The City Game: An Example of a Virtual Environment for Teaching Spatial Orientation.

Abstract

Abstract: Spatial orientation is an important ability, which should be facilitated in geometry courses of elementary schools. A preferred approach (in Germany) typically involves navigation and orientation tasks with pictures of a town and city maps depicted in a book. Because of increasing use of computer systems in schools, it is very interesting to explore the value a virtual environment possesses for teaching spatial orientation. This articel describes the ’City Game’, a computer-generated, virtual 3D city, developed for teaching spatial orientation in elementary schools, and an informal study to see first reactions of children and adults when using the ’City Game’.