Virtual reality shows a wide variety of potentials for education. Also, 360-degree-videos can provide educational experiences within such dangerous or non-tangible settings. But what is the potential for the teaching of 360-degree-videos in virtual reality environments Regarding the use of real VR settings in the classroom, research is still scarce. In the context of a systematic review, we would like to investigate use cases, advantages and limitations, interaction characteristics, and real VR scenarios. By analyzing 65 articles in-depth, our results suggest that 360-degree-videos can be used for a wide variety of topics. While only a few articles report technological benefits, there are indicators that 360-degree-videos can benefit learning processes regarding performance, motivation, and knowledge retention. Most papers report positive effects on other human factors such as presence, perception, engagement, emotions, and empathy. Also, an open research gap in use cases for real VR has been identified.

The emergence of new digital tools supporting immersive and engaging learning through Virtual Reality is opening up new paths for both distance, but also classroom learning. In this article we discuss the virtual physics laboratory “Maroon” and discuss experiences with Maroon in a cost-effective mobile setup with a mobile VR experience through Samsung GEAR and compare it with a more interactive VR experience with room-scale VR with HTC Vive. We describe a comparative evaluation of these two setups in order to identify chances and challenged of both setups. First results indicate more flexibility and portability through the mobile setup, while the room-scale setup profits of a highly interactive and hands-on experience. We discuss and compare the two setups based on immersion, engagement, presence, and motivation.

Social features, matchmaking, and grouping functions are key elements of online multi-player experiences. Understanding how social connections form in and around games and their relationship to in-game activity offers insights for building and maintaining player bases and for improving engagement and retention. This paper presents an analysis of the groups formed by users of the the100.io - a social matchmaking website for different commercial titles, including Destiny on which we focus in this paper. Groups formed on the100.io can be described across a range of social network related metrics. Also, the social network formed within a group is evaluated in combination with user-provided demographic and preference data. Archetypal analysis is used to classify groups into archetypes and a correlation analysis is presented covering the effect of group characteristics on in-game-activity. Finally, weekly activity profiles are described. Our results indicate that group size as well as the number of moderators within a group and their connectedness to other team members influences a group's activity. We also identified four prototypical types of groups with different characteristics concerning composition, social cohesion, and activity.