The role of affordance in the experience of virtual reality learning: Technological and affective affordances in virtual reality

As virtual reality becomes more and more mainstream, the role of affordances in virtual environments becomes an important question. The goal of this study is to explicate users’ motivational affordances and examine how they influence the acceptance of a virtual reality learning environment (VLE). It examines how motivational affordances in an educational virtual reality (VR) system affect user experience to track and achieve goals for users. A multimixed approach was used by combining qualitative methods and a quantitative survey. First, a critical incident technique was used to explore a range of affordance factors related to VLE. Second, based on the affordance factors identified from the qualitative methods, a survey was conducted to examine the effects of affordance on user cognitive processes and the influence of affordance on the learning process. The results of the user model confirmed the heuristic role of presence and immersion affordance regarding their underlying link to educational affordances, such as empathy and embodied cognition. The findings imply the embodied cognition process of VLE in which technological qualities are shaped by users’ perception and context. The results establish a foundation for VR technologies through a heuristic assessment tool from a user-embodied cognitive process. They confirm the validity and utility of applying affordances to the design of VR as a useful concept and prove that the optimum mix of affordances is crucial to the success of VR design.     

Enterprise social media affordances as enablers of knowledge transfer and creative performance: An empirical study

Extant research largely views employee creativity to be driven by individual characteristics, contextual factors, and interactions between them. However, the role of social technologies in enhancing employees’ creativity remains understudied. To address this gap, this study constructs and empirically examines a research model to explore the effect of enterprise social media (ESM) affordances on employee creative performance from the perspective of knowledge transfer. An analysis of survey data gathered from 365 Chinese employees using Dingtalk indicates that association, visibility, persistence, and editability affordances of ESM exert positive influences on knowledge acquisition and knowledge provision, which further facilitates creative performance. Findings show that the links between ESM affordances and creative performance are mainly mediated by knowledge provision. This study enriches the extant research on social technologies and user innovation, and provides guidance for enterprise practice.     

3D printing as a means of learning and communication: The 3Ducation project revisited

This research project explores to what extent the utilization of open-source 3D printers and 3D design software could serve as means of learning and communication. The principles of non-formal education aligned with the concept of constructionism are used to create an experimental educational scenario focused on geocultural tourism for persons with visual impairments. This paper documents our experience and presents our findings from a 25-day long project, which took place in Zagori, northwestern Greece. 11 high school students from Portugal designed and manufactured natural and cultural heritage artifacts carrying messages in the Braille language. The objects were then handed to people with visual impairments with a twofold aim. First, to enable the communication among persons with and without visual impairments; and, second, to empower students to participate in training projects through open educational procedures. We conclude that open educational practices can boost students’ active engagement in educational processes. Finally, 3D printing encourages a meaningful communication among people with and without visual impairments via the tangible exploration of geocultural components.