MURDOCH RESEARCH REPOSITORY http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au This is the author's final version of the work, as accepted for publication following peer review but without the publisher's layout or pagination. Herrington, J. , Reeves, T.C. and Oliver, R. (2007) Immersive learning technologies: Realism and online authentic learning. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 19 (1). pp. 80-99. http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/5241 Copyright © 2007 Springer It is posted here for your personal use. No further distribution is permitted. Immersive learning technologies: Realism and online authentic learning AUTHORS: Jan Herrington Faculty of Education University of Wollongong, Australia
[email protected] Thomas C. Reeves College of Education The University of Georgia, Georgia, USA
[email protected] Ron Oliver School of Communications and Multimedia Edith Cowan University, Australia
[email protected] CONTACT AUTHOR: Jan Herrington Faculty of Education University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, 2522 Email:
[email protected] Phone: +612 4221 4277 Immersive learning technologies: Realism and online authentic learning Abstract: The development of immersive learning technologies in the form of virtual reality and advanced computer applications has meant that realistic creations of simulated environments are now possible. Such simulations have been used to great effect in training in the military, air force, and in medical training. But how realistic do problems need to be in education for effective learning to occur? Some authors and researchers argue that problems should be real, or that simulations should have ultra-realistic physical similarity to an actual context. This paper proposes that physical verisimilitude to real situations is of less importance in learning than ‘cognitive realism’, provided by immersing students in engaging and complex tasks.