2.3.3. Assessment of virtual learning environments
While it is possible to identify
areas in which VR could afford unique, effective learning
experiences, to date there is little principled empirical
work to support this belief. As Dede states, ``one of the biggest
stumbling blocks in VR research right now is the lack
of concrete data on the usefulness of VR'' \cite{Dede96}.
As VR becomes more widespread, it is important to investigate
the educational efficacy of the medium in
specific learning situations or broader learning domains,
and develop new rubrics of educational efficacy that
compare it to other approaches.
Dede believes that the efficacy of VR can be truly established only by rigorously comparing VR's benefits to traditional educational methods and only ``through careful analysis that can accurately diagnose the weaknesses and limitations of the technology'' \cite {Dede96}. Whitelock et al. (1996) argue that effective evaluation methods need to be established to discover if conceptual learning takes place in VR \cite{Whitelock96}. In practice, however, the assessment of VR technology has been focused primarily on its usefulness for training and less on its efficacy for supporting learning in domains with a high conceptual and social content.
The question if VR requires new and different assessment techniques beyond those in development today, remains relatively unexplored. Although there have been some attempts at constructing theoretical frameworks for the evaluation of virtual worlds \cite{Rose95,Whitelock96}, very few working examples or reports on the practical use of these frameworks exist. The evaluation framework developed as part of this thesis is presented in Chapter 4.
The education world would argue that using just paper and pencil, in the form of standardized tests, is not an effective way to evaluate a virtual learning experience. As VR is a dynamic learning tool, evaluation should be inextricably coupled with the actual learning process. In essence, what applies to the evaluation of constructivist learning environments, should also apply to the evaluation of virtual learning environments, as they both place learners in positions where they can explore, experiment, and actively solve problems. Following the authentic assessment model, learning in constructivist learning environments, whether open or virtual, is directly related to its evaluation \cite{Wilson96}. Moreover, considering the incomplete nature of the field at this time, the key to conducting meaningful assessment will be to apply multiple measures of learning and performance \cite{Rose95}.
Moving further, in the direction of the use of virtual reality itself as a tool for assessment, VR has shown to stretch the technology for supporting the analysis of events. It has been used as a tool for recording, annotating, synchronizing, and analysing the results. Virtual learning environments can be used to extend this idea of VR as an evaluation medium in many ways. Networked virtual reality systems can embed methods for facilitating learner's discourse while in the environment. Actual mentors, disguised as virtual characters, serve multiple purposes as guides and evaluators: to answer questions, direct action, ask for clarification, prompt for interpretation. In addition to recording data while in the virtual environment, it is also easy to ``playback'' the recorded actions or experiences for further reflection and interpretation. This form of assessment, embedded in the learning process, can provide meaningful reflections on learners' skills and knowledge.