Effects of Desktop Virtual Reality on Learner Performance and Confidence in Environment Mastery: Opening a Line of Inquiry

Virtual reality (VR) has demonstrated effectiveness as an instructional technology in many technical fields. However, VR research has generally lacked a sound theory base to provide explanatory or predictive strength. Further, research into the effectiveness of new desktop technologies that place VR within the reach of schools and teachers is currently embryonic. The study reported here is a pilot and is highly exploratory. It is a first step in developing a theory-based line of inquiry into desktop VR as an instructional technology with potential for Career and Technical Education. Grounded in several theory and research strands, this study compared the effects of presenting a complex scene via desktop VR and a set of still photographic images. The two treatments were given to groups drawn from the general population with equal representation by both genders and two age groups. Two performance measures and a confidence measure were analyzed using 2-way ANOVAs. Statistically significant main effects for treatment were found for all three measures, all in favor of the VR ____________ Lynna J. Ausburn is an associate professor of Occupational Education in the College of Education at Oklahoma State University. She can be reached at lynna.ausburn@okstate.edu. Floyd B. Ausburn is adjunct faculty in Occupational Education in the College of Education at Oklahoma State University. He can be reached at fausburn@cimtel.net. Effects of Desktop Virtual Reality 55 treatment. These findings were consistent with predictions based on the study’s theory base. Several main effects for age and gender, and trends for interactions of age and gender with treatment, were also identified that may provide impetus for further research. Introduction and Background The use of visual technologies for teaching and learning in industrial education has produced dramatic extensions of the once traditional lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on experiences.visual technologies have enhanced the preparation of workforce specialists and technicians by bringing into classrooms and laboratories a breadth and depth of realism that has enhanced comprehension, increased learning performance, and reduced training time. Occasionally, however, there arrives a training technology that causes a realization that “this changes everything. ” Such a technology is virtual reality (VR). (Ausburn & Ausburn, 2004, p. 33) The term virtual reality (VR) has undergone continuous definitional changes since its introduction in the late 1960s as immersive experiences with computer generated imagery via headmounted displays (HMDs). The term can now refer to a variety of computer-based experiences ranging from fully immersive environments with complex HMD gear, auditory input, voice activation, data gloves, and even body suits wired with biosensors for advanced sensory input and biofeedback, to new non-immersive desktop environments based on realistic PC imagery (Ausburn & Ausburn, 2004; Beier, 2004). However, in all its manifestations, VR is basically a way of simulating or replicating an environment threedimensionally and giving the user a sense of “being there,” taking control, and personally interacting with that environment with his/her own body (Arts and Humanities Data Services, 2002; Ausburn & Ausburn, 2004; Beier, 2004; Brown, 2001; Negroponte, 1995; Slater & Usoh, 1993). In addition to simulating a three-dimensional (3D) environment, all forms of VR have in common computer input and control. An https://ir.library. illinoisstate.edu/jste/vol45/iss1/6 JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL TEACHER EDUCATION 56 extensive review of VR research led the present authors to conclude that: It is generally agreed that the essence of VR lies in computergenerated 3D worlds. Its interface immerses participants in a 3D synthesized environment generated by one or more computers and allows them to act in real time within that environment by means of one or more control devices and involving one or more of their physical senses. (Ausburn & Ausburn, 2004, p. 34) These characteristics of VR result in a stimulation of participants’ senses that gives them a strong impression of actually being present in an environment with which they interact personally (Brown, 2001). Rigole (1996) summarized the characteristics that currently typify VR and defined it simply as any computer-generated simulation of a real or imagined 3-dimensional environment that is user interactive. The newest form of VR is generally referred to as non-immersive or desktop VR. It is based on high-resolution panoramic imagery presented on a desktop computer and controlled by the user through simple navigation controls. Desktop VR is the simplest form of virtual reality and is quite different from technically difficult and costly immersive VR technologies that isolate users from the outside world and fully immerse them within a computer-generated environment through sophisticated devices such as head-mounted displays, data gloves, body suits, and complex visual display systems (Simpson, 2003). Several definitions have been offered that differentiate desktop VR from immersive VR. Simpson (2003) stated that desktop or non-immersive VR uses conventional desktop computers, multimedia, and distance learning systems. A recent online source defined desktop VR as 3D imagery that can be explored interactively at a personal computer by manipulating keys or the mouse so that the content moves and zooms in or out (WhatIs, 2005). The present authors explained that desktop VR employs mouse, joystick, or sensorball-controlled navigation through a 3D environment on a graphics monitor under computer control (Ausburn & Ausburn, 2004). Desktop VR is presented in the form of on-screen “movies” that are created by taking a series of digital still images and Effects of Desktop Virtual Reality 57 then using special VR software to “stitch and blend” these images into a single panoramic scene that the user can “enter” and explore interactively. The user employs a mouse or other navigation device to “. move and explore within a virtual environment on his/her computer screen as if actually moving within a place in the real world (Ausburn, Ausburn, Cooper, Kroutter, & Sammons, 2007, p. 9). Movement can include rotating the panoramic image to simulate physical movements of the body and head, and zooming in and out to simulate movements toward and away from objects or parts of the scene. Object movies can be embedded in panoramas to permit the user to “pick up,” rotate, and examine individual items, and clickable “hot spots” can interlink multiple panoramas and embedded objects. What characterizes these movies is that the user, “. chooses when and where to move and what actions to take, rather than being controlled by the pre-production decisions of a videographer” (Ausburn & Ausburn, 2004, p. 41). A critical feature for educators of this new desktop VR technology is its technical and financial accessibility. In their discussion of the defining characteristics of desktop VR, Arts and Humanities Data Services (2002) asserted that desktop VR systems can be distributed easily via the Internet or on CD and that users need little skill to install them and only a standard computer with a simple software viewer to play and explore them. Creation of desktop VR movies requires a hardware/software investment of around $4000 plus a high-end off-the-shelf computer, and can be mastered by computer-literate instructors with a few days of training. It is this new form of desktop VR that is the focus of the study reported here. Review of Literature Perhaps because of its properties of user immersion and interaction, VR appears to be frequently effective as an instructional technology. Early in the VR research literature, Winn, Hoffman, Hollander, Osberg, Rose and Char (1997) claimed that three factors contribute to the capabilities and impacts of VR: (a) immersion, (b) interaction, and (c) engagement and motivation. Selwood, https://ir.library. illinoisstate.edu/jste/vol45/iss1/6 JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL TEACHER EDUCATION 58 Mikropoulos, and Whitelock (2000) proposed that VR’s power as an educational tool stems from its ability to exploit the intellectual, social, and emotional processes of learners. More recently, Seth and Smith (2004) asserted that the effectiveness of all types of VR comes from its ability to let learners experience a strong sense of presence in, and interaction with, a scene. They also attributed the success of VR technology to its ability to provide depth cues through stereo imagery that helps to convey to learners three-dimensional spatial relationships more realistically and accurately than conventional visualization tools. The accumulated research evidence indicates that enthusiasm for VR is generally high among educators and trainers who have tried it. An extensive review of the literature revealed several major themes that appear to have emerged in the study of instructional VR. Concerns about Cost, Technical, and Instructional Design Challenges of VR in Instruction Researchers have pointed out several areas of concern in using VR for teaching and learning. One important concern is the high levels of skill and cost required to develop and implement many VR systems (Mantovani, Gaggiolo, Castelnuova, & Riva, 2003; Riva, 2003). Concerns have also been raised about the as-yet unknown physical and psychological effects of VR (Mantovani, et al.; Riva) and the complexity of the high-end computing equipment it requires. For example, Riva (2003) and Sulbaran and Baker (2000) both discussed the “latency problem” in VR, which arises when inadequate computers or online band width dramatically limits the response time for navigation and interaction and destroys its usefulness as a reality simulation. Also cited as concerns for VR instruction have been weak instructional designs that: (a) fail to achieve adequate sense of reality and “presence” to allow VR training t