Abstract:

To improve the learning experience of students, several works that use 3D virtual worlds have been proposed. The virtual learning environment allows users to explore different multimedia content, such as videos, images, animations etc., and interact with these contents. In addition, students can interact not only with lecturers, but also with other students. Besides, they can share documents aiming at cooperating with each other. In order to assist young people to gain entrepreneurship skill, this paper presents a 3D virtual world, which is called VR4STEM. The virtual world is composed of many islands. Each of them presents a specific subject in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and ICT (Information and Communications Technology) industry domain. VR4STEM also makes use of Open Educational Resources (OER) in different languages to contribute to the quality of education. The proposed project aims at being suitable for people with mobility difficulties or who lives in isolated areas. In this way, VR4STEM can improve the Europe’s youth education using new technologies. Moreover, we present pedagogical points of the 3D virtual world of VR4STEM. We also discuss the piloting activities that were carried out in a high school.

Keywords:

3D virtual world, learning multimedia content, virtual learning environment, virtual teaching environment, learning technologies.