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Effectiveness of Learning in VR
- 14. https://medium.com/@tecsynt/how-much-does-augmented-reality-app-development-cost-in-2018-712do441e829 and https://thinkmobiles.com/bolog/how-much-cost-make-app- like-ikea/ and https://appreal-vr.com/blog/vr-game-development-costs/
Editor's Notes
- Hi all. I’m Deb, I am actively involved in various aspects of Augmented Reailty and Virtual Reality, or Spatial computing. Today I wanted to give a very brief presentation on the effectiveness of VR as a tool for learning.
- That is-does it increase learning, inhibit learning, what are the benefits and drawbacks including some results from a study I did, and then I will open the floor up for questions and allow anyone who wants to, the opportunity to try some VR. All the headsets have a learning experience queued up in them.
- I usually start these talks out without even defining Virtual Reality. Anyone here not know what VR is? Okay, to just do a bit of a recap, VR is a head mounted display one of these hardware pieces on this table. It has a screen which projects images which can transform ones environment. In addition to the visual, there is also audio and haptic feedback. There is the ability to use controllers to manipulate environments as well add haptic feedback. But let us also consider the question, what is reality?
- I usually start these talks out without even defining Virtual Reality. Anyone here not know what VR is? Okay, to just do a bit of a recap, VR is a head mounted display one of these hardware pieces on this table. It has a screen which projects images which can transform ones environment. In addition to the visual, there is also audio and haptic feedback. There is the ability to use controllers to manipulate environments as well add haptic feedback. But let us also consider the question, what is reality?
- It is widely accepted that reality is on a spectrum, just look at this for the case of senses. Things smell and taste differently to different people, sounds are different, as well as colors. If things like this is the color blue, is accepted as reality and a fact, how can it vary so much? Is it really real and true? Or is it just how it is perceived? Perceptions and how we as people internalise them as fact really matter in VR. It means that the experience in VR is perceived as being reality. And this is important when we think about learning in VR.
- So what do I mean by ‘learning’
- Learning is a broad topic. VR has been proven to be effective in direct learning. That is learn by doing. You will have already come across this as, here at JP we have most of our learning as ‘on the job’ or experiential learning. Companies such as Walmart, and various American football teams have rolled out VR training for employees via the company STRIVR which is Co-founded by a Stanford Professor who is a big figure in VR studies. STRIVR is all about the ‘performance of individuals, corporations, and teams’. But when you think about it, that is really only a part of learning. The other bit is more about indirect learning. Or learning about concepts and theories. I am an Ancient Historian, so this aspect is crucial for me. Can people really learn about the Romans by using VR? Or is it best suited to learn about recreations, spatial layouts? Well, this really comes down to the experience itself, how it is designed, as well as peoples perceptions. Remember how I said that people perceive things differently? Not only is this true, but we also bring what we have learned, our past experiences with us when we go into VR.
- So what do I mean by ‘learning’
- So what do I mean by ‘learning’
- The bringing knowledge into VR can be a bit of a problem. This was especially true when looking at ancient history, but it has also been seen in other learning environments. The context of these must be clear, and relatable. In addition, the experience must have some usability criteria. It must have controls that are intuitive and match the environment, and Motion sickness is a thing in VR. But it also isn’t all do to the experience itself there are other external factors which make using and learning in vr difficult. While some headsets are not extremely expensive, the best experiences come from high end PC VR or PSVR systems. PSVR is the cheapest coming around £549 for both the play station and the VR headset, and then PC VR is about £1,500, the headset itself is under £400 but you need a high end computer in order to run the headset. Standalone headsets, such as the Oculus Go are £199 but are limited in interaction. The Oculus Quest is coming out sometime this year, my guess is around Facebook’s F8 conference and that will be £399 with ctwo 6 dof controllers. Fear. That is the fear of going into the experience. The brain is extremely adept at replacing the real world with the virtual, and when senses get replaced some people fear going into a new enviornemtn. Somewhat related is Preconcieved notions, that is some people are really against VR and that shows. And finally, there are a lot of mixed studies whether or not VR helps with learning and training. With direct manipulation, and experiential learning it is really good, but for more indirect learning, there are mixed reviews.
- Despite this, there are some benefits from trying to learn in VR. The engaging experiences can be positive, if learning about deforestation, then the Virtaul enivornment can show this visually, with audio, it is relevant to content being learned, and can help focus on the topic. However, this also means that it is not a replacement for traditional learning, rather is in addition to it. And lastly, when in a virtual enivornoment people can recall more information. However, remember how I said that this is inconclusive?
- Some studies show that people remember more when in VR. This is true regardless of locomotion type, or direct manipulation. It seems that just allowing the learners to be present in another world increases their retention. However, others show just the opposite. While particpants rank high on presence, they do not remember the content very well. So the results are inconcolusive.
- Which brings me to my study. I recently ran a study on learning about the Carrawbrugh Mithraeum in VR, and overall the results were very positive. One of the key take aways from this was that people remembered the visual and spatial elements more than what the god voice said to them as they walked around, so thinkikng about how to design an interactive experience that is engaging and displays information spatially will be important for furhter research. The level of prescee and immersion that a person gets when they put the headset on really can help them learn the content of an experience especially over time. Another interesting thing was that the Sensory factors had a very large spread of responses.
- Which brings me to my study. I recently ran a study on learning about the Carrawbrugh Mithraeum in VR, and overall the results were very positive. One of the key take aways from this was that people remembered the visual and spatial elements more than what the god voice said to them as they walked around, so thinkikng about how to design an interactive experience that is engaging and displays information spatially will be important for furhter research. The level of prescee and immersion that a person gets when they put the headset on really can help them learn the content of an experience especially over time. Another interesting thing was that the Sensory factors had a very large spread of responses.
- These can be shown here, while overall, the senses had a fairly decent rating on a scale of 1 to 7, the visual had an averagte of 6.18, the highest of all. Audiitor was 5.45 but with quite a large spread, simliary with smell and haptic the spread was drastic. I didn't use any scent, and I had one haptic feedback when the user picked up the torch, but that was it. I think this really relates more towards perceptions. Remember at the beginning how I said we all perceive things differently?