"Blended reality" classes delivered simultaneously in physical and virtual worlds

[Lee, Mark]

Dear colleagues,

It is now not uncommon, especially within the scholarly community interested in games and virtual worlds for learning, to hold presentations or other events that are simultaneously attended by audiences in the real/physical and virtual worlds, with cameras on both so the attendees in each space are able to see each other. I was wondering if anyone was aware of published reports about and/or research/evaluations of the use this type of "blended reality" setup/approach: (a) in general; and (b) for learning and teaching in a formal instructional setting (e.g., lecture and tutorial classes)?

At the moment, other than the blended reality case study that was part of the Blended Synchronous Learning project my colleagues and I worked on (http://blendsync.org/) as well as an earlier proof-of-concept/trial conducted by our project leader, Matt Bower, at Macquarie University (Australia) (see http://ascilite.org.au/conferences/sydney10/procs/Bower-full.pdf), I know of only one other project in this area, MiRTLE, which was led by Michael Gardner at the University of Essex (UK) a few years ago (see http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/mirtle).

Any pointers to other projects (past and/or present) as well as relevant literature sources would be most welcomed and appreciated.

Many thanks in advance!

Best regards,


Mark J.W. Lee
Charles Sturt University