Computers & Education: X Reality最新文献

This mixed-method quasi-experimental study compares the impact of two different kinds of virtual reality environments on the willingness of English as a Second Language (ESL) students to engage in communication. Twenty high-level ESL graduate students were recruited for the research and organized into 10 pairs. Each pair of students completed two separate speaking tasks. One task took place in a low-immersive virtual reality environment, while the other task took place in a high-immersive virtual reality environment. The study was counterbalanced, with half completing the two tasks in one order, while the other half completed them in the reverse order. The study found no statistically significant differences between the modality conditions on willingness to communicate. Task order and action-oriented instructional methods were found to have greater impact than the modality. However, a significant difference was found between participants' affective-cognitive experiences, with participants reporting higher cognitive load and greater enjoyment in high-immersive condition. Speaking anxiety was also reduced after participation in two virtual reality tasks, leading to an increase in self-confidence. Additionally, qualitative analysis identified relationships between various technological, affective-cognitive, and individual factors that can affect the student's willingness to communicate. Empirical and theoretical implications are discussed, along with limitations and directions for future research.

This paper details the design and development of an immersive and self-guided Virtual Reality training system (iSGVRTS) for learning cleanroom microfabrication operations, with a specific emphasis on the photolithography process, within a college-level semiconductor laboratory curriculum. It presents the thorough construction of the iSGVRTS environment as well as the incorporation of integrated instructional methodologies. To assess the impact of the iSGVRTS intervention, pre-and post-tests were administered to evaluate learners' performance. The implementation of iSGVRTS yielded a notable enhancement for learners in laboratory operational proficiency, evidenced by improvements in task correct rates, reduction in procedural errors, and knowledge acquisition. Moreover, post-session interviews revealed learners’ reported increased confidence, a heightened sense of presence, manageable cognitive load, and positive feedback regarding the immersive learning experience.

Researchers and educators continue to explore the potential of Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) technology for safety training in children, as unintentional injuries persist as the leading cause of global mortality among this cohort. In order to implement IVR as a safety training tool, it is important to understand its effectiveness compared to other methods. However, few studies have systematically summarised the use of IVR for unintentional injury prevention training with children. To address this gap, a systematic review was conducted using five databases, following the PRISMA guidelines. Sixteen studies published until March 2024 were identified that evaluated the effectiveness of IVR technology for unintentional injury prevention training with children aged 1–14 years. We evaluated: i) the types of unintentional injury skills taught, ii) research designs, data collection methods and measures used, iii) IVR interface and equipment utilised, and iv) the effectiveness of IVR technologies in comparison to conventional methods of training. The majority of the identified studies focused on road safety, with three on fire safety, and one on water safety. Varied instruments were used to measure outcomes including knowledge, behaviour, immersion, interest, enjoyment, and usability. IVR interventions employed head-mounted displays (N = 13) and Cave Automatic Virtual Environments (N = 3), with either interactive or passive experiences. Overall, the studies suggest a positive role for IVR in unintentional injury prevention training with children. However, only two studies made direct comparisons with other methods, underscoring the need for a cautious interpretation of the findings. Future studies should prioritise evaluating the transfer of learnings from the virtual environment to real-world settings, direct comparisons between IVR and conventional training methods, the relationship between different IVR learning approaches and cognitive and motor skill acquisition, and the correlation between immersion and learning outcomes.

With the growing use of mixed reality teaching simulations in teacher education there is a need for researchers to examine how preservice teacher (PST) learning can be supported when using these simulations. To address this gap the current study explores how 47 PSTs used an online teaching simulation to facilitate a discussion focused on argumentation with five student avatars in the Mursion^TM mixed reality simulated classroom environment. We assessed PSTs' performance in the simulation using rubric-level scores assigned by trained raters and then compared the scores to PSTs' survey responses completed after their discussion asking them to self-report their goals for the discussion, how successful they thought they were across five dimensions of facilitating high-quality, argumentation-focused discussions, and their overall perceptions of the mixed reality teaching simulation. Findings suggest that PSTs' understanding of the discussion task's learning goals somewhat predicted their success in facilitating the discussion and that PSTs' self-assessment of their performance was not always consistent with raters' evaluation of the PSTs' performance. In particular, self-assessment was found to be most consistent with raters' evaluations for those PSTs with higher rater-assigned scores and least consistent for those with lower rater-assigned scores. The implications of these findings are as follows: (1) researchers should be cautious in relying on PST self-report of success when engaging in mixed reality teaching simulations, particularly because low performance may be obscured, (2) teacher educators should be aware that reliance on self-report from PSTs likely obscures the need for additional support for exactly those PSTs who need it most, and (3) the field, therefore, should expand efforts to measure PSTs' performance when using mixed reality teaching simulations.

The use of immersive virtual reality (IVR) offers a variety of design possibilities for action-oriented teaching and learning that enables the promotion of specific knowledge and skills. In order to use IVR applications as an effective teaching and learning medium, it is important to understand the potential advantages and disadvantages of this technology compared to other media. This raises the question of what type of learning environment is most effective in promoting specific knowledge and skills. To answer these questions, a systematic review of research on learning with IVR in an educational context was conducted using the PRISMA method (Liberati et al., 2009; Page et al., 2021). The study analyzed 30 relevant research articles to compare the relative effectiveness of IVR-based learning and its impact on learner engagement, as outlined in the ICAP framework (Chi & Wylie, 2014). The results indicate that IVR has a positive impact on learning compared to other types of media. The study suggests that IVR technology is suitable for learning environments that prioritize active learner engagement and practical application, such as active manipulation and constructive creation. In summary, the results offer more insights into the advantages of using IVR to accomplish particular learning objectives.

Mixed reality applications allow users to experience both physical and digital worlds simultaneously. However, limited research has compared multitasking performance in these two worlds with different difficulty levels. This study investigated the effect of task difficulty on mixed-reality multitasking performance. A block-matching task was used for the physical task experiment, and the N-back test was used for the virtual task experiment. Thirty-six participants completed eight experimental conditions and were tested on four measures: NASA-TLX, accuracy, priority, and hand use. Physical demand and effort subscales were significant in all the experimental manipulations: real-world tasks, virtual-world tasks, and multitasking. The priority variable was not found to be substantial. Most participants prioritized working on either real-world tasks or multitasking, leaving the virtual-world tasks to the least preferred. Such a study can empower instructional designers to tailor tasks that align with learners’ cognitive abilities for an optimal learning experience.

Immersive technologies are playing an increasingly crucial role in revolutionizing health professions education, as they provide students with realistic and interactive learning experiences. These experiences better prepare them for the complexities and challenges they will encounter in real-world healthcare practice. To comprehensively explore the growth, trends, and patterns at the intersection of immersive technologies and health professions education, a bibliometric analysis was conducted in May 2023 using the Clarivate Analytics - Web of Science Core Collection database. Specifically, we conducted a thorough descriptive examination of various facets within the dataset of 956 bibliographic records, obtained through a systematic literature search. We presented descriptive insights from this scientific literature at multiple levels, including the article (e.g., most frequent words, important themes, trends of keywords), journal (most productive, and most cited journals), affiliation (most productive affiliations), and country (most productive, and most cited countries) levels. Furthermore, we explored the conceptual, intellectual, and social structures of this field of study, represented by the co-occurrence network, co-word network, and collaboration network, respectively. These analyses collectively painted a comprehensive picture of the research landscape within the realm of immersive technologies in health professions education. This study not only contributes to the identification of trends and gaps in the literature but also provides actionable insights for educators, researchers, and policymakers regarding influential players, resource allocation, and global collaboration.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of Physical Teaching Aids (PTAs) and VR-Enhanced Teaching Aids (VETAs) on students’ learning performance, attitudes, and classroom interactions in a STEAM course. A quasi-experimental study was conducted with a total of 85 fifth-grade students, 42 in the treatment group and 43 in the control group. The students in the treatment group reported a high level of acceptance of the VETAs in the post-course interview. The Lag Sequential Analysis results indicated that the use of VETAs improved students' learning performance and made the classroom more learner-centered than those who were facilitated with PTAs. In the treatment group, students were able to investigate problems more actively, practice and innovate more interactively, and achieve deeper learning. The current study further elaborates on the reasons and summarizes the mechanism of VETAs supporting the perceptual field in STEAM education.

Programming is a highly difficult skill which is a constituent of many undergraduate programmes at Higher Education (HE) level. With the advancement of games technology there is an increasing opportunity for educators to provide innovative assessment tools for students on their courses which are highly immersive and graphically indicative of the times. This could potentially be in a supplementary capacity or to a greater extent inextricably linked to the learning outcomes and assessment outcomes. Notably serious games and Games-Based Learning (GBL) have received high levels of attention from educationalists due to being motivational, novel learning approaches. This paper will outline two empirical studies conducted to develop a game to teach programming at HE level. The first study will gauge the acceptability of a computer game for teaching programming and formulating content integration development requirements. The second study will outline the evaluation of the developed game being placed in a module as a formative assessment tool to assist learners to revise for their formal class test. Study one showed that acceptability of the game was high with 61 participants completing an acceptability/content integration questionnaire. The game was designed to consolidate knowledge on rudimentary and advanced programming concepts, data structures and algorithms. 48 participants evaluated the game in study two with the results generally indicating that they enjoyed playing the game as a revision alternative with 14% of participants rating it as very effective and 51% of participants as effective for allowing them to prepare for their class test. The majority of participants also believed that games could be utilised in a formative and summative assessment capacity on courses for independent study.

Immersive VR media are increasingly being integrated into education and academic studies. Various forms of teaching benefit from the sense of presence, wherein users feel fully engaged in the virtual environment. Research indicates that the presence experienced in VR environments enhances user satisfaction, reduces errors during tasks, and promotes more enduring training effects. Since presence is a subjective phenomenon, it is expected to be influenced by user demographics, cognitive abilities, personality traits, interests, and emotions. In this systematic literature review, we examined scientific articles using Google Scholar to identify significant influences of these user factors on presence. Employing the PRISMA methodology, we analyzed a total of 33 articles that addressed our research question. The results indicate that only a subset of the anticipated factors significantly affect presence. These factors include the user's level of interest in the subject being experienced, and any mental disorders associated with it. Additionally, factors such as the user's ability to perceive the spatial qualities of the virtual environment, their disposition toward kindness and generosity, and their inclination to engage with objects—such as media products—affect presence.