Publications

@article{Nisiotis2020,
title = {Lessons Learned Using a Virtual World to Support Collaborative Learning in the Classroom},
author = {Louis Nisiotis, Styliani Kleanthous},
doi = {https://www.jucs.org/jucs_26_8/lessons_learned_using_a/jucs_26_08_0858_0879_nisiotis.pdf},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-08-28},
journal = {Journal of Universal Computer Science},
abstract = { Using technology in education is crucial to support learning, and Virtual Worlds
(VWs) are one of the technologies used by many educators to support their teaching objectives.
VWs enable students to connect, synchronously interact, and participate in immersive learning
activities. Such VW has been developed at Sheffield Hallam University (UK), and is used to
support the teaching of a specific module, as well as for conducting empirical research around
the topics of Transactive Memory Systems (TMS) and Students Engagement. TMS is a
SKHQRPHQRQ UHSUHVHQWLQJ WKH FROOHFWLYH DZDUHQHVV RI D JURXS¶VVSHFLDOLsation, coordination,
and credibility with interesting results. This paper presents the lessons learned while using the
VW over the past few years at a higher education institution to support collaborative learning
within working groups. A review of these empirical findings is presented, together with the
results of a follow up study conducted to further investigate TMS and student Engagement, as
well as students perceived Motivation to use a VW for learning, and their Learning Outcomes.
The findings of this study are corroborating and contributing to previous results, suggesting that
a VW is an effective tool to support collaborative learning activities, allowing students to
engage in the learning process, motivate them to participate in activities, and contribute to their
overall learning experience. },
keywords = {Collaborative Learning, Education, Virtual Environments},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@inproceedings{Nisiotis2019,
title = {The Relationship Between Students' Engagement and the Development of Transactive Memory Systems in MUVE: An Experience Report},
author = {Louis Nisiotis, Styliani Kleanthou},
url = {https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3304221.3319743},
doi = {10.1145/3304221.3319743},
isbn = {9781450368957},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-07-02},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2019 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education},
abstract = {The use of educational Multi-User Virtual Environments that provide synchronous interaction, interactive and social learning experiences have the potential to increase student engagement. Due to increased social and cognitive presence, the use of such environments can result in greater student engagement when compared to traditional asynchronous learning environments. In this work, we hypothesized that students' engagement in collaborative learning activities will increase if Transactive Memory System constructs are present. Thus, we employed the theory of TMS that emphasizes the importance of Specialization, Coordination and Credibility between members in a team. The results show that there is a significant correlation between the development of TMS and students' engagement.},
keywords = {Education, Virtual Environments},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}