Investigation of the Relation Between Interaction and Sense of Presence in Educational Virtual Environments

The sense of presence is considered to be one of the fundamental features in Virtual Environments (VE). An important question that arises is how much interaction influences the user's sense of presence in a VE. This study investigates the relation between sense of presence and interaction in Educational Virtual Environments (EVEs), through a review of researching projects that have taken place up to now. A list of representative EVEs is presented along with their typical characteristics in relation to the sense of presence. The results from this study showed that there is a positive relation between interaction and sense of presence. This means that, in EVEs with strong interaction, the users presented an increased sense of presence. Moreover, the use of virtual representatives (avatars) contributed in the user's sense of presence and in the achievement of educational aims of EVE.