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Updated: Aug 30, 2026

Online Explorative Study on the Learning Uses of Virtual Reality Among Early Adopters
Published on: November 22, 2019
Using the observer to analyze learning in virtual worlds
1School of Education, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv, Tel-Aviv, Israel. gazit@post.tau.ac.il
Abstract:
In this study, we describe and analyze the ways in which high school students explored a virtual solar system (VSS). VSS is a nonimmersive virtual environment that affords visual manipulations of space by altering its frame of reference. The Observer software was used to code and analyze the participants' real-time free-exploration task. Two basic behaviors were identified across participants: establishing several home bases, and shifting between a still mode and a dynamic mode. Moreover, three overall exploration patterns emerged: the butterfly pattern represents a superficial mode of learning; the bee pattern represents an in-depth mode of studying the various celestial objects; and the eagle pattern represents a global approach of studying the complex system. This virtual reality environment promises to provide a setting in which to further study consistent patterns and individual differences in exploration strategies.
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