Laduona Dai, Veronika Kritskaia, Evelien van der Velden, Reinder Vervoort, Marlieke Blankendaal, Merel M. Jung, Marie Šafář Postma, Max M. Louwerse
{"title":"Text‐to‐speech and virtual reality agents in primary school classroom environments","authors":"Laduona Dai, Veronika Kritskaia, Evelien van der Velden, Reinder Vervoort, Marlieke Blankendaal, Merel M. Jung, Marie Šafář Postma, Max M. Louwerse","doi":"10.1111/jcal.13046","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"BackgroundThe integration of Text‐to‐Speech (TTS) and virtual reality (VR) technologies in K‐12 education is an emerging trend. However, little is known about how students perceive these technologies and whether these technologies effectively facilitate learning.ObjectivesThis study aims to investigate the perception and effectiveness of TTS voices and VR agents in a K‐12 classroom setting, with a focus on information recall.MethodsUsing a recent TTS architecture, we developed four different synthetic voices based on 5, 10, 15 and 20 h of training materials. Two experiments were conducted involving students in a K‐12 setting. The first experiment examined students' evaluations of TTS voices with varying hours of training material and the impact on information recall. The second experiment assessed the effect of pairing TTS voices with a VR agent on students' perception and recall performance.Results and ConclusionsHuman voices received superior quality ratings over TTS voices within the classroom context. The integration of a VR agent was found to enhance the perception of TTS voices, aligning with existing literature on the positive impact of virtual agents on speech synthesis. However, this incorporation did not translate to improved recall, suggesting that the student focus may have been compromised by the VR agent's novelty and its design limitations.","PeriodicalId":48071,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Computer Assisted Learning","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Computer Assisted Learning","FirstCategoryId":"95","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.13046","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
BackgroundThe integration of Text‐to‐Speech (TTS) and virtual reality (VR) technologies in K‐12 education is an emerging trend. However, little is known about how students perceive these technologies and whether these technologies effectively facilitate learning.ObjectivesThis study aims to investigate the perception and effectiveness of TTS voices and VR agents in a K‐12 classroom setting, with a focus on information recall.MethodsUsing a recent TTS architecture, we developed four different synthetic voices based on 5, 10, 15 and 20 h of training materials. Two experiments were conducted involving students in a K‐12 setting. The first experiment examined students' evaluations of TTS voices with varying hours of training material and the impact on information recall. The second experiment assessed the effect of pairing TTS voices with a VR agent on students' perception and recall performance.Results and ConclusionsHuman voices received superior quality ratings over TTS voices within the classroom context. The integration of a VR agent was found to enhance the perception of TTS voices, aligning with existing literature on the positive impact of virtual agents on speech synthesis. However, this incorporation did not translate to improved recall, suggesting that the student focus may have been compromised by the VR agent's novelty and its design limitations.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Computer Assisted Learning is an international peer-reviewed journal which covers the whole range of uses of information and communication technology to support learning and knowledge exchange. It aims to provide a medium for communication among researchers as well as a channel linking researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. JCAL is also a rich source of material for master and PhD students in areas such as educational psychology, the learning sciences, instructional technology, instructional design, collaborative learning, intelligent learning systems, learning analytics, open, distance and networked learning, and educational evaluation and assessment. This is the case for formal (e.g., schools), non-formal (e.g., workplace learning) and informal learning (e.g., museums and libraries) situations and environments. Volumes often include one Special Issue which these provides readers with a broad and in-depth perspective on a specific topic. First published in 1985, JCAL continues to have the aim of making the outcomes of contemporary research and experience accessible. During this period there have been major technological advances offering new opportunities and approaches in the use of a wide range of technologies to support learning and knowledge transfer more generally. There is currently much emphasis on the use of network functionality and the challenges its appropriate uses pose to teachers/tutors working with students locally and at a distance. JCAL welcomes: -Empirical reports, single studies or programmatic series of studies on the use of computers and information technologies in learning and assessment -Critical and original meta-reviews of literature on the use of computers for learning -Empirical studies on the design and development of innovative technology-based systems for learning -Conceptual articles on issues relating to the Aims and Scope