Preliminary Analysis on Nursing Students Intention to Use Virtual Reality Application as a Learning Tool for Basic Human Anatomy Course

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) refers to the use of computer technology to create a simulated environment. The simulated environment can be of something that represents a real-world scenario. The rapidly changing learning landscapes also indicate that learning methods in higher education institutions must evolve to keep up with the trend of incorporating integrated technologies into the learning modules. The existence of new millennial classrooms, blended learning applications and advance learning labs have allowed lecturers to experiment with new teaching styles. Nevertheless, these facilities may not exist in all faculties due to restricted budgets and lack of resources. Healthcare related faculties have been reported to be slow in acceptance and use of technologies in teaching fundamental subjects. A common fundamental subject across all health-related studies is Basic Human Anatomy. This subject requires visualization and memorization of human body parts that would be more interesting to have the use of technology devices as the supporting learning tool. As the uptake of technology namely VR is relatively low in the health education field, it is imperative to explore the suitability of VR learning tools for the human anatomy subject. A survey was conducted to first- and second-year nursing students who have taken and currently taking the basic human anatomy course. Data was analyzed using basic descriptive statistics to gauge the intention to use virtual reality application for the course. A proposed virtual reality intention to use model is conceptualized from previous learning models and results of the survey depicting factors that would affect learning of human anatomy subject through virtual reality.