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Fostering verbal and non-verbal social interactions in a 3D collaborative virtual learning environment: a case study of youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders learning social competence in iSocial

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Abstract

This case study describes the verbal and nonverbal social interaction of 11 youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders in a 3D Collaborative Virtual Learning Environment—iSocial. The youth were developing social competence through participation in a social competence intervention curriculum implemented online so as to provide access to high quality instruction for youth in small and rural communities. The data show the ability and variability of verbal and nonverbal reciprocal social interactions while online. In addition, the results of this case study revealed associations between pedagogical design features of the iSocial 3D CVLE, such as, goal-oriented, narrative embedded, game/role play enriched and peer-supported 3D CVLE activity design and higher frequencies and better quality of reciprocal social interaction. Therefore, these findings have potential to inform future design of 3D social learning spaces.

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Funding

The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R324A090197 to the University of Missouri.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Journalism and Communication, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China

    Xianhui Wang

  2. School of Information Science & Learning Technologies, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    James Laffey, Krista Galyen & Janine Stichter

  3. Department of Educational Psychology & Leadership, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA

    Wanli Xing

Authors
  1. Xianhui Wang
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  2. James Laffey
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  4. Krista Galyen
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  5. Janine Stichter
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Correspondence to Xianhui Wang.

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Appendix

Appendix

See Tables 6 and 7.

Table 6 Naturalistic practice activities descriptions and durations in each unit
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Table 7 Coding sheet for nonverbal contributors Stay with the Group and Keep a Calm Avatar
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Wang, X., Laffey, J., Xing, W. et al. Fostering verbal and non-verbal social interactions in a 3D collaborative virtual learning environment: a case study of youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders learning social competence in iSocial. Education Tech Research Dev 65, 1015–1039 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-017-9512-7

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