“Do you see what we see?” – Perspective-taking across realities

Abstract

Immersive virtual reality (IVR) is slowly emerging as a collaborative technology in CSCL. This form of technology mediation challenges the typical distribution of available resources known from face-to-face interactions. Now, one or more participants may be immersed in IVR, while others are ‘left behind’ in the physical space experiencing the virtual world on a flat screen. The collaborative activities are thus taking place across realities, and it is important to learn how the participants navigate in this complex setting. With perspective-taking as our theoretical lens, we apply Interaction Analysis methods to the participants’ interactional moves in instructing and participating across realities through an excerpt in which participants are engaged in a module on designing with video. Based on the analysis we discuss some of the challenges that emerge for a teacher instructing across different realities, as well as key implications for new forms of pedagogical practices in CSCL.