Research Article
Ali Sharaf Al Musawi, Asma Al Suhi, Zainab Al Mamari
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 17, Issue 2, Article No: ep562
ABSTRACT
Virtual reality (VR) has fundamentally changed how students interact with their subjects and learn because it offers an immersive learning environment. This qualitative study aims at exploring Omani English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ perceptions of using VR. It employed semi-structured interviews with 20 schoolteachers working in Al-Dhahira Educational Governorate in Oman, 10 females and 10 males. The findings revealed positive perceptions towards VR integration into education. However, the study found key challenges hindering the implementation of VR in education, including time constraints, technological barriers, financial concerns, the need for professional training, content creation challenges, and the necessity for students to acclimate to VR technology. Further, it showed that the primary concerns related to VR focus on cultural considerations, hacking, privacy, data security, and potential addiction. It also illustrated teachers’ main recommendations of providing sufficient infrastructure, institutional support, and continuous research on such technology. This research fills a gap in literature regarding the effective integration of VR into the Omani educational system. By tackling the specific challenges related to this context, it provides valuable implications and recommendations for Omani policymakers and educators to introduce VR for students in public schools in Oman.
Keywords: virtual reality, Oman, EFL schoolteachers, perceptions, technology integration
Review Article
Carlos A. Lara-Alvarez, Ezra Federico Parra-González, Miguel A. Ortiz-Esparza, Héctor Cardona-Reyes
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 15, Issue 4, Article No: ep459
ABSTRACT
Virtual reality (VR) is rapidly gaining popularity and becoming more accessible. Numerous studies have examined the effectiveness of this technology in educational settings. This article provides a summary of the evidence regarding the efficacy of virtual environments for elementary education. A meta-analysis was conducted to combine the findings of independent experimental studies. The studies included in this review were sourced from reputable databases such as Web of Science, Scopus, IEEE, ACM, and ScienceDirect. The results indicate that students who learn in a virtual environment achieve higher learning scores compared to those in traditional classrooms (standard mean difference [SMD]=0.64, 95% CI [0.36, 0.92], p<0.001). Additionally, the findings suggest that learning in a tethered VR environment is equally effective as learning through mobile VR. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in scores when different media materials were used for the control group. This review emphasizes the advantages of employing mobile VR for learning in contrast to using tethered VR.
Keywords: virtual reality, elementary school, student learning outcome, academic achievement, tethered VR, mobile VR, VR platforms, immersive technology
Research Article
M. Anas Thohir, Erif Ahdhianto, Siti Mas’ula, Fitri April Yanti, Moh Irma Sukarelawan
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 15, Issue 2, Article No: ep407
ABSTRACT
Virtual reality (VR) is developing in line with the establishment of the learning metaverse, although the relationship between its acceptance and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) is very unclear. Therefore, this study aims to determine the effects of facility condition (FC), technological acceptance model (TAM), and TPACK on pre-service teachers’ use of VR in Indonesian science education courses. This condition emphasizes the description of these teachers’ readiness in designing VR for learning and teaching integration. The survey was conducted using 406 preservice teachers from 12 Indonesian universities, with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and partial least square-structural equation model (PLS-SEM) subsequently utilized. The results showed that PU (perceived usefulness), PEOU (perceived ease of use), behavior Intention (BI), TPACK, and FC were significantly and positively related. However, two hypotheses emphasizing the relationship between FC and TPACK to PEOU were rejected. These results are expected to facilitate preservice teachers in easily adopting VR learning in courses.
Keywords: virtual reality, TPACK, TAM, PLS-SEM, pre-service teacher
Research Article
Regina Kaplan Rakowski
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 10, Issue 4, pp. 324-337
ABSTRACT
Vocabulary is crucial for language learning. Therefore, searching for the most effective methods to master vocabulary is an important quest. This study investigated the effect of stereoscopic three-dimensional (S3D) images on recall and retention of foreign language vocabulary. S3D images, frequently used in virtual reality visualizations, are highly realistic and differ from non-stereoscopic three-dimensional (NS3D) images in that they provide an impression of depth. In this within-subject study, American subjects (N = 82) were exposed to 16 Polish words accompanied by corresponding images. Half of these images were in NS3D format, and half were in S3D format. The vocabulary was counterbalanced throughout four randomly distributed versions of the experiment. Quantitative data were drawn from immediately administered and one-week-delayed productive and receptive vocabulary tests. Qualitative data were gathered through background questionnaires and follow-up surveys, which included a mixture of open-ended and Likert scale questions. Two-tailed, paired t-tests showed no significant difference on vocabulary recall and retention of test scores for words represented with NS3D and S3D images. Post hoc tests revealed that lower performance on S3D images occurred only for those subgroups of subjects who exhibited discomfort or lack of experience with S3D technology, or both.
Keywords: Vocabulary learning, Stereoscopic 3D images, Multimedia, Virtual reality, Immersive environments