[iva] 2nd CALL FOR PAPERS - IEEE Virtual Reality 2016 Workshop on K-12 Embodied Learning through Virtual & Augmented Reality (KELVAR)

[IEEE VR Publicity Chairs]

[Apologies for cross postings]

2nd CALL FOR PAPERS - IEEE Virtual Reality 2016 Workshop on K-12 Embodied  
Learning through Virtual & Augmented Reality (KELVAR)

Organized in conjunction with the IEEE Virtual Reality 2016 conference  
which takes place March 19th to 23rd in Greenville, USA.  
http://ieeevr.org/2016/


UPDATE - EXTENDED SUBMISSION DEADLINE: February 12, 2016

UPDATE - KEYNOTE SPEAKER ANNOUNCED: Emily Reardon - Director of User  
Experience, Sesame Workshop


WORKSHOP WEBSITE

https://sites.google.com/site/vrkelvar/


DESCRIPTION

K-12 education is currently undergoing a technological revolution creating  
opportunities for Virtual-, Augmented-, and Mixed-Reality based learning.  
An increasing number of classrooms are being equipped with interactive  
whiteboards, tablet devices, and personal student computers. This  
technology integration will continue to increase as mobile devices  
penetrate into all socioeconomic strata, and as new VR/AR/MR technologies  
become affordable to schools. Classroom learning of the future could be  
assisted by multi-projector systems, touchscreen displays, head-mounted  
displays, and other immersive technologies.

These technological innovations have the potential to engage students in  
more effective kinds of learning than compared to traditional approaches,  
by leveraging the affordances of VR/AR/MR media. Such affordances include  
the ability to engage students with interactive 3D simulations of real-life  
phenomena, presenting information that is spatially- and temporally-  
integrated with real objects, leveraging whole-body motions to depict and  
reinforce learning content, etc.

One particularly unique strength of these technologies is their ability to  
teach educational content through Embodied Learning, whereby students use  
their whole body to understand, experience, and interact with the learning  
content. Embodied learning can take many forms in which learning happens  
through motions of the physical body, such as: an  
handheld-augmented-reality experience where the student moves their body  
around a plant, in order to understand its internal structure and explore  
photosynthesis from different layers of abstraction; or, a CS programming  
course in which student creations are projected onto the classroom  
surfaces, where students program and collaborate by physically interacting  
with each other's programs; or, an HMD-based virtual-reality experience  
where the student solves mathematical equations by using their hands to  
physically move numbers from one side of the equal sign to the another.

Technology developers, HCI researchers, cognitive scientists and learning  
sciences researchers are beginning to understand the mechanisms and  
benefits of embodied learning, as well as other unique affordances which  
make VR/AR/MR especially suited for education. But there are many questions  
about the integration of such experiences into the classroom, such as: What  
curriculum topics should (and should not) be addressed through such  
technologies? What psychological mechanisms underlie embodied learning and  
other unique affordances of VR/AR/MR technology? How can we design  
experiences to be usable by children of different ages? How will classroom  
relationships and pedagogical approaches be influenced by such technologies?

In this workshop we aim to bring together developers and researchers who  
are interested in creating educational experiences for the classroom of the  
future. The workshop will enable participants to be exposed to and discuss  
different approaches for integrating virtual-, augmented- and mixed-reality  
technologies, specifically focusing on the challenges and potential for  
embodied learning in the classroom.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Emily Reardon is the Director of User Experience and part of the Learning  
Design team for Digital Production at Sesame Workshop, the not-for-profit  
organization behind Sesame Street. Prior to that she was the Director of  
Design Strategy in the Workshop's Content Innovation Lab, a small research  
and development team devoted to exploring emergent technology and new ways  
for children and families to play and learn. Reardon is an Adjunct  
Professor at New York University's Graduate School of Education, where she  
teaches Architecture of Learning Environments as well as Narrative, Digital  
Media, and Learning. An Emmy Award-winner for her work at Sesame Workshop,  
Reardon has contributed to a wide variety of industry initiatives and  
events, including serving as co-chair of the International Conference on  
Interaction Design and Children and authoring several peer-reviewed  
academic publications. Reardon holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in  
Art/Semiotics as well as English and American Literature from Brown  
University, and a Master of Arts in Education, Communication, and  
Technology from New York University.

SUBMISSION TOPICS

We welcome thought-provoking position papers, case studies, and preliminary  
research results on topics related to VR/AR/MR learning:
- VR, AR & MR Technologies and Applications for the Classroom
- Embodied Cognition and Learning
- User Experience Design for Children
- Curriculum-based Educational Applications
- Student-Teacher Relationships and Pedagogical Implications
- Classroom Integration of Technology

INTENDED AUDIENCE

We expect the audience will be attendees to the IEEE Virtual Reality 2016  
conference, specifically those interested in educational technology:
- Academic researchers in augmented / virtual / mixed reality
- Learning psychologists
- Industry organizations for children's education
- Teachers and educational researchers
- Informal education technology designers


DEADLINES AND SUBMISSION FORMAT

Paper submission deadline: *** EXTENDED *** February 12, 2016
Notification of acceptance: February 20, 2016

We seek contributions in the following formats:
I)     Research Papers (4-6 pages): Novel results in the field in the above  
mentioned categories
II)    Position Papers (2-4 pages): Interesting and possibly controversial  
points of view, and approaches to foster a discussion at the event.

Papers must be written in English and follow the IEEE Computer Society  
format found at:
http://www.cs.sfu.ca/~vis/Tasks/camera.html

Non-anonymized submissions should be emailed to iulian at cc.gatech.edu

WORKSHOP FORMAT

The workshop will be a half-day event, consisting of presentations from a  
keynote speaker and selected authors, and followed by discussions on  
specific topic of interest to the workshop audience. Authors will be  
invited to do 5-15 minute presentations prior to the workshop discussions,  
the duration depending on the number of papers accepted. The focus of  
discussion topics will be chosen according to the participant submissions.  
Possible topics: curriculum topics suitable for AR/VR/MR, classroom  
integration issues, evaluation methodologies, future research, etc.

ORGANIZERS

Iulian Radu    PhD Candidate in Human Centered Computing, Georgia Institute  
of Technology
Dr. Blair MacIntyre    Director of Augmented Environments Lab, Georgia  
Institute of Technology
Dr. Maribeth Gandy    Director of Interactive Media Technology Center,  
Georgia Institute of Technology

ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS

Iulian Radu is a Ph.D. Candidate at the Georgia Institute of Technology.  
Iulian has extensive previous experience in research and development of  
children's technology, as part of his years as a Georgia Institute of  
Technology doctorate student as well as his industrial experiences with  
organizations such as PBS Kids and Samsung Electronics. While working with  
PBS Kids under the Ready To Learn initiative, he has directed the design,  
research, and production of augmented-reality applications for education,  
including the augmented-reality educational game Cyberchase Shape Quest  
(officially featured on the iTunes store, and nominee of the Webby and  
iKids awards). During his current academic research, he has generated  
publications about the usability, psychology, and educational aspects of  
augmented reality for children, and has developed multiple educational AR  
applications, including the augmented reality extension of the popular  
Scratch programming environment.

Dr. Blair MacIntyre is a Professor in the School of Interactive Computing  
at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and directs the GVU Center's  
Augmented Environments Lab.  His research focuses on developing the  
potential of augmented reality as a novel technology and new medium for  
games, entertainment, education and work.  He has published more than 100  
research papers, is actively involved with industry as a consultant, and is  
regularly interviewed in the media about augmented reality, games and  
mobile technology. He received a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1998,  
and B.Math and M.Math degrees from the University of Waterloo in 1989 and  
1991. He is the recipient of an NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship and an NSF  
CAREER award.

Dr. Maribeth Gandy is the director of the Interactive Media Technology  
Center. She is a three-time graduate of the Georgia Institute of  
Technology, receiving a Ph.D. and MS in Computer Science, and a B.S. in  
Computer Engineering. She directs the Interactive Media Technology Center,  
whose research and development focuses on interactive systems for mobile &  
wearable computing, augmented reality, gaming & entertainment, sensing &  
pattern recognition, assistive technology, and health systems. Her research  
emphasis is on augmented reality, specifically authoring and evaluation  
techniques. She also leads several research projects related to the use of  
gaming experiences for rehabilitation, wellness, cognitive therapy,  
training, and assessment.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.uni-bielefeld.de/mailman2/unibi/public/iva-list/attachments/20160211/ce1b0705/attachment.html>