Assessing the application of three-dimensional collaborative technologies within an e-learning environment

Today, the Internet plays a major role in distributing learning material within third level education. Multiple online facilities provide access to educational resources. While early systems relied on webpages, which acted as repositories for learning material, nowadays sophisticated online applications manage and deliver learning resources. Courses that use solely traditional e-learning methods have high attrition rates, which are often attributed to boredom and lack of interaction with others. Indeed static text-based interfaces, where communication with others is often asynchronous, fail to stimulate students. In this article, we present a system which uses stimulating three-dimensional environments to present learning material to students, combined with multi-user and real-time technologies to permit interaction and collaboration between them. The article focuses on presenting results from a user study which indicate that these technologies can be used effectively to resolve several of the issues with existing e-learning systems. The results show that students enjoy interacting in the environment and appreciate the benefits the paradigm brings to e-learning.