# Countering the Novelty Effect: A Tutorial for Immersive Virtual Reality Learning Environments
## 5 Discussion  
As shown in Table 2 and Figure 8, satisfaction was very high in the three groups and the single group. All components, except flow, showed scores over 7. The BA group had the worst results in all components, except for engagement. A possible reason was the fact that both the VET and the HNC students had volunteered to participate in the iVR experience while the BA group was participating in the experience as part of their learning program. As [PERSON] et al. posited [50], participants are more motivated to learn in a different and new context than in traditional lessons. In addition, age may explain some of the results. The HNC group had a higher average age (21.5) than the other two groups (18.9 in VET and 18.9 in BA). This age difference might explain why the HNC group, composed of older participants, achieved the best results, a hypothesis that coincides with the study of [PERSON] et al. [51]. In their study, they showed that the novelty effect was stronger among younger users who interacted more playfully, although they were more easily bored compared to the most mature users. Nevertheless, background noise in the data was always present, due to the small number of participants within each group. The component with the highest score in all three groups and the single group was skill, with statistical significance related to lower flow values. Users felt that the tutorial was useful to learn and to master their actions in the iVR environment. This may be explained due to the modular structure of the tutorial at increasing levels of difficulty. Using the assistant robot in the tutorial explains the results of skill. The robot transmits encouragement and gives immediate feedback in an informal style of conversation after the user completes each task in the tutorial. This signal is for the users to let them know that the task challenges match their skill level, as [PERSON] explained in her research [52]. The robot also guides the user through the tutorial modules, which coincides with the research of [PERSON] et al. [53]. In their study, they explained that the increasing difficulty and user guidance through the modules improved the capacity of users when acquiring the right skill. Furthermore, in this research and in the study of [PERSON] et al. [54], a high presence was shown to have a positive effect on skill development. Figure 9: Radar plot of the usability and satisfaction survey results of the low and the moderate levels of cybersickness groups showing their percentage differences with the no-cybersickness group. The component with the second-highest score was engagement with statistical significance related to the lower flow values for the single group, something which the research of [PERSON] et al. [55] might explain. As they explain, engagement is influenced by a correct balance between challenges and skill. Related to skill, as previously explained, the feedback from the assistant robot contributes to heightening the engagement level, as explained in the study of [PERSON] et al. [56]. In addition, the novelty effect in the study of [PERSON] et al. [57] was understood to have a positive effect on engagement, an effect that was also upheld in the answers to the open questions in the survey where most participants reported that the iVR learning experience was an enjoyable way of learning, something they had never experienced before. The novelty effect also increased the cognitive load, which was another factor that contributed to higher engagement levels. As [PERSON] et al. [58] found, both workload and engagement increased proportionally with the complexity of the demands of each task. In addition, [PERSON] et al. [17] showed that if immersion was high, then cognitive load was also high. Nevertheless, the engagement component was not the highest in the three groups. One explanation might be participant frustration levels, which can be intensified as a consequence of difficulty when grabbing objects.