High & Low Immersion VR for VE-int

High & Low Immersion Virtual Reality for Virtual Exchange

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Contents

Introduction

Low Immersion

High Immersion

Pedagogical Affordances of Immersive VR

Reflections

Learning resources

References (including E-LIVE Case study)

Introduction

High Immersion: Full sensory engagement for a fully immersive & more realistic experience with 3D goggles.

Low Immersion: Accessible virtual experiences on more accesible devices (laptop, smartphone, tablet).

High and Low Immersion in VR

Low Immersion:

A three-dimensional virtual space experienced through a two-dimensional screen (Kaplan-Rakowski & Gruber, 2019) such as those found in computers, tablets and mobile phones.

In the video on the left, a group of Dutch and Spanish secondary school students, during low immersion VR, are having a spontaneous karaoke session after doing a task. (some names have been blurred)

High and Low Immersion in VR

Low Immersion:

Advantages Low immersion can be accessed through readily available devices such as computers, tablets and mobile phones. No extra outlay is needed.

Users can navigate through the virtual worldsusing familiar navigation tools such as a mouse, a track pad or touch screen so users do not need to learn new skills.

High and Low Immersion in VR

Low Immersion:

Disadvantages During low immersion, students can be distracted as they are much more aware of their direct surroundings and can easily visit social media sites and webpages. The main disadvantage of low immersion is that the user does not experience the fully immersed experience, which is much more intense from a sensorial point of view.

High and Low Immersion in VR

High Immersion:

“a computer-generated 360° virtual space that can be perceived as being spatially realistic, due to the high immersion afforded by a head-mounted device” (Kaplan-Rakowski & Gruber, 2019). The key element of HIVR is a 3D headset.

In the video, the a Spanish university student is talking about horchata, a drink produced in Valencia from tiger nuts to a Dutch university student. The Spanish student is having some difficulty explaining what it is to the Dutch student.

High and Low Immersion in VR

High Immersion:

Advantages:The main advantage in our experience is that the headset isolates the user from outside distractions. The users of headsets see and hear through the headset and cannot easily be distracted by web pages and social media as these needed to be configured for each individual user. The high immersion experience is much more intense from a sensorial perspective.

High and Low Immersion in VR

High Immersion:

Disadvantages The main disadvantage is that you need a headset, these can be expensive. Secondly, it takes a little trial and error to learn how to use them.

On the following pages there are quiz questions on the advantages and dis-advantages of High and Low Immersion

Quiz Time

01

One of the advantages of high immersion is that students are less distracted by outside stimuli.

True

False

Quiz Time

02

Low immersion VR requires special equipment

True

False

Quiz Time

03

Low immersion VR does not require much training.

True

False

Pedagogical affordances of Low/High Immersion

1. Virtual environments as safe & game-like places to practice as there is a certain anonymity (lower anxiety)
2. Authentic situated communication (voice and chat) and real-life simulations and role-plays (markets, tourist office, cafes) for practical language use.
3. Opportunities for action: move, fly, take, throw, interact …
4. Embodied Interaction with the environment and with other users (avatars).
5. Co-presence
6. Cultural immersion (in cultural villages) that facilitates a deeper understanding of social practices.

Reflections

Here are some reflections on high and low immersion from students who experienced both:

“I liked Frame VR with Meta Quest better because in the immersion experience you don’t have all of the other stimuli around you, the ones you have in real life with your phone, or something, or someone going by. You are fully immersed and for me it is the optimal one”.

“Frame VR with the Meta Quest was the most interesting environment because it was really fun”.

“Depending on the task, the difference between doing it on 2-D and 3-D is not so relevant and it could have been developed on Zoom or on the desktop version of Frame VR without much difference”.

“I think if you are going to use the Meta Quest, the googles, you need more time to do the task because first you need to know how to use them and then…”.

Reflections (your turn)

What advantages does VR -either low or high immersion- have over face-to-face video-conferencing between foreign peers?

Can you think of any tasks that could take full advantage of a virtual world?

Do you think that your students would be motivated to use VR in a virtual world? Why/Why not?

You can reflect on these questions individually or discuss them with colleagues if this genial.ly is part of a course you are following.

Learning Resources

How to start with virtual worlds. Click globe to find out!

Learning Resources (cont.)

Information on tools and tasks to further student engagemente

References

Jauregi, K., Canto, S., De Graaff, R., Koenraad, T., & Moonen, M. ( 2011) “Verbal interaction in Second Life: towards a pedagogic framework for task design”, Computer Assisted Language Learning, 24(1), 77–101. Juaregi Ondarra, K. (2024) Exploring high- and low-immersion Virtual Reality. E-LIVE Case Study. Kaplan-Rakowski, Regina & Gruber, Alice (2019) "Low-Immersion versus High-Immersion Virtual Reality: Definitions, Classification, and Examples with a Foreign Language Focus". In Innovation in Language Learning 12th Edition 2019. (Link: https://conference.pixel-online.net/library_scheda.php?id_abs=4232) Papin, K. (2018) “Can 360 virtual reality tasks impact L2 willingness to communicate?” Future-Proof CALL: Language Learning as Exploration and Encounters–Short Papers from EUROCALL 2018, 243–248.

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