Abstract Virtual learning environments are already widely used, for example in the form of Massive Open Online Courses, but also within other e-learning solutions such as virtual labs. Nowadays, these are combined with Big Data learning analytics, which aim at individualizing and optimizing teaching processes through virtual, statistical or artificial intelligence approaches. One of the major issues that are commonly connected to e-learning and e-collaboration is that they will evolve at the cost of personal contact and classical social interaction. In a virtual reality study on collaborative digital learning habits using the Oculus Rift, headphones, microphones and/or laptops, this problem has been addressed. The results show that engineering students could work together successfully solving a previously unknown task in Minecraft without knowing each other. Therefore, anonymity appears to be a nowadays self-evident phenomenon, which does not hinder students from interacting spontaneously - and successfully! The experimental set-up demanded that the 48 test persons (23 pairs of two, one pair needed to be excluded due to simulator sickness) solved a collaborative task in anonymous pair constellations. The required Minecraft items to solve this assignment were distributed randomly so that the task could only be mastered by working together. Interestingly, most teams performed very well although the subjects did not know each other – and in a way, they were not even interested in it. Less than 5 pairs greeted and introduced themselves to their partner. This leads to the hypothesis that virtual collaboration does not only severely differ from classical real-life interaction, but leads to the establishment of completely new social structures and practices. This paper addresses the questions in how far virtual collaborations equals/differs from real-life problem solving, how virtual collaboration environments should generally be designed and lastly, which the advantages and disadvantages of virtual collaboration are - with regards to an approaching Industry 4.0.
The first three industrial revolutions were characterized by the invention of water and steam engine, centralized electric power infrastructure and mass production as well as digital computing and communications technology. The current developments caused by the fourth revolution, also known as "Industry 4.0", pose major challenges to almost every kind of work, workplace, and the employees. Due to the concepts of cyber-physical systems, Internet of Things and the increasing globalization, remote work is a fast-growing trend in the workplace, and educational strategies within virtual worlds become more important. Especially methods as teaching and learning within virtual worlds are expected to have an enormous impact on advanced education in the future. However, it is not trivial to transfer a reliable educational method from real to the virtual worlds. Therefore, it is important to adapt, check and change even small didactic elements to guarantee a sustainable learning success. As there is a lot of ongoing research about using virtual worlds for the training of hazardous situations, it has to be figured out which potential those environments bear for the everyday education of academic staff and which competencies and educational support trainers need to have respectively can give in those worlds. The used approach for this study was to investigate the trainers' didactic perspective on mixed-reality teaching and learning. A total of ten trainers from different areas in Germany took part in this study. Every participant pursued both roles: the teaching and the learning part in a virtual learning environment. In order to assess the learning success and important key factors the experiment yields data from the participants' behavior, their answers to a semi-structured interview and video analysis, recorded from the virtual world. Resulting data were analyzed by using different qualitative as well as quantitative methods. The findings of this explorative research suggest the potential for learning in virtual worlds and give inside into influencing variables. The online gaming experience and the age of participants can be shown to be related to participants' performance in the virtual world. It looks like the barriers for the affected trainers are low regarding utilization of virtual worlds. Together with the mentioned advantages and possible usages, the potential of these setups is shown.
Increasing complexity in production calls for a skilled workforce. With increasing demands on employee's qualification, also the pressure on companies to train their workforce is constantly rising. Technical knowledge in the context of managing, operating and interacting with new machines and media, so-called “digital literacy”, is thereby fundamentally desired within fast-paced changing environments. Here, the organizational learning infrastructure is next to personal variables a crucial factor, especially when it comes to knowledge generation. Due to digital transformation of work-places further development of employees receives evermore attention. In contrast to white-collar workers research on production workers is in this context widely underrepresented in current research and insights not often enough utilized. This study assesses current challenges production workers face and evaluates their work-related state of interaction with media. Furthermore, the study conveys insights into the factors which influence their learning motivations. The underlying data is generated through workshops, multi-perspective interviews and a subsequent questionnaire-based survey gathered within the German automotive industry. It is a first contribution by assessing and hence actively shaping a digital learning infrastructure to enable continuous knowledge management in production.
In consideration of future employment domains, engineering students should be prepared to meet the demands of society 4.0 and industry 4.0 – resulting from a fourth industrial revolution. Based on the technological concept of cyber-physical systems and the Internet of Things, it facilitates – among others - the vision of the smart factory. The vision of “industry 4.0” is characterized by highly individualized and at the same time cross-linked production processes. Physical reality and virtuality increasingly melt together and international teams collaborate across the globe within immersive virtual environments. In this context, a large market arises in the field virtual trainings, which means that professional trainers need to explore the potential of new learning settings. In the context of the development from purely document based management systems to complex virtual learning environments (VLEs), a shift towards more interactive and collaborative components within higher educational e-learning can be noticed, but is still far from being called the state of the art. As a result, engineering education is faced with a large potential field of research, which ranges from the technical development and didactical conception of new VLEs to the investigation of students’ acceptance or the proof of concept of the VLEs in terms of learning efficiency. This paper presents three corresponding qualitative studies: In a series of focus groups, it was investigated which kinds of VLEs students prefer in a higher education context. Building upon the results of the focus groups, a collaborative VLE was created within the open world game Minecraft. In two different studies this VLE was tested, first by students and then by professional trainers. First screenings of the video material of the studies indicate a connection between communicational behavior and successful collaborative problem solving in virtual environments. The majority of the trainers who participated in the second study ascribe the new technological possibilities great potential and would consider using it within their own trainings.
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