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Social Conventions Learning in Mixed Reality

IUALL (Interaction for Universal Access)

This work package aims

at helping citizens (in particular people of low literacy and non-native citizens) to obtain appropriate experience to develop skills, attitudes, knowledge and behaviors needed to overcome barriers that otherwise hinder social engagement in a district, by representing social interaction norms and manners in a recreated social scene.

Nowadays, citizens are expected to solve their own problems as much as possible, and, if necessary, to take the initiative to ask for support. People who have limited Dutch language skills (in particular non-native citizens and people of low literacy) are not fully able to meet this expectation. However, they need these language skills as well as knowledge of social interaction norms to achieve social engagement in the district (e.g. interacting with health, educational or public safety institutes in a district). This target group probably requires a specific approach to persuade them to adhere to social conventions. Persuasive technology is considered to be helpful in this respect. However, it is not clear yet how persuasive technology should be designed for this target group.

The focus of activities is on:

  1. Developing mixed reality learning environments, where users can navigate through their district and communicate with its virtual inhabitants naturally with speech-enabled user interfaces. Also, reading skills will be trained.
  2. Developing situated learning in recreated social situations by including life-like characters (avatars) in the virtual scene.
  3. Encouraging users to actually step into the real world, carrying support tools for applying the skills developed in the virtual world with them.

Research Questions:

  1. How can social interaction norms and manners that help citizens to obtain appropriate experience to develop skills, attitudes, knowledge and behaviors needed to overcome barriers that otherwise hinder social engagement in a district (e.g. interacting with health, educational or public safety institutes in a district) be represented in a recreated social scene?
  2. How can life-like characters (avatars) in the virtual scene stimulate situated learning?
  3. Can users be stimulated in the virtual world to step into the real world, carrying mobile support tools?
  4. How should persuasive technology be designed for the target group of people of low literacy and non-native citizens?
WP Leader: