Fiscal Year	2015
Division	Research & Sponsored Programs
Department	Naval Research Program
Investigator(s)	Aten, Kathryn J.
Sponsor	NPS Naval Research Program (Navy)
Summary	Because of younger generations’ learning habits and expectations and budget constraints, preparing Sailors of 2025 will require flexible and individually paced training in terms of content focus and temporal and geographic availability. Virtual worlds (VW) have the potential to meet these needs by allowing individuals to individualize learning activities and access training across time and geography. VWs may also enhance learning with activities not possible in face-to-face settings (e.g. gamification and simulation). An exploratory study of training in the Submarine Learning Center’s Virtual Schoolhouse (VSH) showed that VSH students performed as well as students in face-to-face training and also uncovered challenges and opportunities, which require further study. The Navy requires an understanding of factors that influence and enhance learning in VWs and how to best support the learning of future warfighters. This study will extend the past research, exploring how innovative features of VWs influence learning outcomes across individual characteristics (e.g. age, gender, rank, psycho-social factors). The study will assess outcomes of cutting edge SLC-VSH features and activities and make recommendations to support factors identified as key to the success of VW training in the previous study.
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Publications	Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal
Data	Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal