The virtual space is explicitly represented.

We do not restrict the definition of virtual learning environments to Web sites that look like a Nintendo game. The representation of the learning environment ranges from text-based interfaces to the most complex 3D graphical output. The key issue is not the representation per se, but what the students actually do with this representation. For instance, we observed that virtual space imparts on users behavior even when space is only described by text.

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Nevertheless, representations are not neutral; they do influence the students work. Most often, the rationale for using 3D-graphical representations is motivational. It is taken for granted that nice representations trigger positive attitudes towards the environment. Actually, as all extrinsic motivational tricks, its impact on students may not last very long. However, it would be hard to justify that the interface of learning environments is less appealing that those of other software! Nevertheless, representations of the space may have an impact on the learning process beyond motivational aspects. Here are some examples:

1. Virtual space may support navigation. This is of course not the case for any spatial organisation (e.g. not for a labyrinth). «City of News» is an example of information space organised as a city, designed for exploiting people’s ability to remember the surrounding three-dimensional spatial layout.
2. Let us imagine a virtual museum. If the virtual space aims to imitate physical rooms,the student would explore it, room by room. In a museum, the information space is structured by ‘painting schools’ (e.g. surrealism), or centuries, or countries...Instead, the information space could be represented by an «Europe 20th century painters map» (2D or 2D or more complex). On this map, distance between two painters names would be computed on the basis of a survey in which art experts have been asked to answer question such as «Is Folon closer to Delvaux or to Magritte?» Students would explore this virtual museum in a way that is different from real museums.
3.  Let us imagine a drill&practice environment in which 100 exercises are distributed over 10 virtual rooms. On the graphical representation of this course, students can see who else is in the same room Thereby, if Paul is in room 5, facing difficulties .with exercise 5-3, and sees Suzanne in the same room, he talks more than her thatwith Sandra who is in room 3 and does not know anything about exercise 5.3 Reasoning on “who is where in virtual space” tells me about “who is (and has been) doing what”.