Study shows that students retain scientific information at a higher rate with the use of virtual reality and narration, while more immersive virtual reality environments have no direct impact on educational retention

Source: Google     

A study conducted  by Roxana Moreno of the University of New Mexico and Richard Mayer of the University of California, Santa Barbara dives into the educational benefits of virtual reality in multimedia environments using an educational game developed called  Design-A-Plant. The study “Learning Science in Virtual Reality Multimedia Environments: Role of Methods and Media” is conducted to measure the effect that virtual reality has on student’s educational comprehension and retention.

The experiment concludes that students scored higher on retention, transfer, and program ratings with narration multimedia environments than with text multimedia environments. The test group with narration and text multimedia environments had results in between narration and text. Overall, media did not affect performance in the categories of retention, transfer, or program ratings.

Moreno and Mayer conducted the experiment in two separate test groups. Both experiments took eighty-nine college students which they asked multiple questions about botany to assess knowledge on the subject. The participants were split into groups ND (Narration/ Desktop Display), TD (Text/Desktop Display), NS (Narration/Sitting with Head Mounted Display), TS (Text/Sitting with HMD), NW (Narration/Walking with HMD), and TW (Text/Walking with HMD). Each group whether using desktop display or HMDs were interacting with the same computerized material. TD, TS, and TW were specifically given material with text only. Each experimental group was asked several questions about plants in different environments and to move around within the multimedia environment which they were in. HMD groups were instructed how to use their technology and to do so walking to navigate, or head movements while sitting. After students navigated through five different environments (such as rain forest, dry environment, and etc.) they were then instructed to complete a series of questionnaires. These questionnaires were in regards to presence, program-rating, retention, and problem-solving.  The results to the questionnaires, among other things, show that the students scored the highest on retention with narration integrated within their multimedia environment.

Source: Christian Pierce    

Both experiments brought new discoveries, and also confirmed past scientific theories. The study indicated that media has an effect on students sense of presence when using head mounted displays, which in return promoted the students retention of the science lesson. This was not true with all test groups due to the fact that HDM could be seen as a distraction.  Both experiments also showed that higher levels of immersion had no more effect on the number of items memorized.

     

Virtual reality environments not only where seen as more favorable but they also help students remember more of the material, and this is especially true for VREs that communicate using narration over text.

Moreno and Mayer’s virtual reality experiment shows the impact that VREs can have over textbooks and other forms of just text based educational tools. Virtual reality tools are necessary for educational advancement within the technology world today and in the future.