An Insight into Collaborative Multiplayer Virtual Reality for Digital Game Based Learning in Biomedical Science

Over the past five years virtual reality and associated technologies have started to become widely available to the general consumer and academia. This availability has opened new doors in the field of digital game based... [ view full abstract ]

Over the past five years virtual reality and associated technologies have started to become widely available to the general consumer and academia. This availability has opened new doors in the field of digital game based learning (DGBL). The development of interactive learning applications that are more immersive and realistic than traditional DGBL offerings delivered on desktop computers or mobile devices are now readily available for experimentation in teaching and learning contexts.

Previous surveys of biomedical science students at IT Sligo show that upwards of 90% play entertainment games on a daily basis across a range of devices. Research by the Entertainment Software Association ("ESA Essential Facts 2017") show that 53% of the most frequent game players play online multiplayer games and that 41% of these play with their friends. The use of online multiplayer games for teaching is nothing new but in conjunction with virtual reality opens an exciting new area for DGBL to explore and with 63% of gamers being familiar with the technology it could allow learners to be engaged in a manner that was not previously possible.

This presentation aims to showcase the results of experimentation into what virtual reality has to offer to the field of collaborative online teaching, learning and training and how educators can start to think about how virtual reality can aid them in engaging learners in new ways.

References

"ESA Essential Facts 2017". http://www.theesa.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.

DGBL, Digital Game Based Learning, VR, Virtual Reality, Online, Multiplayer, Biomedical Science