An incident commander (IC) is expected to take command in any incident to mitigate consequences for humans, property, and the environment. To prepare for this, practice-based training in realistic simulated situations is necessary. Usually this is conducted in live simulation (LS) at dedicated (physical) training grounds or in virtual simulation (VS) situations at training centers, where all participants are present at the same geographical space. COVID-19-induced restrictions on gathering of people motivated the development and use of remote virtual simulation (RVS) solutions. This article aims to provide an increased understanding of the implementation of RVS in the education of Fire Service ICs in Sweden. Data from observations, questionnaires, and interviews were collected during an RVS examination of two IC classes (43 participants) following an initial pilot study (8 participants). Experienced training values, presence, and performance were investigated. The results indicated that students experienced higher presence in RVS, compared with previous VS studies. This is likely due to the concentration of visual attention to the virtual environment and well-acted verbal counterplay. Although all three training methods (LS, VS, and RVS) are valuable, future research is needed to reveal their respective significant compromises, compared with real-life incidents.

This paper describes two methods for analyzing interactions in collaborative virtual environments (CVEs): one whereby quantitative data are captured, interaction is categorized into a number of activities, and statistical analysis can be performed on frequencies and sequences of events. The other is based on the transcription of individual fragments of interaction, which are analyzed in terms of their key dynamics. The two methods each have their strengths and weaknesses, especially in terms of generalizability and the lessons we can derive from them. Both also point to different problems that need to be addressed in methods for analyzing interaction—such analysis being, in turn, a precondition for improving the usability of CVEs. The paper concludes with an argument for a combination of the two methods, and some reflections about the relationship between the analysis of interaction and the usability of CVEs.

Virtual environments systems based on immersive projection technologies (IPTs) offer users the possibility of collaborating intuitively in a 3D environment. While considerable work has been done to examine interaction in desktop-based collaborative virtual environments (CVEs), there are currently no studies for collaborative interaction using IPTs. The aim of this paper is to examine how immersive technologies support interaction and to compare this to the experience with desktop systems. A study of collaboration is presented where two partners worked together using networked IPT environments. The data collected included observations, analysis of video and audio recordings, questionnaires and debriefing interviews from both IPT sites. This paper focuses on the successes and failures in collaboration through detailed examination of particular incidents during the interaction. We compare these successes and failures with the findings of a study by Hindmarsh, Fraser, Heath, & Benford (Computer Supported Collaborative Work, CSCW'98, 1998, pp. 217–226) that examined object-focused interaction on a desktop-based CVE system. Our findings identify situations where interaction is better supported with the IPT system than the desktop system, and situations where interaction is not as well supported. We also present examples of how social interaction is critical to seamless collaboration.