AVRA: virtual learning environment with virtual reality capabilities

• Daniel Domingueti UFSJ
• Diego Dias UFSJ
• Dárlinton Carvalho UFSJ

Resumo

Digital technologies such as the Internet have considerably changed distance learning (DL), enabling new forms of sharing and consuming information. Notably, the so-called virtual learning environments (VLE) consist of educational systems designed to support DL activities. However, VLEs usually do not focus on social interactions among participants, which is also point out as a strong avoidance factor for DL courses. Thus, in this work, we propose assimilating the concepts of interactive and immersive virtual reality environments to devise a VLE, called AVRA, to offer a better learning experience. The analysis shows the AVRA prototype achieves its purpose with satisfactory usability, considering the opinions of two groups of students. In conclusion, we point out lessons learned in this research and provide insights for further developments.

Palavras-chave: virtual reality, virtual learning environments, distance learning