How Mediated
Immersion Shapes Learning
Over
the next decade, three complementary interfaces will shape how people
learn: (1) the familiar webpages-and-windows “desktop,” (2) multi-user
virtual environments (including sensory immersion via virtual reality),
and (3) augmented realities based on mobile wireless devices and
infused in real world settings. The “millennial” learning styles
ascribed to the Net Generation stem primarily from the desktop
interface; however, the growing use of virtual environments and
augmented realities is fostering new forms of mediated learning in
users of all ages. The crucial factor leading to this “neomillennial”
learning is that the desktop interface is not psychologically
immersive, while in contrast virtual environments and augmented
realities induce a strong sense of “presence.” Psychological immersion
enables a powerful pedagogy, situated learning, which is based on
authentic contexts, activities, and assessment coupled with guidance
from expert mentoring as well as tacit learning through collaborative
activities. Through situated learning enabled by psychological
presence, virtual environments and augmented realities is shaping
participants’ learning styles beyond what using sophisticated computers
and telecommunications has fostered thus far, with multiple
implications for education and training.
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