Final Project Workshop Presented Research Outcomes on Virtual Reality in Distance Education
As part of the 10th International Conference on Cartography & GIS, held on 14–19 June 2026 in Nessebar, Bulgaria, the final workshop of the project Social and Motivational Effects of Virtual Reality in Distance Education (Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, project code MU TQ01000181) was successfully conducted. The workshop represented one of the project's key mandatory deliverables and served as a platform for presenting and discussing the project's main research outcomes with an international audience.
Participants were introduced to an interactive map of distance education, which is currently undergoing the certification process. The workshop also showcased the results of empirical studies investigating the use of collaborative virtual reality in higher education distance learning. The research team presented evidence demonstrating that students enrolled in distance study programmes perceive meetings in immersive collaborative virtual environments as an effective way to compensate for the lack of face-to-face interaction and to strengthen their sense of social connection.
A central part of the workshop was devoted to the presentation of the project's collaborative virtual reality system and the educational scenarios developed to support distance learning. Participants were introduced to the system's pedagogical applications as well as its technical documentation and specifications. In accordance with the project's dissemination strategy, the system has been released under the MIT open-source license, enabling its further development and adoption by the wider research and educational community.
The workshop was attended by nearly 30 participants representing a wide range of countries, including the United States, Georgia, Albania, Poland, Bulgaria, China, and the Czech Republic. The event provided an opportunity for international knowledge exchange, professional networking, and discussion of future applications of the developed solution. Several participants expressed interest in future collaboration, particularly in the joint development of educational content and the implementation of the system in other educational settings.
The workshop was officially endorsed by the ICA UX: Designing the User Experience Commission of the International Cartographic Association, under the leadership of Prof. Roth, highlighting the international significance of the project and its outcomes.
