Abstract
Virtual Reality (VR) systems and VR content are complex, and their creation can mainly be conducted by experts in VR and related areas. That makes the use of VR challenging for experts from other domains, such as educators. In this paper, we build up on existing work and investigate the VR nugget concept—small self-contained VR systems that are built from educational design patterns. Particularly, we extend this concept and introduce structured authoring processes based on VR nuggets that show how standalone, combinable, and reusable VR software can serve as a meta-level guide for various VR applications and involve educators as domain experts. We conduct a user study with VR Forge, a VR-nugget-based authoring software tool, to draw conclusions on how pattern-based VR authoring tools should be designed to support domain experts. We compare our results with those of a related study of the VR nugget tool IN Tiles. Based on the comparative results of usability and hedonic quality measures, both anecdotal evidence and statistically significant results support the concept’s potential for VR authoring conducted by practitioners who are not experts in VR. We derive the recommendation that the design of a VR-nugget-based authoring environment will benefit from using both immersive and desktop user interface (UI) technologies and that the authoring workflow will need authors to frequently alternate between the technologies. We state findings and lessons learned from the development and the studies. We contribute insights in developing reusable and use-case-specific VR content and tools and propose authoring processes that focus on the tasks and goals of domain experts as the primary authoring role within educational VR development. Finally, the relevance of VR-nugget-based authoring is supported by anecdotal evidence gathered from over 3 years of investigating and applying it within three educational institutions and a company providing education services.
Highlights
Virtual Reality (VR) is a technology that can support educational purposes
Four aspects were considered in the user study, aligned with the IN Tiles study (Horst et al, 2020): A1 Ease of use: Is handling the authoring tools manageable for our participants? A2 Workflow: Can the participants use the tools from start to finish to adapt VR nuggets? A3 Efficiency: Are participants satisfied with their results in terms of time spent creating them? A4 Product character: How do the participants perceive the tools regarding hedonic and pragmatic qualities?
Should proposed refinements of the different tools be performed in the future, and novel conceptual research can be conducted with a view to our results
Summary
Virtual Reality (VR) is a technology that can support educational purposes. Educators can provide spatial-related information for learners. Learners can explore the information interactively within a virtual world. The application of VR for teaching involves challenges that prevent VR from being used more widely. The advent of low-cost, high-fidelity VR hardware has reduced one significant challenge—the costs (Coburn et al, 2017). While we could observe within the last years that such systems are getting accessible for educators within various institutions such as universities, the creation of content for the Authoring With Virtual Reality Nuggets systems is another significant challenge that remains and still prevents VR from a broader use in this domain
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
