Effects of Virtual Reality Mudslide Games with Different Usability Designs on Fifth-Grade Children’s Learning Motivation and Presence Experience

Abstract

Mudslide disaster prevention education is important for children who face related life-threatening situations in their daily lives. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two virtual reality (VR) mudslide games with different usability designs on children’s presence experience and learning motivation. The games provided users with three options (riverside, bridge and hillside) for escape from a mudslide disaster. Sixty-six fifth-grade students in Taiwan participated; 18 students played Game 1 and 48 students played Game 2 individually for 10–15 min. A 24-item questionnaire assessing the students’ learning motivation and presence experience was administered after game play. Questionnaire responses indicated that the students had positive attitudes toward learning via the two games. Learning motivation, presence and total questionnaire scores were higher among students who played Game 2 than among those who played Game 1, but these differences were not significant. All three scores were higher among boys than among girls who played Game 2, as indicated by nonparametric analysis. The results indicate that the low-polygon VR mudslide game designed for usability facilitated children’s, and especially boys’, learning about mudslide disaster prevention.