Computers & Education: X Reality最新文献

This paper reviews 34 studies related to oral communication in English as a Second Language through Virtual Reality published from 2015 to 2022. Overall, Virtual Reality affordances, such as immersion, interaction, feedback, and creation, were perceived positively and found to be effective in terms of anxiety, motivation, confidence, cultural awareness, creativity, and willingness to communicate. However, learning effectiveness was still inconclusive, especially in terms of oral fluency. The insignificant learning outcomes were likely caused by greater cognitive load, equity issues, unpleasant experiences, motion sickness, technology challenges, and lack of instructional activities suited to the Virtual Reality environment. Several strategies to address the challenges of current Virtual Reality platforms identified in the literature review were suggested.

The amount of research on virtual reality learning tools increases with time. Despite the diverse environments and theoretical foundations, enough data have been accumulated in recent years to provide a systematic review of the methods used. We pose ten questions concerning the methodological aspects of these studies. We performed a search in three databases according to the PRISMA guidelines and evaluated several characteristics, with particular emphasis on researchers' methodological decisions. We found an increase over time in the number of studies on the effectiveness of VR-based learning. We also identified shortcomings related to how the duration and number of training sessions are reported. We believe that these two factors could affect the effectiveness of VR-based training. Furthermore, when using the Kirkpatrick model, a significant imbalance can be observed in favor of outcomes from the ‘Reaction’ and ‘Learning’ levels compared to the ‘Behavior’ and ‘Results’ levels. The last of these was not used in any of the 330 reviewed studies. These results highlight the importance of research on the effectiveness of VR training. Taking into account the identified methodological shortcomings will allow for more significant research on this topic in the future.

The research interest in the use of augmented reality smart glasses (ARSGs) has increased dramatically in recent years as they are utilised in many fields such as medicine and industry, as well as everyday life. This study aims to review the empirical research activity concerning the acceptance of ARSGs in all applicable fields. In total, 21 studies published from 2015 to 2022 have been reviewed. Their relative field, theoretical framework, methodological design, and the factors that were found to affect the acceptance or use of ARSGs were recorded. It was found that the research focuses more on users acting as consumers of the glasses than on professionals (e.g., doctors, teachers, athletes) using them in a specific field. Also, the majority of the studies base their theoretical framework either entirely or in part on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Moreover, the research models of these studies extend TAM by using various additional variables, such as privacy risk and external influence. Methodologically speaking, most of the studies follow the quantitative approach, without giving the participants the opportunity to interact with the glasses. In addition, the factors which were found to influence the acceptance or use of the glasses are varied and can be categorised as utilitarian, social, personal, risk-related, and technological. This review adds value to the theory of technology acceptance. This is because it is one of the first to address the acceptance or use of ARSGs. Since there is no acceptance model for ARSGs, the findings of this review could lead researchers to propose models for accepting ARSGs in various fields, such as education.

This study explored how to program for generalization using a fully immersive virtual reality (VR) intervention for teaching transportation skills to autistic adults related to using a university shuttle. Using multi-methods, this research sought to identify similarities and differences in behavior between the VR environment and the real-world, participants’ perceptions of telepresence in the VR environment, and how participants characterized similarities and differences between the VR environment and the real-world. Male adult participants (N ​= ​6) completed training and then engaged in two VR-based training sessions of increasing complexity, after which they enacted what was learned in the real-world. Fidelity of implementation was high across VR and real-world sessions and no significant differences were found in behaviors between the VR and real-world sessions, providing evidence for skills generalization from the contrived VR setting to the naturalistic real-world setting. Participants reported high perceptions of telepresence (e.g., being there) and social presence (e.g., being there with others), and qualitative evidence suggests they made connections between the virtual world and real-world. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

In response to the high demand for digital learning as a surrogate for physical experiences, virtual reality (VR) is positioning itself as a tool for creating educational virtual experiences. VR technology faces a number of ethical issues, including a reduction of users’ autonomy, health problems, and privacy concerns. The use of VR and realism in education can turn out to be a double-edged sword. While realistic visualizations can promote learning for some content domains, they can hinder comprehension in others. Furthermore, the effects of realism on learning also depend on learners’ spatial abilities. Letting young children and teenagers engage in virtual educational experiences can expose them to manipulation, could lead to health issues, and may infringe on their privacy. In short, realism and virtual experiences may severely limit learners’ autonomy in a number of ways. Based on a review of the literature and considerations of emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence, this paper presents guidelines for the ethically sound utilization of VR and realism. By applying findings and conclusions established in the context of research on the ethics of VR to the educational utilization of this technology, I develop several suggestions that may help to avoid negative consequences of educational VR. These suggestions include the utilization of spatial ability testing, requiring virtual experiences to offer alternative paths to prevent manipulation, as well as using algorithms that deidentify the highly detailed developmental profiles that can be generated through educational VR use.

Makerspace environments are becoming popular project-based learning spaces where students interact with physical objects and peer collaboration, while developing 21st century skills and engaging with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) topics. At the same time, augmented reality (AR) technology, which combines physical objects with digital visualizations, is becoming increasingly applicable for makerspace activities and has potential to address challenges for student learning in makerspaces. However, there is a lack of understanding of how to use and integrate AR in real makerspace environments. In this research we use a co-design methodology to address the following questions: (1) How can AR be useful for education in makerspaces? (2) How are students impacted by the process of co-designing AR technology? and (3) What are practical considerations for integrating AR in makerspaces? We engaged in a co-design process in a semester-long makerspace course attended by 18 students in a graduate school of education. Through this process, we generated six prototypes with seven student co-designers, exploring AR use in design, fabrication, programming, electronics, and training. We also identified areas where AR technology can benefit makerspaces, such as teaching STEM skills, facilitating construction activities, enhancing contextualization of learning, and debugging. We observed that students participating in co-design demonstrated improved understanding of technology design, enthusiasm for engaging with makerspaces and AR, and increased critical thinking about AR technology. These results suggest considerations and guidelines for integrating AR technology into makerspace environments.

The Metaverse, as it gradually becomes a reality, offers great possibilities for education, providing a new dimension of engagement, interaction, and experiences for students and educators alike. Yet, researchers lack tools that would allow them to simultaneously examine a satisfactory number of factors that shape one's experience when engaged in educational applications in the Metaverse. The study at hand is an attempt to fill this gap, as it reports the steps followed for the development and testing of the Metaverse Learning Experience Scale. The statistical analyses of data coming from 462 university students who participated in its testing, established the scale's validity and reliability. Its final version can capture the views of users using forty-three items, examining ten factors (namely, perceived quality of the virtual environment's graphics, perceived cognitive load, perceived ease of use/control of the virtual environment, immersion/presence, perceived feedback and content quality, perceived degree of interaction, motivation to learn and use the virtual environment, perceived usefulness/knowledge gains, simulator sickness, and positive feelings. The scale's factorial structure together with the implications it has for research and practice are also discussed.

Social virtual reality (social VR) platforms gained popularity among users over the last few years. They provide users with a sense of social presence, potentially stimulating social interaction in distance education. Insights on how VR enhances the social aspects of learning are scarce, however, and past examinations often focused on the effects of short usage times of self-developed VR learning applications. To analyze the potential of a simple-to-apply off-the-shelf social VR environment in distance education, in this qualitative study, a sample of 35 master's students employed the AltspaceVR platform for university seminars and group work over a six-week while campus access was restricted due to the covid-19 pandemic, and 23 of them were interviewed to examine their perception of the technology. The results show that social VR facilitated feelings of social presence, a more natural and spontaneous way of communicating with peers and teachers, and an increased sense of community in the classroom, compared to the alternative of videoconferencing. Participants reported high acceptance of the technology for teaching and learning tasks, particularly for interactive activities (e.g., workgroups) in small groups, but also identified limitations related to aspects such as image resolution, lack of note-taking tools, or the feeling of dizziness and fatigue after prolonged use. These results highlight the potential advantages of social VR for stimulating the social dimensions of online education, as well as the remaining challenges that need to be addressed to enable its use in higher education.

Immersive Virtual Reality technology has recently gained significant attention and is expanding its applications to various fields. It also has many advantages in education, as it allows to both simplify the explanation of complex topics through their visualization, and explore lost or unreachable environments. To evaluate the impact of immersive experiences on learning outcomes we developed an educational experience that lets users visit an ancient Roman Domus and provides information about daily life in Roman times. We designed a between-subjects data collection to investigate learning ratio, user experience, and cybersickness of participants through anonymous questionnaires. We collected 76 responses of participants (18–35 y.o.) divided into three conditions: a Immersive Virtual Reality experience, a slide-based lecture and a 2D desktop-based experience. Our results show that the virtual reality experience is considered more engaging and as effective as more traditional 2D and slide-based experiences in terms of learning.

While augmented reality (AR) technology is being considered by educators for its potential to help students visualize abstract concepts, currently there are barriers from the high cost of developing complex AR applications. In this study we investigate how the complexity of AR content impacts student learning in remote 1-1 tutoring scenarios, where an instructor uses an AR headset while teaching physics concepts to a remote student. This approach brings the benefits of augmented reality into the already-existing educational practices of 1-1 remote instruction, without requiring AR devices for every student. We present a system for AR-based physics instruction and perform a between-subjects study, measuring how student learning and inquiry behaviors differ between two experimental conditions that vary in the complexity of AR content. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis, our results show that students who are tutored with more complex AR content learn better and show a wider variety of inquiry styles. Furthermore, AR visual representations appear to stimulate students to think about a wide range of scientific ideas, to make deeper connections between scientific concepts, and encourage students to have a more active learning style with increased transitions between inquiry activities. We discuss possible reasons and wider implications for these findings.