Engaging university students in a library guide through wearable spherical video-based virtual reality: effects on situational interest and cognitive load

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate differences in students’ situational interest (exploration intention, instant enjoyment, novelty, attention demand, challenge, and total interest) and cognitive load (intrinsic, extraneous, and germane) of VR-guide and map-guide groups in a university library. The VR-guide group used wearable spherical video-based virtual reality (SVVR) devices, while the map-guide group used tablets to learn the functions of the library. Both groups completed a prior knowledge test, field tasks, a situational interest scale, and a cognitive load scale. The results show that, in comparison with the use of the map-guide, the wearable VR-guide could yield a higher degree of “Novelty” and “Challenge” (in the situational interest dimension), as well as higher germane cognitive load. This study reveals that harnessing SVVR in learning and teaching has a positive impact on university students. The educational use of SVVR has good potential for transforming students’ way of learning, improving traditional learning, and enhancing students’ understanding of content and learning motivation.

KEYWORDS:

• Spherical video-based virtual reality
• situational interest
• cognitive load
• library guide
• wearable device

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan through Grant numbers MOST 107-2628-H-009-004-MY3 and MOST 105-2511-S-009-013-MY5. EduVenture® VR for the study’s experiment was supported by the Seed Research Fund, Centre for Learning Sciences and Technologies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. We would like to thank NCTU’s ILTM (Interactive Learning Technology and Motivation, see: http://iltm.nctu.edu.tw) lab members and the students for helping conduct the experiment, as well as the reviewers for providing valuable comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on the contributors

Hota Chia-Sheng Lin is currently a postdoctoral research associate in the Institute of Education at the National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan. His major research interests include data analysis, big data in education, eLearning, technology-enhanced learning, and flipped classrooms.

Shih-Jou Yu is is currently a postdoctoral research associate in the Institute of Education at the National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan. Her major research interests are integrating interactive technologies and personalized/intelligent feedback to examine learners’ motivation for both formal and informal curricula. Interactive technologies include wearable technologies, augmented reality, and virtual reality.

Jerry Chih-Yuan Sun is a Professor of eLearning in the Institute of Education at National Chiao Tung University, where he leads the Interactive Learning Technology and Motivation Lab (see http://elearning-lab.nctu.edu.tw). His research focuses on assessing interactive feedback technologies and their effects on student learning and motivation.

Morris Siu Yung Jong is the Director of the Centre for Learning Sciences and Technologies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research interests include learning sciences, educational gamification, VR in education, and context-aware mobile learning. Currently, he is also the Co-chair of the IEEE Education Society Technical Committee on Learning Sciences, the Chair of the APSCE Special Interest Group on Educational Gamification and Game-based Learning, and the Vice-President of the China Association for Educational Technology Professional Committee on Game-based Learning.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan: [Grant Numbers     MOST 107-2628-H-009-004-MY3, MOST 105-2511-S-009-013-MY5].