Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

Experimental Comparison of Virtual Reality with Traditional Teaching Methods for Teaching Radioactivity

  • Published:
Education and Information Technologies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Research at the University of Nottingham has been carried out to investigate the potential of Virtual Reality (VR) for teaching secondary school science. This paper describes the evaluation of VR to teach radioactivity at secondary school level. Evaluation was carried out in a local school and compared directly to the traditional teaching methods currently used in the school to teach radioactivity. Computer experience, computer attitudes, general attitudes and knowledge gained were measured to allow comparisons to be drawn. Individual differences of gender, ability and home computer use were also looked at in relation to the above measures. Results indicated that both ability level and the order in which the conditions were completed significantly affected the attitude scores. High ability students reported higher attitude scores, both overall and for the VR class in particular. As a result of the evaluation study, the Virtual Laboratory has been heavily modified and further evaluation studies were then carried out.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.

References

  • Auld, L. W. S. and Pantelidis, V. S. (1994). Exploring Virtual Reality for classroom use: the virtual reality and education lab at East Carolina University. Techtrends, 39(1), 29-31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowman, D. A. Hodges, L. F. Allison, D. and Wineman, J. (1999). The educational value of an information-rich virtual environment. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 8(3), 317-331.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brelsford, J. W. (1993). Physics Education in a Virtual Environment. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 37th Annual Meeting.

  • Bricken, M. (1991). Virtual Reality learning environments: potentials and challenges. Computer Graphics, 25(3), 178-184.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bricken, M. and Byrne, C. M. (1992). Summer Students in Virtual Reality: A Pilot Study on Educational Applications of Virtual Reality Technology (Technical Report No. ED358853). Human Interface Technology Laboratory.

  • Byrne (1996). Water on Tap: The Use of Virtual Reality as an Educational Tool. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Washington, Washington.

    Google Scholar 

  • Byrne, C. and Furness, T. (1994). Virtual Reality and education. IFIP Transactions A Computer Science and Technology, 58, 181-189.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cobb, S. V. G. Nichols, S. C. Ramsey, A. D. and Wilson, J. R. (1999). Virtual Reality-induced symptoms and effects (VRISE). Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 8(2), 169-186.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crosier, J. K. and Wilson, J. R. (1998). Teachers' Priorities for Virtual Learning Environments in Secondary Science. Presented at Virtual Reality in Education and Training (VRET) '98, London, UK.

  • Dede, C. (1995). The evolution of constructivist learning environments: immersion in distributed, Virtual worlds. Educational Technology, 35(5), 46-52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dede, C. Salzman, M. C. and Loftin, R. B. (1996). ScienceSpace: Virtual Realities for learning complex and abstract scientific concepts. Proceedings of IEEE Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium (VRAIS '96).

  • Gay, E. (1994). Is Virtual Reality a good teaching tool? Virtual Reality Special Report, Winter, 51-59.

  • Martin, R. (1991). School children's attitudes towards computers as a function of gender, course subjects and availability of home computers. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 7(3), 187-94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mikropoulos, T. A. Chalkidis, A. Katsikis, A. and Emvalotis, A. (1998). Students' attitudes towards educational virtual environments. Education and Information Technologies, 3, 137-148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nakhaie, M. R. and Pike, R. M. (1998). Social origins, social statuses and home computer access and use. Canadian Journal of Sociology, 23(4), 427-450.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nichols, S. Ramsey, A. Cobb, S. V. G. Neale, H. D'Cruz, M. and Wilson, J. R. (2000). Incidence of Virtual Reality induced symptoms and effects (VRISE) in desktop and projection screen display systems. UK Health and Safety Executive Contract Research Report 274/2000.

  • Osberg, K. Winn, W. Rose, H. Hollander, A. Hoffman, H. and Char, P. (1997). The effect of having grade seven students construct Virtual environments on their comprehension of science. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago.

  • Pantelidis, V. S. (1993). Virtual Reality in the classroom. Educational Technology, 33(4), 23-27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Papert, S. (1993). Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas. (Second ed). New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salzman, M. Dede, C. Loftin, R. B. and Sprague, D. (1997). Assessing Virtual Reality's Potential for Teaching Abstract Science. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 41st Annual Meeting.

  • Salzman, M. C. Dede, C. Loftin, R. B. and Chen, J. (1999). A model for understanding how virtual reality aids complex conceptual learning. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 8(3), 293-316.

    Google Scholar 

  • Selwyn, N. (1997a). Assessing students' ability to use computers: theoretical considerations for practical research. British Educational Research Journal, 23(1).

  • Selwyn, N. (1997b). Students' Attitudes toward Computers: Validation of a Computer Attitude Scale for 16-19 Education. Computers & Education, 28(1), 35-41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Selwyn, N. (1998). The effect of using a home computer on students' educational use of IT. Computers & Education, 31(2), 211-227.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winn, W. (1997a). The Effect of Student Construction of Virtual Environments on the Performance of High-and Low-Ability Students. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. Chicago, (March 1997).

  • Winn, W. (1997b). The Impact of Three-Dimensional Immersive Virtual Environments on Modern Pedagogy (Technical Report No. HITL-R-97-15). Human Interface Technology Laboratory.

  • Youngblut, C. (1998). Educational uses of virtual reality technology (Technical Report No. IDA Document D-2128). Institute for Defense Analyses.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. VIRART (Virtual Reality Applications Research Team), Division of Manufacturing Engineering and Operations Management, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK

    Joanna K. Crosier

  2. VIRART (Virtual Reality Applications Research Team), Division of Manufacturing Engineering and Operations Management, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK

    Sue V.G. Cobb

  3. VIRART (Virtual Reality Applications Research Team), Division of Manufacturing Engineering and Operations Management, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK

    John R. Wilson

Authors
  1. Joanna K. Crosier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sue V.G. Cobb
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. John R. Wilson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joanna K. Crosier.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Crosier, J.K., Cobb, S.V. & Wilson, J.R. Experimental Comparison of Virtual Reality with Traditional Teaching Methods for Teaching Radioactivity. Education and Information Technologies 5, 329–343 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012009725532

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012009725532