Abstract

Virtual Worlds are being used to provide interactive experiential learning. The ability to explore is one of the benefits, but also runs the risk of students becoming lost or unfocussed. It is important that students remain engaged as they navigate around the world in order to achieve the intended learning outcomes. This paper looks at student academic engagement, measured through the number of correct answers they obtain at the end, behavioural engagement through analysis of navigation paths and psychological and cognitive engagement via the Student Engagement Instrument. Twelve students participated in the study. We found that participants exhibited many different navigational patterns, but the paths of the best performing participants showed purposeful navigation and were close to the optimal path through the environment. These results could be used to predict performance of users of a virtual environment and give feedback during or after interaction.

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