Teachers’ Opinions About Virtual Reality Technology in School-based Agricultural Education

Abstract

Technology in school settings has undergone a tremendous degree of evolution in recent decades. Educational technologies can be used for a wide range of applications. In school-based agricultural education (SBAE) settings, an assortment of educational technologies is often used to achieve instructional objectives. As a computer-based technology, virtual reality (VR) technology has been applied in educational contexts for years and is anticipated to grow in use and popularity. VR technology has received little attention in SBAE-focused research. Through the lens of an adapted version of Fishbein and Ajzen’s (2010) reasoned action model, we sought to describe the opinions teachers have regarding VR technology in SBAE. Following Dillman, Smyth, and Christian’s (2014) recommendations, we used an Internet-based questionnaire to collect data from 90 SBAE teachers in Iowa during the 2017-2018 academic year. Our results indicated the teachers generally held favorable opinions about VR technology intertwined with a considerable degree of uncertainty about the technology and its uses. To facilitate opportunities for VR technology-related professional development, we recommend agricultural teacher education faculty develop their own knowledge and skills related to VR technology applications.