Visual authoring of virtual reality conversational scenarios for e-learning

Area of Science:

• Educational Technology
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a shift to virtual learning, often resulting in suboptimal educational experiences.
• Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) have advanced with technologies like Virtual Reality (VR) and Chatbots.
• Developing VLEs typically requires advanced programming expertise, posing a barrier for educators.

Purpose of the Study:

• To empower teachers to easily create sophisticated VLEs without advanced programming skills.
• To introduce a set of App Inventor extensions for authoring mobile learning apps.
• To integrate Chatbots and Virtual Reality within VLEs while enabling student activity monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Developed App Inventor extensions to simplify the creation of VLEs.
• Integrated block-based programming with Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) diagrams.
• Implemented extensions in an educational application named 'Let's date!'.

Main Results:

• Extensions successfully facilitated the creation of a VLE with Chatbots and VR.
• Quantitative analysis showed a significant reduction in the number of programming blocks needed.
• The developed tools demonstrated validity in reducing the complexity of VLE development.

Conclusions:

• The proposed extensions enable teachers to create engaging VLEs using visual programming.
• This approach lowers the technical barrier for educators, promoting wider adoption of advanced learning technologies.
• The integration of Chatbots and VR in VLEs, made accessible through these tools, enhances the virtual educational experience.