=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-1914/TUTORIAL2
|storemode=property
|title=Immersion in e-Learning
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1914/TUTORIAL2.pdf
|volume=Vol-1914
|authors=Alexandra Cristea
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/ht/Cristea17
}}
==Immersion in e-Learning==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1914/TUTORIAL2.pdf
Immersion in e-Learning
Alexandra I. Cristea
University of Warwick
Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
a.i.cristea@warwick.ac.uk
ABSTRACT Csikszentmihalyi recommends as flow antecedents clear goals &
immediate feedback, and a good challenge & skills balance.
Flow is a state of intense concentration and engagement, when a
user is so immersed in her activity, that all other external
influences cease. It is a well-known fact that flow is experienced
3 IMMERSION FEATURES
in games, where we all had the 'just one more minute' request An appropriate source for extracting immersion and flow-related
from our children. This paper analyses the notion of flow from features are games. It is easy, at first glance, to attribute the
two perspectives: the theoretical concepts and the practical reality. typically high level of immersion in game environments to
For the latter, game environments are compared to current e- advanced computer graphics (such as Halo 51), or 3D interactivity
learning environments. Finally, the extracted features are mapped (such as in EVE Online2); however, this is only part of the answer.
back to the theoretical underpinning. It also represents the part that is more difficult to implement,
requiring large teams of dedicated programmers. In the following
CCS CONCEPTS I identify some tangible features of current game environments
that are much more straightforward to implement, but that are
• Human-centred computing → Interaction paradigms →
currently missing in current e-learning environments (even in
Hypertext / hypermedia; Web-based interaction; Applied
more advanced adaptive or personalised ones [4,5]), which may
computing → Education → e-learning; Information systems →
trigger immersion [6]. The focus here is mainly on feedback,
Decision support systems → Data analytics;
which is considered an essential aspect to be supported in e-
learning [7].
KEYWORDS 1) Game environments, unlike TEL environments, often have
flow, e-learning, adaptation, social web, semantic web, multi-dimensional levels of interactivity and feedback. Thus,
gamification, learner analytics unlike in a learning system, where feedback often relates to
scores, marks, or percentage of progress, which all reflect, in
principle, the single dimension of knowledge-increase, in game
Reference format:
environments various parameters can be tracked, and the user can
Cristea, A. I. 2017. Immersion in e-Learning. In Workshop and Tutorial
progress in various ways, as defined by these parameters.
Proceedings of the 28th ACM Conference on Hypertext and Social
Media, Prague, Czech Republic, July 4-7 2017 (Hypertext’17), 2 pages,
2) Next, in game environments, the feedback is frequent. At each
CEUR-WS.org. ‘kill’ or ‘success’, for instance, the popular first-player-shooter
games immediately display on-screen the experience feedback.
Opposed to that, most learning environments, adaptive or not,
1 INTRODUCTION
give delayed feedback, often significantly so, only, e.g., when a
In e-learning, immersion is a concept based on the psychological whole chapter is read, or an important concept is mastered.
concept of flow: learners 'are so engaged in learning, that time and 3) Moreover, the feedback is highly visible. Games often place
fatigue disappear' [1,2]. We mostly know this experience from their feedback in the middle of the screen, as in the previous
online and offline games. The challenge is to create e-learning example, with perhaps strong colours, or even graphics. In
offers that can lead to a similar intense involvement. This seems learning environments, especially in adaptive settings, a lot of
to be an impossible challenge for educational software, and thus discussions have centred on the benefits of high level of feedback.
represents almost a 'holy grail' for online education. This is 4) Furthermore, in game environments, the feedback is fine-
especially relevant now, with the rising of MOOCs, such as grained. At each event, popular games immediately display
Corsera in the US and FutureLearn in Europe, backed up strongly, experience feedback. A player feels at all times that she is making
in a top-down fashion, by current politicians, but which suffer some progress. Opposed to that, most learning environments,
greatly from extremely high dropout rates. adaptive or not, display quite a coarse-grained feedback.
5) Additionally, feedback is volatile. This means, feedback
1.1 Flow Components doesn’t linger on the screen for very long.
The noted psychologist Csikszentmihalyi identified 4 key
components of flow: control (learner's control over the 1
https://www.halopedia.org/Halo_5:_Guardians
experience); attention (learner's dedication to the task at hand); 2
https://www.eveonline.com/
intrinsic interest (motivated by the desired outcome) and
curiosity (leading them forward) [3]. Specifically,
Tutorial at Hypertext'17, Prague, Czech Republic, July 2017
Copyright held by the author(s).
Hypertext'17, July 2017, Prague, Czech Republic A. I. Cristea
6) Moreover, feedback is traceable. Whilst the information can are well equipped to deal with a multitude of inputs online,
flash quickly in front of the user, a user in a game environment without losing focus [9, 10].
can usually find, for instance, information about a certain 5) volatile feedback: this feature supports 'immediate feedback' by
achievement, when desired. Adaptive learning environments are still allowing for learner's 'attention' to the task at hand (instead of
more concerned with keeping track of the current state (e.g., the interrupting with interaction demands).
percentage of current knowledge) instead of storing minor 6) traceable feedback: this features supports 'immediate feedback'
achievements. by helping, when 'interest' and 'attention' are caught, to easily be
7) Adaptive educational environments may often track the in 'control' and find the required information.
distance to achievement, instead of challenges conquered. I.e., as 7) challenges conquered, not distance to achievement: this deals
in the above example, the percentage of knowledge as compared with the 'challenge & skills balance', in that, even harder
to the desired state of knowledge may be displayed. Instead, game problems, are presented in a manner in which they can be
environments display achievements, experience levels, ranking in perceived as simpler and approachable, where skills and challenge
a leader board etc. are matched.
8) Furthermore, interactivity with other players is often used in 8) social aspects: interestingly, instead of detracting from a
multi-player games as an extra dimension for exploration. learner's attention', social interaction can actually help to improve
Competition and collaboration are encouraged via reward the 'challenge & skills' balance, and lower achievement
systems. Whilst interactivity and collaboration have been explored thresholds, by involving help from peers, tutors, etc. Such aspects,
in previous work on TEL environments (e.g., the ALS EU project 3 if well-implemented, can increase the level of perceived learner
led by Warwick), its effect on the learning immersion is not yet 'control', and thus increase the motivation and 'interest'.
fully explored and exploited. 9) redundant access to information: a less intuitive outcome, the
9)VAccess to information (such as feedback) can be obtained in availability of multiple paths to the same piece of information (be
multiple, redundant ways in game environments. In such cases, it feedback, or learning content, or social interaction) helps
redundancy is no undesirable feature, but the contrary: users can towards learner 'control', adjusting to the learner's mental model
get to the information in whichever way they are more of the information organisation, and lowers the challenge from a
comfortable with. Contrary to this, educational environments system perspective, thus achieving a better 'challenge & skills
rarely introduce redundancy in their paths. balance'.
4 DISCUSSION 5 IMMERSION FRAMEWORK
Analysing how the features above map onto the theory provides Figure 1 represents these features in the form of an initial
the reassurance that these are indeed features which could be immersion features framework, including also the flow
scaffolding flow and ultimately immersion in a learning dimensions, directly mapped from the theory [1,2,3] (under
environment, as follows. features, on the right hand side of the image),
1a) multi-dimensional levels of interactivity: in terms of flow As can be seen in section 4, the majority of the features discussed
antecedents, it maps onto 'challenge & skills balance'. In terms of there are centred around feedback. These involve points 1b- 7
the key components, it maps best onto 'control', although it allows from section 4. Others are concerned with delivery (Features-
also the learner to follow their 'intrinsic interest' and nurture >Delivery on right hand side of image), corresponding to 9 in
'curiosity', which could enhance 'attention'. section 4, and interactivity (Features-> multi-dimensional levels
1b) multi-dimensional feedback: in terms of flow antecedents, it of interactivity), corresponding to feature 1a in section 4.
maps well onto the 'immediate feedback'. In terms of the key Additionally, the framework describes the user activities
components, it maps onto 'attention' (as it keeps a learner's (Features->Activities, right hand side of Figure 1) - the type of
attention by the various type of feedback), gives a feeling of actions users are likely to perform when learning via a hypertext
'control', which could increase 'intrinsic interest' and 'curiosity'. environment. Finally, the framework provides well as additional
2) frequent feedback: directly maps to 'immediate feedback', and metrics and measurement methods (left hand side of the image),
is generally related to 1b) above. which can be involved in tracing and estimating the
3) highly visible feedback: spurs 'attention', potentially increasing appropriateness of the specific implementation for this set of
'curiosity' and 'intrinsic interest', as well as giving a greater feeling features.
of 'control'. This framework represents, to the best of the author's knowledge,
4) fine-grained feedback: allows clearly for 'control' - the learner the first attempt of systematically analysing and differentiating
is in charge and aware of most aspects of her learning. between flow parameters in games, and their counterpart in e-
Importantly, in opposition to previous research, which was learning environments. Whilst some of these features have been
concerned about learning overhead [8], in fact, modern learners studied separately, they have not been analysed in a systematic
way, based on evidence from their source, as well as per their
potential to inducing the flow state in the learners.
3
http://www.academia.edu/12713425/Adaptive_Learning_Spaces
2
Figure 1: Immersion Features Framework.
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