Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality
Annotated Bibliography
Compiled from Multiple Sources
February 2020
Domingo, J., & Bradley, E. (2018). Education Student Perceptions of Virtual Reality as a Learning Tool. Journal of Educational Technology Systems. 46 (3), 329-342.
The purpose of this study was to ascertain student perceptions of the use and value of three-dimensional virtual environments. A grounded theory approach was used to gather and examine data. Just over half of student participants reported positive experiences. However, most experienced technical difficulties. Despite the technical challenges of operating within the virtual space, the majority reported positive aspects of using the virtual space, including increased meaningful social interactions and reduced social anxiety. Overall, students reported positive experiences and value of virtual reality, but technical difficulties demonstrate the need for adequate technology and institutional technology support.
Elmqaddem, N. (2019). Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Education. Myth or Reality? International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning. 14 (3), 234-242.
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are not new technologies. But several constraints prevented their actual adoption. Recent technological progresses added to the proliferation of affordable hardware and software have made AR and VR more viable and desirable in many domains, including education; they have been relaunched with new promises previously unimaginable. The nature of AR and VR promises new teaching and learning models that better meet the needs of the 21st century learner. We’re now on a path to reinvent education. This work consists of explaining the reasons behind the new rise of AR and VR and why their actual adoption in education will be a reality in a near future.
Hodgson P. et al. (2019) Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) in Higher Education: Development and Implementation. In: tom Dieck M., Jung T. (eds) Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality.
University educators anticipate better engagement with students through the adoption of the three-dimensional visualization made possible by immersive virtual reality (IVR). Materials can be captured in 360° video for viewing through smartphones bracketed in head-mounted displays (HMDs) with motion sensors. Alternatively, materials can be viewed on notebook computers and tablets to offer some degree of VR experience. The paper reports on the first two undergraduate courses that have adopted both VR and IVR modes for classroom learning: ‘Pharmacology and Therapeutics’ and ‘Understanding Ecotourism’.
Huang, K. et al. (2019). Augmented Versus Virtual Reality in Education: An Exploratory Study Examining Science Knowledge Retention When Using Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality Mobile Applications. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. 22 (2).
The propagation of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications that leverage smartphone technology has increased along with the ubiquity of smartphone adoption. Although AR and VR technologies have been widely utilized in the educational domain, there remains a dearth of empirical research examining the differences in educational impact across AR and VR technologies. The purpose of our exploratory study was to address this gap in the literature by comparing AR and VR technologies with regard to their impact on learning outcomes, such as retention of science information.
Jense, L., & Konradsen, F. (2018). A review of the use of virtual reality head-mounted displays in education and training. Education and Information Technologies, 23(4), 1515-1529.
In the light of substantial improvements to the quality and availability of virtual reality (VR) hardware seen since 2013, this review seeks to update our knowledge about the use of head-mounted displays (HMDs) in education and training. Following a comprehensive search 21 documents reporting on experimental studies were identified, quality assessed, and analysed. The quality assessment shows that the study quality was below average according to the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument, especially for the studies that were designed as user evaluations of educational VR products.
Jones, G., & Alba, A. D. (2019). Reviewing the effectiveness and learning outcomes of a 3D virtual museum: A pilot study. In Virtual Reality in Education: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice (pp. 52-75). IGI Global.
This comparative descriptive mixed methods pilot study reports results of a joint research pilot study between the University of North Texas and the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico Data was collected and analyzed for effectiveness, usability, and knowledge acquisition in the Leopoldo Flores Museum located in Mexico, and its online 3dimensional replica. The primary results of this research show that students using the virtual environment first and then visiting the museum exhibited better knowledge acquisition about the museum and had higher level of discourse when on the guided tour. Furthermore, the virtual museum experience, when used alone, was a comparable experience to the actual museum guided tour in both knowledge gained and satisfaction.
King, D. et al, (2018). Virtual health education: Scaling practice to transform student learning: Using virtual reality learning environments in healthcare education to bridge the theory/practice gap and improve patient safety. Nurse Education Today, 71, 7-9.
The advancements in and affordability of technologies offer increasing opportunities to modernise healthcare education into packages developed to meet the expectations and requirements of the digital generation. Purposefully designed and tested Virtual Reality Learning Environments (VRLE) can offer healthcare students the means to access and revisit learning materials in ways that enhance education and meet a range of needs; including those with specific learning differences and those who have traditionally been disenfranchised.
Lamb, R., Antonenko, P., Etopio, E., & Seccia, A. (2018). Comparison of virtual reality and hands on activities in science education via functional near infrared spectroscopy. Computers & Education. 124, September, 14-26.
There has been an increased focus on the use of cognitive strategies in the science classroom, in part this increased focus is due to the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). This focus has created the need to examine claims regarding the cognitive basis for disciplinary approaches such as video lecture, virtual reality (VR), Serious Educational Games (SEGs), and hands on activities. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in the level of hemodynamic response as it relates to four different approaches to teaching topics in the life sciences. The first approach used a video based lecture approach. The other approaches used an immersive Serious Educational Game and a virtual reality environment in which students were exposed to an experience involving the process of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) replication. The final condition was that of a hands-on activity. Researchers used functional near-infrared spectroscopy to examine hemodynamic localization and intensity as it related to each condition. In addition to examination of cognitive dynamics, content learning gains were also examined.
Legault, J., Zhao, J., Chi, Y. A., Chen, W., Klippel, A., & Li, P. (2019). Immersive Virtual Reality as an Effective Tool for Second Language Vocabulary Learning. Languages, 4(1), 13.
Using a mixed counterbalanced design, this study examined individual differences in L2 performance during learning of 60 Mandarin Chinese words across two learning sessions, with each participant learning 30 words in immersive virtual reality (iVR) and 30 words via word–word paired association. Behavioral performance was collected immediately after L2 learning via an alternative forced-choice recognition task. The results indicated a main effect of L2 learning context, such that accuracy on trials learned via iVR was significantly higher as compared to trials learned in the WW condition. Less successful learners showed a significant benefit of iVR instruction as compared to WW, whereas successful learners do not showed a significant benefit of either learning condition.
Makransky, G., & Petersen, G. B. (2019). Investigating the process of learning with desktop virtual reality: A structural equation modeling approach. Computers & Education, 134, 15-30.
Virtual reality (VR) is gaining attention for having the potential to enrich students’ educational experiences. However, few studies have investigated the process of learning with VR. With the use of structural equation modeling, this study investigated the affective and cognitive factors that play a role in learning with a desktop VR simulation when pre-to post-test changes in motivation, self-efficacy, and knowledge about genetics are used as outcomes.
Meyer, O. A., Omdahl, M. K., & Makransky, G. (2019). Investigating the effect of pre-training when learning through immersive virtual reality and video: A media and methods experiment. Computers & Education, 103603.
Immersive virtual reality (VR) is predicted to have a significant impact on education; but most studies investigating learning with immersive VR have reported mixed results when compared to low-immersion media. In this study, a sample of 118 participants was used to test whether a lesson presented in either immersive VR or as a video could benefit from the pre-training principle, as a means of reducing cognitive load. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two method conditions (with/without pre-training), and one of two media conditions (immersive VR/video).
Moro, C., Stromberga, Z., Raikos, A., & Stirling, A. (2017). The effectiveness of virtual and augmented reality in health sciences and medical anatomy. Anatomical Sciences Education, 10, 549-559.
In modern tertiary education, there is a great emphasis on providing an individualised learning experience for each student. An increasing number of curricula are now based online, so the focus is tailoring content in a way that enables users to interact and progress at their own pace. However, for on-campus institutions, it is more challenging to create hands-on experiences with an often large and highly diverse cohort.
Pakanen, M., Alavesa, P., Arhippainen, L., & Ojala, T. (2020). Stepping out of the classroom: Anticipated user experiences of web-based mirror world like virtual campus. International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments (IJVPLE), 10(1), 1-23.
Campus In this study the authors investigate the use of geographically accurate mirror-world-like virtual campus models as an interactive learning environment. A qualitative study with 14 participants explored their anticipated user experiences as well as their needs for the services and functionalities of the virtual campus.
Radianti, J., Majchrzak, R. Fromm, J., & Wohlgenannt, I. (2020). A systematic review of immersive virtual reality applications for higher education: Design elements, lessons learned, and research agenda. Computers & Education. 147, April 2020, 103778
Researchers have explored the benefits and applications of virtual reality (VR) in different scenarios. VR possesses much potential and its application in education has seen much research interest lately. However, little systematic work currently exists on how researchers have applied immersive VR for higher education purposes that considers the usage of both high-end and budget head-mounted displays (HMDs). Hence, we propose using systematic mapping to identify design elements of existing research dedicated to the application of VR in higher education. The reviewed articles were acquired by extracting key information from documents indexed in four scientific digital libraries, which were filtered systematically using exclusion, inclusion, semi-automatic, and manual methods. Our review emphasizes three key points: the current domain structure in terms of the learning contents, the VR design elements, and the learning theories, as a foundation for successful VR-based learning.
Schott, C. & Marshall, S. (2018). Virtual reality and situated experiential education: A conceptualization and exploratory trial. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning. 32, 843-852.
Virtual reality is widely recognized as offering the potential for fully immersive environments. This paper introduces a framework that guides the creation and analysis of immersive environments that are pedagogically structured to support situated and experiential education. The “situated experiential education environment” framework described in this paper is used to examine the impact that a virtual environment can have on the user experience of participants in a virtual space. The analysis of a virtual environment implemented to support learner exploration of issues of tourism development and the related impacts, suggest that this type of experience is capable of providing participants with a holistic experience of real‐world environments that are otherwise too expensive, impractical, or unethical for large groups of people to visit in person.
Servotte, J. C., Goosse, M., Campbell, S. H., Dardenne, N., Pilote, B., Simoneau, I. L., & Ghuysen, A. (2020). Virtual Reality Experience: Immersion, Sense of Presence, and Cybersickness. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 38, 35-43.
This study aimed to understand the elements that influence the sense of presence among undergraduate healthcare students and postgraduate students. Undergraduate and postgraduate healthcare students were immersed in a mass casualty incident. The participants completed questionnaires before (immersion propensity, stress) and after immersion (sense of presence, stress, cybersickness, and satisfaction). The results indicated the sense of presence was high among both groups but higher among postgraduates and was positively correlated to immersion propensity.
Shen, C. W., Ho, J. T., Ly, P. T. M., & Kuo, T. C. (2019). Behavioural intentions of using virtual reality in learning: perspectives of acceptance of information technology and learning style. Virtual Reality, 23(3), 313-324
The use of virtual reality (VR) has become a viable alternative to conventional learning methods in various knowledge domains. Wearable head-mounted displays (HMDs) are devices that provide users with an immersive VR experience. To investigate the direct determinants affecting students’ reasons for HMD use in learning, hypotheses relating to information technology acceptance and Kolb’s learning styles were proposed and tested in this study.
Soleimani, H., Jalilifar, A., Rouhi, A., & Rahmanian, M. (2019). Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Scaffoldings in Improving the Abstract Genre Structure in a Collaborative Learning Environment: A CALL Study. Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 11(23), 327-357.
The marriage between technology and teaching in educational milieus in recent years has been a major concern among educational researchers in general and applied linguists in particular as far as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are concerned. Augmented reality after virtual reality received much attention over the last decades in mobile assisted language learning context. AR mixes virtual world onto real environment, VR delve the participants in to the virtual world. To examine the effect of AR and VR on abstract writing of EFL students, 12 intermediate proficiency pairs (high and low proficiency) participated based on their scores on TOEFL and a hypothetical abstract writing task.
Sun, Y., Kar, G., Stevenson Won, A., & Hedge, A. (2019). Postural Risks and User Experience of 3D Interface Designs for Virtual Reality-based Learning Environments. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting. 63 (1), 2313-2317.
Virtual Reality-based Learning Environments (VRLEs) are an emerging tool for classroom teaching. While VRLEs are increasingly in use, little attention has been paid to ergonomic challenges in use of VRLEs. This study compared two 3D interface designs of a VRLE created to teach the phases of the Moon. Participants (N = 16) were randomly assigned to either a Hand or Toggle interface design. The interface designs were compared in terms of postural risk (REBA score), task completion time, user experience and environmental presence.
Vesisenaho, M., et al. (2019). Virtual Reality in Education: Focus on the Role of Emotions and Physiological Reactivity. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, 12 (1). doi:10.4101/jvwr.v12i1.7329
Cognitive and emotional dimensions are often linked to each other in learning experiences. Moreover, emotions and engagement can lead to better outcomes at the cognitive level. Previous research has indicated that virtual reality (VR) provides a feeling of presence and immersion, which can trigger emotionally engaging learning situations. In this study, we explore the opportunities and challenges related to the use of VR in an educational context.
Yildirim, G., Elban, M., & Yildirim, S. (2018). Analysis of Use of Virtual Reality Technologies in History Education: A Case Study. Asian Journal of Education and Training, 4 (2), 62-69.
Today, many innovations have been experienced in technology. These innovations progressively take their places in education environments. Virtual reality environments are among activity areas that have been frequently discussed and used in education environments in the recent years. In this context, this study aimed to determine general opinions of undergraduate students who were included to study scope about virtual reality technologies, and privately, to determine the students? Opinions about use of virtual reality glasses in history education and to determine their suggestions in this subject.