在使用虚拟现实耳机之外，包括儿童、戴眼镜的人以及容易出现晕车、恶心和跌倒等健康问题的人。该项目将开发和部署基于移动设备的VR平台，以实现社交学习。该项目与西弗吉尼亚州科学博物馆和弗吉尼亚理工大学创意、艺术和技术研究所合作，为他们的广泛访客提供社会构建的非正式STEM学习，包括与家人一起的幼儿、大学生和当地K-12学校的学生。该项目的总体目标是设计、开发和部署一个包容性的、社交连接的虚拟现实平台和教育内容。通过该系统，博物馆参观者可以在虚拟现实中与STEM主题进行集体互动。该系统将使用社交虚拟现实，允许多个学习者通过或超越运动跟踪的移动的设备与学习材料、教师和彼此互动。与基于移动的虚拟现实平台共享的物理空间将使各种各样的学习者能够访问沉浸式STEM学习内容，并超越屏幕。研究人员将研究共享显示技术如何促进社会建构学习，并在非正式学习环境中实现新颖的主动学习技术。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Virtual reality (VR) technologies have great potential in STEM education because they provide immersive learning experiences that one cannot have in the real world. However, interactivity using VR head-mounted displays is often a solitary experience, isolating learners from the social and learning context. This makes it challenging to learn through collaborations with peers and instructors. Furthermore, many learners are excluded from using virtual reality headsets, including children, those who wear glasses, and those vulnerable to health concerns such as motion sickness, nausea, and falling. The project will develop and deploy a mobile-device-based VR platform to enable social learning. The project partners with the Science Museum of Western Virginia and the Institute of Creativity, Arts, and Technology at Virginia Tech to support socially constructed, informal STEM learning for their wide range of visitors, including young children with family members, college students, and local K-12 school students. The project's overarching objective is to design, develop, and deploy an inclusive, socially connected virtual reality platform and educational content. With the system, museum attendees can collectively interact with STEM topics in virtual reality. The system will use social virtual reality to allow multiple learners to engage with the learning material, the instructor, and one another via and beyond motion-tracked mobile devices. A shared physical space with the mobile-based virtual reality platform will grant a diverse range of learners access to immersive STEM learning content and their peers beyond the screen. The researchers will study how the shared display technology facilitates socially constructed learning and enables novel active learning techniques in informal learning settings. The results will advance understanding of integrating virtual reality into inclusive settings and promoting collaborative learning with VR to enhance learning outcomes.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.