Can Different Instruction Methods and Previous Experience Affect User Performance in a Virtual Reality Environment?

In recent years, virtual reality has become increasingly important as a tool for learning, however, there are still issues that need further research. For example, how its attributes can support learning or how to achieve more effective learning when using this technology. Therefore, we chose to investigate which method of instruction that is best suited for a virtual environment and how previous experience in gaming or virtual reality affect task performance. A total of 34 participants took part in the study, and there were two condition where the user either followed instructions based on text or visual objects. The task was to stack cubes on top of each other in the same order as the instructions showed. The results were evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively. The result showed no significant difference between text and visual object, and there was no significant difference between participants with previous experience with gaming or virtual reality compared to participant with non or less experience. However, we did find that participants used different hand techniques, where gamers used more two handed strategies. Yet, one handed strategies resulted in higher precision. We also found that repetition and the amount of practice are important variables. Introduction Today it is possible to explore environments by using 360-degree imagery. Environments like this, such as virtual environments, are created for human’s curiosity to explore beyond reality, and to navigate and interact with (Bates-Brkljac, 2012). Although virtual reality is recognized as a tool for learning, there is still issues that need further research (Chen, 2006). A study made by Healy et al. (2013) explored which modality that is best suited for presenting instructions, but only using a computer display. They compared reading messages, hearing instructions, seeing how to execute a task and a combination of them. The results showed that seeing had the best execution accuracy and reading the worst. However, Healy et al. (2013) found that regardless of which type of instruction that was used, there were no consistently large effect on receiving and following instructions. Hence, they claim that the most important variables are repetition and the amount of practice. Furthermore, Warden, Stanworth and Chang (2016) found no significant disadvantage between gamers and non-gamers in virtual environments when following instructions. However, Murias, Kwok, Castillejo, Liu and Iaria (2016) show that previous experience of playing video games with a navigational component leads to a higher dexterity with game controls, when comparing with less experienced individuals. Experienced players use more efficient strategies regarding navigation, more specifically, adopting procedural approaches or using cognitive maps. Purpose and research questions The purpose of this study will be to examine different types of instruction methods for a virtual reality (VR) environment, and how previous experience may affect the performance. This will be examined through instructions given in text or visual objects. The text instructions are short directions in a limited space in the environment, and the visual objects are objects that gives the user an idea of the tasks goal. The task is to build a tower of cubes in a certain color scheme as fast and correct as possible, where one correct placed cube generates one score. The research questions for the study are formulated as follows: 1) In which condition do the participants complete the task with the highest score for a certain period of time? 2) In which condition do the participants evaluate the task as easiest to complete? 3) How does previous gaming experience, in either virtual environments and/or computer games, affect performance on the task? 4) What difficulties do the participants experience when interacting in a new virtual environment?