Here are some of the empirical studies that I read regarding the use of 3D virtual environments in education :

Clark, S., & Maher, M. L. (2005). Learning and Designing in a Virtual Place: Investigating the Role of Place in a Virtual Design Studio, Proceedings of Ecaade 2005, Lisbon Portugal.

 

Clark, S., & Maher, M. L. (September 2003). The Effects of a Sense of Place on the Learning Experience in a 3D Virtual World. In Cook, J. and McConnell, D. (Eds). Communities of Practice. Research Proceedings of the 10th Association for Learning Technologies Conference (ALT-C2003), pp 82-101

 

            Dickey, M. D. ( 2005). Three-dimensional virtual worlds and distance learning: two case studies of Active Worlds as a medium for distance education, British Journal of Educational Technology. 36, 439-451.

 

            Dickey, M. D. (2003). Teaching in 3D: Pedagogical Affordances and Constraints of 3D Virtual Worlds for Synchronous Distance Learning. Distance Education, 24, 105-121.

            

Mikropoulos, T. A. (2001). Brain activity on navigation in virtual environments. Journal of   Educational Computing Research, 24 (1), 1-12.

 

Bell, J. T., & Fogler, H. Scott. (1995). The Investigation and Application of Virtual Reality as an Educational Tool. Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education 1995 Annual Conference, Session number 2513, June 1995, Anaheim, CA.

 

Di Blas, N., Paolini, P., & Poggi, C. (2004). Learning by Playing. An Edutainment 3D Environment for Schools. In Proceedings of ED-MEDIA'04---World conference on educational multimedia and hypermedia. Lugano: AACE.

 

Delwiche, A. (2006). Massively multiplayer games (MMOs) in the new media classroom. Educational Technology and society, 9, 160-172.

 

Mumtaz, S. (2001). Children’s enjoyment and perception of computer use in the home and the school. Computers & Education, 36, 347–362.

 

Virvou, M., Katsionis, G., & Manos, K. (2005). Combining Software Games with Education: Evaluation of its Educational Effectiveness. Educational Technology & Society, 8, 54-65.

 

Elliott, J., Adams, L., Bruckman, A. No magic bullet: 3D video games in education. In Proceedings of International Conference of the Learning Sciences. (Seattle, WA, Oct. 23--26, 2002).