Negotiation of Spatial Configurations in Collaborative Virtual Environments

Filipe Santos (1) , Benjamim Fonseca (2) , Paulo Martins (2) , Leonel Morgado (2)

1 Grupo de Acessibilidade e Ambientes Virtuais
2 Department of Engenharias [Vila Real]

In the last decades a new culture of childhood has been emerging that redefines the relations between children and their social environment. Instead of seeing children as passive actors in the society where they live, children are regarded as social actors capable of supplying their own personal and active contribution to social life. This approach includes involving children in the planning of physical spaces as well as in social and cultural interventions in their society. One particular field of study is that of children's involvement in the planning of their classrooms and playgrounds. Since this is a collaborative and creative task, teachers must develop strategies for mediating conflicts between different opinions and tastes: not an easy task. This paper proposes that the use of collaborative virtual environments as a tool for classroom and playground design may help children recognize and solve conflicts through negotiation, in search of a consensual solution. We see these environments as tools that can help each child see the perspective of others through the better sharing of knowledge and opinions and therefore offer a more engaging learning experience through social interaction among peers.

Mots clés: collaborative virtual environments (CVE); negotiation; spatial configurations

Domaines: Environnements Informatiques pour l'Apprentissage Humain

Filipe Santos, Benjamim Fonseca, Paulo Martins, Leonel Morgado. Negotiation of Spatial Configurations in Collaborative Virtual Environments. IV International Conference on Multimedia and ICT´s in Education, 2006, Seville, Spain. pp.1472-1476. ⟨hal-00190418⟩