2024 IEEE VR KELVAR Workshop: K-12+ Embodied Learning through Virtual and Augmented Reality (9th Annual Workshop)

Organized in conjunction with the IEEE Virtual Reality 2024

DESCRIPTION

K-12+ (K-12 and higher ed) education is currently undergoing a technological revolution creating opportunities for Virtual-, Augmented-, and Mixed-Reality based learning (hereafter referred to as XR [extended reality] technologies. Technology integration will continue to increase as mobile devices penetrate all socioeconomic strata, and as XR technologies become affordable to schools, vocational education providers, universities, and informal educational settings. These technologies have the potential to facilitate effective learning by: developing the ability to engage students of all ages with interactive 3D simulations of real-life and artificial phenomena; presenting information that is spatially – and temporally – integrated with real objects; leveraging whole-body motions to depict and reinforce learning content.  However, there are many questions about the integration of such experiences into the classroom, such as: What curriculum topics might be addressed through XR technologies?; What socio-cultural, psychological and physiological mechanisms underlie embodied cognition?; How can we design experiences that are appropriate for the different stages of human development?; How will pedagogical approaches be influenced by such technologies?

In this workshop we aim to bring together educators, developers and researchers who are interested in creating and deploying XR technologies for the educational contexts of the future. The workshop will enable participants to discuss and engage with different approaches for designing and integrating XR technologies with a specific focus on the challenges and potential for embodied learning in the classroom for K-12, vocational and higher education.

INTENDED AUDIENCE

We expect the audience will be attendees to the IEEE Virtual Reality 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

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

The KELVAR Workshop is scheduled for: Saturday, March 16, 08:00 to 12:00 (EDT)

Below is the breakdown of the detailed schedule for the presentations:

• 8:00 - Intro

• 8:15 - Papers (10 min presentation, 5 min questions and answers)

  • The Potential Impact of VR Classroom Style on Learning Efficacy by Sungchul Jung and Yi (Joy) Li

  • VR Geoscience Education: Building Spatial Reasoning Skills by Katharine Johanesen, Adam Jones, Territa Poole, Katherine Ryker, and Christopher Green

  • Attention Guidance In The Wild: An Experiment Testing Visual Guidance Cues for VR Field Trips at High Schools by Jason W. Woodworth, Adil Khokhar, Yitoshee Rahman, Arun K Kulshreshth, and Christoph W. Borst

• 9:00 - Discussion / Stretch

• 9:15 - Papers (10 min presentation, 5 min questions and answers)

  • An XR Environment for AI Education: Design and First Implementation by Yiyin Gu, Miguel Alfonso Feijóo-García, Yiqun Zhang, Alejandra Magana, Bedrich Benes, and Voicu Popescu

  • Designing EEPO: An Emissary Educator Playmate Oracle XR Conversation Agent for Children by Jessy Zhang, Alexis Morris, Nikki Martyn, and Sandro Zaccolo

  • Automatic Speech-to-Speech Translation of Educational Videos Using SeamlessM4T and Its Use for Future VR Applications by Lucas Rafael Stefanel Gris, Diogo Fernandes, Frederico Santos de Oliveira, Anderson Soares, Telma Woerle de Lima Soares, and Arlindo Galvão

• 10:00 - Coffee Break

• 10:30 - Discussion

• 10:45 - Keynote: Ekaterina Prasolova-Førland

• 11:30 - Discussion and Wrap-up

KEYNOTE: From young job seekers to neurosurgeons and military officers: empowering learners with immersive technologies by Dr. Ekaterina Prasolova-Førland

SUBMISSION TOPICS

We welcome preliminary research results and thought-provoking position papers and demos on topics related to XR learning for K-12+:

• VR, AR & MR Technologies and Applications for formal and informal education sites (e.g.: classrooms, libraries, museums, afterschool programs)

• Theories and Applications of Embodied Cognition and Learning

• Curriculum-based Educational Applications

• Student-Teacher Relationships and Pedagogical Implications

• Classroom Integration of Technology

• Teacher and Student Content Authoring Tools

ORGANIZERS

Erica Southgate, University of Newcastle, Australia (erica.southgate@newcastle.edu.au)

Manoela Milena Oliveira da Silva, Voxar Labs/Federal University of Pernambuco, UFPE (mmos@cin.ufpe.br)

Steven Cutchin, Boise State University, USA (stevencutchin@boisestate.edu)

Jerry Alan Fails, Boise State University, USA (jerryfails@boisestate.edu)

DEADLINES AND SUBMISSION FORMAT

• • Full submission deadline: January 9, 2024

  • Notification of acceptance: January 19, 2024

  • Camera ready paper deadline: January 27, 2024 (cannot be extended, final deadline)

The organizing committee will select submissions based on the quality and contribution of the work relating to embodied learning in education. We seek contributions in the following formats:

1. Empirical Papers: Early Research and Work In Progress (4-6 pages) - Empirical results and contributions to the field.

2. Position Papers (3-4 pages) - Interesting and possibly controversial points of view, and approaches to foster a discussion at the event.

3. Demo Papers (2-4 pages) - VR demos that could potentially have an educational application. If you have submitted a demo to IEEE VR, please submit a short description of your demo and include a description of potential educational applications for your demo.  Videos of the demonstration are required. Demos are expected to be demonstrated at the workshop.

Papers must be written in English, have author identifiers removed (blinded) for review. All paper submissions must be formatted using the IEEE Computer Society VGTC conference format (https://tc.computer.org/vgtc/publications/conference/). Accepted papers will have to be formatted by the authors according to the relevant camera-ready guidelines.

Submission of papers will be through – https://new.precisionconference.com/.

Please e-mail any questions to Erica Southgate at erica.southgate@newcastle.edu.au 

VISIBILITY OF SUBMISSIONS

All workshop papers will be published in the IEEE Digital Library and shared on the workshop website.

We may follow with an opportunity to contribute to a special issue in Frontiers in Virtual Reality.

Looking for previous workshop years ? 

• Link: KELVAR 2023

• Link: KELVAR 2022

• Link: KELVAR 2021

• Link: KELVAR 2020

• Link: KELVAR 2019 - 2019 Workshop Takeaway Discussion Notes

• Link: KELVAR 2018 - 2018 Workshop Takeaway Discussion Notes

• Link: KELVAR 2017  - 2017 Workshop Takeaway Discussion Notes

• Link: KELVAR 2016