Abstract
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are important drivers of innovation, yet students are often unmotivated and do not understand why they need to learn these subjects. Virtual reality (VR) and virtual environments are useful tools for conceptual understanding with a high degree of immersion. They enable the creation of engaging and inspiring learning experiences. Additionally, personalization and customization can promote motivated usage and high user acceptability. A customized experience that takes into account the unique characteristics of the player can thus be an essential factor in learning. In this paper, we explore the potential of a customized learning environment to increase students’ motivation in learning physics. We present an AB study with 95 students to evaluate their motivation and experience during the learning process. The results indicate that the learning experience slightly increases when the learning process takes place in a customizable experimental environment.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abeele, V.V., Spiel, K., Nacke, L., Johnson, D., Gerling, K.: Development and validation of the player experience inventory: a scale to measure player experiences at the level of functional and psychosocial consequences. Int. J. Hum Comput Stud. 135, 102370 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2019.102370
Bailey, R., Wise, K., Bolls, P.: How avatar customizability affects children’s arousal and subjective presence during junk food-sponsored online video games. CyberPsychol. Behav. 12(3), 277–283 (2009)
Barr, P., Biddle, R., Brown, J.: Changing the virtual self: avatar transformations in popular games. In: Proceedings of the 3rd Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment, pp. 83–90 (2006)
Bonde, M.T., et al.: Improving biotech education through gamified laboratory simulations. Nat. Biotechnol. 32(7), 694–697 (2014)
Burkolter, D., Weyers, B., Kluge, A., Luther, W.: Customization of user interfaces to reduce errors and enhance user acceptance. Appl. Ergon. 45(2), 346–353 (2014)
Checa, D., Bustillo, A.: A review of immersive virtual reality serious games to enhance learning and training. Multimedia Tools Appl. 79(9), 5501–5527 (2020)
Chiu, P.H., Kao, G.Y.M., Lo, C.C.: Personalized blog content recommender system for mobile phone users. Int. J. Hum Comput Stud. 68(8), 496–507 (2010)
Deci, E.L., Ryan, R.M.: Self-determination theory: a macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health. Can. Psychol. 49(3), 182 (2008)
Freeman, S., et al.: Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 111(23), 8410–8415 (2014)
Holly, M., Pirker, J., Resch, S., Brettschuh, S., Gütl, C.: Designing VR experiences-expectations for teaching and learning in VR. Educ. Technol. Soc. 24(2), 107–119 (2021)
Jorritsma, W., Cnossen, F., van Ooijen, P.M.: Adaptive support for user interface customization: a study in radiology. Int. J. Hum Comput Stud. 77, 1–9 (2015)
Kleinsmith, A., Gillies, M.: Customizing by doing for responsive video game characters. Int. J. Hum Comput Stud. 71(7–8), 775–784 (2013)
Ku, O., Hou, C.C., Chen, S.Y.: Incorporating customization and personalization into game-based learning: a cognitive style perspective. Comput. Hum. Behav. 65, 359–368 (2016)
Lin, C.F., Yeh, Y.C., Hung, Y.H., Chang, R.I.: Data mining for providing a personalized learning path in creativity: an application of decision trees. Comput. Educ. 68, 199–210 (2013)
Liou, W.K., Chang, C.Y.: Virtual reality classroom applied to science education. In: 2018 23rd International Scientific-Professional Conference on Information Technology (IT), pp. 1–4. IEEE (2018)
Makransky, G., Andreasen, N.K., Baceviciute, S., Mayer, R.E.: Immersive virtual reality increases liking but not learning with a science simulation and generative learning strategies promote learning in immersive virtual reality. J. Educ. Psychol. 113(4), 719–735 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000473
Olson, S., Riordan, D.G.: Engage to excel: Producing one million additional college graduates with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. report to the president. Executive Office of the President (2012)
Petersen, G.B., Petkakis, G., Makransky, G.: A study of how immersion and interactivity drive VR learning. Comput. Educ. 179, 104429 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104429
Pirker, J., Gütl, C.: Educational gamified science simulations. In: Reiners, T., Wood, L.C. (eds.) Gamification in Education and Business, pp. 253–275. Springer, Cham (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10208-5_13
Pirker, J., Gütl, C., Belcher, J.W., Bailey, P.H.: Design and evaluation of a learner-centric immersive virtual learning environment for physics education. In: Holzinger, A., Ziefle, M., Hitz, M., Debevc, M. (eds.) SouthCHI 2013. LNCS, vol. 7946, pp. 551–561. Springer, Heidelberg (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39062-3_34
Pirker, J., Holly, M., Gütl, C.: Room scale virtual reality physics education: use cases for the classroom. In: 2020 6th International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN), pp. 242–246. IEEE (2020)
Pirker, J., Holly, M., Lesjak, I., Kopf, J., Gütl, C.: MaroonVR—an interactive and immersive virtual reality physics laboratory. In: Díaz, P., Ioannou, A., Bhagat, K.K., Spector, J.M. (eds.) Learning in a Digital World. SCI, pp. 213–238. Springer, Singapore (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8265-9_11
Treiblmaier, H., Madlberger, M., Knotzer, N., Pollach, I.: Evaluating personalization and customization from an ethical point of view: an empirical study. In: Proceedings of the 37th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2004, p. 10. IEEE (2004)
Zhao, J., Lin, L., Sun, J., Liao, Y.: Using the summarizing strategy to engage learners: empirical evidence in an immersive virtual reality environment. Asia Pac. Educ. Res. 29(5), 473–482 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-020-00499-w
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Holly, M., Brettschuh, S., Pirker, J. (2024). An Immersive Laboratory Environment for a Customized Learning Experience. In: Bourguet, ML., Krüger, J.M., Pedrosa, D., Dengel, A., Peña-Rios, A., Richter, J. (eds) Immersive Learning Research Network. iLRN 2023. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1904. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-47328-9_27
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-47328-9_27
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-47327-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-47328-9
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)