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Design of Virtual Reality Systems for Education: A Cognitive Approach

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Abstract

One of the main problems with virtual reality as a learning tool is that there are hardly any theories or models upon which to found and justify the application development. This paper presents a model that defends the metaphorical design of educational virtual reality systems. The goal is to build virtual worlds capable of embodying the knowledge to be taught: the metaphorical structuring of abstract concepts looks for bodily forms of expression in order to make knowledge accessible to students. The description of a case study aimed at learning scientific categorization serves to explain and implement the process of metaphorical projection. Our proposals are based on Lakoff and Johnson's theory of cognition, which defends the conception of the embodied mind, according to which most of our knowledge relies on basic metaphors derived from our bodily experience.

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Correspondence to Álvaro Sánchez.

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Sánchez, Á., María Barreiro, J. & Maojo, V. Design of Virtual Reality Systems for Education: A Cognitive Approach. Education and Information Technologies 5, 345–362 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012061809603

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012061809603

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