The added benefit of an extra practice session in virtual reality on the development of presentation skills: A randomized control trial

Developing oral presentation skills is an essential objective of higher education. While previous research emphasized the importance of practice for developing oral presentation skills (OPS), it remains unclear what the optimal amount of practice is. This experimental field study examined the added benefit of an extra practice session in virtual reality (VR) on the progression of 35 graduate students in OPS, using a pre-test post-test design. In addition, the mediating effect of public speaking anxiety (PSA) was examined and the relation between PSA_, preparation practices, perceived utility of VR and OPS was explored. Questionnaires and performance assessments were used in data collection. Results showed that participants gained benefits from practicing a third time before a virtual audience. Both anxious and non-anxious participants progressed similarly on presentation skills and experienced the VR intervention comparably. However, the optimal number of practice presentations remains unclear and should be further investigated.     

Learning from virtual reality applications in education

This paper presents an overview of the uses of virtual reality in education. It draws particularly on three projects, the West Denton High School in Newcastle, the Human-Computer Interface Technology Laboratory's summer school in Seattle and the Shepard School for children with special needs in Nottingham. In each of these projects, there is distinctive relationship between the learning experience and the experience of virtual worlds. Here, the concern will not be with the pedagogical value of these projects, which have been documented elsewhere, but with the wider contribution that they can make to our understanding of virtual environments. To do this, it examines in each case how the virtual reality systems are integrated into the curriculum, how these systems relate to the learning process, the usability of the systems, and the possibilities and constraints of the virtual worlds. By comparing these with other emerging virtual reality applications, such as entertainment games, it can be seen that different systems present a variety of possibilities for constructing presence in, and interaction with, virtual environments.     

Generic reflective feedback: An effective approach to developing clinical reasoning skills

Problem‐based learning can be an effective tool to develop clinical reasoning skills. However, it traditionally takes place in tutorial groups, giving students little flexibility in how and when they learn. This pilot study compared the effectiveness of generic reflective feedback (GRF) with tutorial‐based reflective feedback on the development of students' clinical reasoning skills. Case studies were placed in an interactive software package, with GRF for the nine patient cases (36 GRF forms in total). The GRF contained information about common mistakes and omissions made by students in previous years. By design, the GRF left some clinical questions unanswered in order to prompt student reflection, enhance the development of their clinical reasoning skills and give the 2010 students (n = 53) greater control over the way in which they engaged with the unit. Clinical reasoning skills development, assessed by responses to the 36 parts across the 9 cases and in the relevant section of the final exam, was compared with the 2009 tutorial cohort (n = 47 students). GRF enabled student progression through each of the nine online cases with minimal tutor intervention. The cohort receiving GRF performed as well as those students engaging in tutorials with individualized feedback. GRF was associated with a significant increase in student satisfaction and flexibility in how and when they learned. We conclude that GRF enabled online enhancement of a case‐based clinical reasoning unit. Further research on how GRF can optimize learning in different online settings is warranted.     

虚拟现实技术在城市建设中的应用

文章以虚拟现实 ( VR)系统为核心 ,综合利用全数字摄影测量系统、地理信息系统 ( GIS)和网络技术等 ,研究快速建立虚拟城市的技术和方法。通过这个方法 ,将虚拟现实作为一个开放系统和一门实用技术 ,为城市信息化提供一种可交互操作、集成化和人机和谐的方法     

Investigation of effects of virtual reality environments on learning performance of technical skills

Practical training is what brings imagination and creativity to fruition, which relies significantly on the relevant technical skills needed. Thus, the current study has placed its emphasis on strengthening the learning of technical skills with emerging innovations in technology, while studying the effects of employing such technologies at the same time. As for the students who participated in the study, technical skills had been cultivated in the five dimensions of knowledge, comprehension, simulation, application, and creativity, in accordance to the set teaching objectives and the taxonomy for students learning outcome, while the virtual reality learning environment (VRLE) has also been developed to meet different goals as the various technical skills were being examined. In terms of the nature of technology, operation of machines, selection of process parameters, and process planning in technical skills, VRLE has also designed the six modules of “learning resource”, “digital content”, “collaborative learning”, “formative evaluation”, “simulation of manufacturing process”, and “practical exercise” in particular for providing students with assistance in the development on their technical skills on a specific, gradual basis. After assessing the technical skills that have been developed for the time period of one semester, the students have reported finding VRLE to be a significantly effective method when considering the three dimensions of “operation of machines”, “selection of process parameter”, and “process planning”, though not so much so when it came to the dimension of “nature of technology”. Among the six modules, “simulation of manufacturing process” and “practical exercise” were the two that were most preferred by students for the three dimensions considered.     

The effect of the modality principle to support learning with virtual reality: An eye-tracking and electrodermal activity study

Background

Virtual reality (VR) is considered a promising approach to support learning. An instructional design is essential to optimize cognitive processes. Studies show that VR has unique instructional and pedagogical requirements.

Objectives

To evaluate the effectiveness and applicability of the modality principle, which was previously validated in 2D classic multimedia, for learning with VR. The modality principle states that multimedia information presented as spoken narration is superior to on-screen text.

Methods

A prospective experimental study with two compared conditions of instruction: VR-based learning guided by on-screen text (n = 34) versus spoken narration (n = 28). Students' cognitive learning experiences were captured by eye-tracking and electrodermal activity (EDA). In addition, students' knowledge was evaluated using a pre–post knowledge test.

Results and Conclusions

Overall, there was no significant difference in knowledge retention between the participants who learned with on-screen text compared to spoken narration. However, results from the eye-tracking analysis showed that students who learned with the on-screen text devoted longer visual attention toward important learning activity areas of interest, suggesting a better ability to discern between relevant and irrelevant information. Conversely, students who learned with the spoken narration expressed significantly more EDA peak responses, proposing a higher cognitive load.

Implications

This study outlines that while learning with VR was effective, the modality principle might not apply to learning with VR. Moreover, the analysis of the learning process suggests even an inverse effect, favouring the provision of instructional scaffolds as on-screen text. Future research should evaluate this effect on long-term knowledge retention.     

虚拟现实中动画和碰撞的层次细节技术研究及应用

研究了动画和碰撞处理中的层次细节技术，提出了动画层次细节二叉树、碰撞层次细节控制矩阵等多种有效的应用解决方法。实验结果表明这些方法应用在存在大量动画和撞碰处理的虚拟三维场景中有效地提高了渲染实时性。     

虚拟现实技术在化学反应工程实验教学中的应用

将虚拟现实技术应用到化学反应工程实验教学中,能大大降低成本,同时也能满足实验教学中情景化及自然交互性的要求。本文概述虚拟现实及其实现技术,提出一种构建化学反应工程虚拟实验室的方案。     

A survey of level of detail support in current virtual reality solutions

The technique of Level of Detail (LOD) offers a powerful method of reducing the computational burden of a virtual reality (VR) system. As a result, it represents a valuable and important facility which one would expect to find in all serious VR graphics systems. This survey aims to present many of the rendering engines commonly employed in state-of-the-art VR solutions and details the degree of support which these systems provide for LOD. The investigation reveals a significant lack of support for this facility over the range of packages reviewed. Consequently, a call is made for improved LOD support in future VR products.     

Effects of using a force feedback haptic augmented simulation on the attitudes of the gifted students towards studying chemical bonds in virtual reality environment

The aim of this study is to identify the effects of force feedback haptic applications developed in virtual reality environments (VREs), which is an important field of study in computer science and engineering, on gifted students’ attitudes towards chemistry education in learning process. A 3D 6 DOF (Degree of Freedom) haptik device (Phantom Omni?) has been used to develop the algorithm in this study. It can be used to transmit force and motion using a haptic device. Visual C++ was choosen as the software development environment. OpenGL? and Haptic Device Application Programming Interface have been used for rendering graphics. At the 3D image creation state Wrap 1200?, which is a kind of head-mounted display, has been chosen. The sample of this study consists of 52 students identified as gifted and are attending 6th and 7th grades at the Istanbul Science &; Art Center in Istanbul. The experimental group studied chemical bonds using an application developed by using a force feedback haptic device in VRE and the control group studied it by traditional teaching methods. The study reveals that there is a relation between using force feedback haptic applications which are developed in VREs and gifted students’ attitudes towards educational programs.     

The contribution of virtual reality to research on sensory feedback in remote control

Here we consider research on the kinds of sensory information most effective as feedback during remote control of machines, and the role of virtual reality and telepresence in that research. We argue that full automation is a distant goal and that remote control deserves continued attention and improvement. Visual feedback to controllers has developed in various ways but autostereoscopic displays have yet to be proven. Haptic force feedback, in both real and virtual settings, has been demonstrated to offer much to the remote control environment and has led to a greater understanding of the kinesthetic and cutaneous components of haptics, and their role in multimodal processes, such as sensory capture and integration. We suggest that many displays using primarily visual feedback would benefit from the addition of haptic information but that much is yet to be learned about optimizing such displays.     

Virtual reality modeling application based on multi perspective and deep learning in the new media presentation and brand building of Dongguan City memory

To help the new media presentation and brand building of Dongguan City memory, a virtual reality modeling model based on multi-perspective and deep learning is proposed. First, in order to address the issue of imbalanced input and output information in depth map prediction tasks, as well as poor accuracy of predicted depth map boundaries, a depth map prediction model based on multiple perspectives and deep learning is built. Then, a single perspective modeling framework is proposed to address the scarcity of perspectives in practical situations, and a dynamic fusion model is built for single-view virtual reality scenes based on multi-view generation networks. The results indicated that the mean square error, average relative error, and average logarithmic error were minimized at 0.52, 0.138, and 0.068, respectively. The multi-threshold accuracy index demonstrated peak values at 0.772, 0.8821, and 0.947, respectively. The grid simplification algorithm exhibited the shortest running times at 1.57, 2.52, 3.91, and 6.53 s, respectively. Moreover, the single-view modeling frame displayed the smallest angle distance at 0.1449, while the overlap degree of the point cloud scene reached the highest levels at 77.47, 79.49, 83.5, and 84.47, respectively. To sum up, the model has a good application effect in virtual reality modeling and positively affects virtual reality technology development.     

Depth perception in shuffleboard: Depth cues effect on depth perception in virtual and augmented reality system

The virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications have been widely used in a variety of fields; one of the key requirements in a VR or AR system is to understand how users perceive depth in the virtual environment and AR. Three different graphics depth cues are designed in shuffleboard to explore what kind of graphics depth cues are beneficial for depth perception. We also conduct a depth‐matching experiment to compare performance in VR and AR systems using an optical see‐through head‐mounted display (HMD). The result shows that the absolute error increases as the distance becomes farther. Analysis from the inverse of distance shows that box depth cues have a significant effect on depth perception, while the points depth cues and line depth cues have no significant effect. The error in diopter in AR experiment is lower than that in VR experiment. Participants in the AR experiment under medium illuminance condition have less error than those under low and high illuminance conditions. Men have less error than women in certain display conditions, but the advantage disappears when there is a strong depth cue. Besides, there is no significant effect of completion time on depth perception.     

The moving learner: Object manipulation in virtual reality improves vocabulary learning

A challenging aspect of foreign language acquisition is learning new vocabulary. Research has demonstrated the benefits of motor action to vocabulary learning, though these findings are rarely translated into teaching and learning practices. In this work, we present a novel paradigm for vocabulary learning in a virtual reality environment, capitalizing on the prominent advantages of this technology as an ‘embodied learning’ tool. Hebrew-speaking adults explored a virtual room and learned the Finnish names of 40 daily objects. Every participant learned the new object names under three conditions: (1) Watch-only: watching the object without performing any movement (2) performing an irrelevant movement or (3) performing a manipulation movement that implied its habitual use. Participants completed a word–picture matching test after each training block, as well as additional word–picture matching and recall tests a week after the initial training session. The overall results demonstrate improved comprehension rates for items that were learned in the manipulation movement condition compared to the irrelevant movement condition, both in the initial learning session and 1 week following it. These initial findings suggest that VR technology may indeed hold the potential to offer a more authentic, multisensory and motor context to efficient foreign language learning.     

Dyslexic students in higher education and virtual learning environments: an exploratory study

This paper presents the results of an interview‐based study of the use of virtual learning environments (VLEs) among dyslexic students. Interviews were carried out with 12 informants who had been formally diagnosed as dyslexic. The informants were either enrolled in a university or college programme, or had graduated less than a year before the interview. The findings reveal that dyslexic students experience a number of challenges associated with VLE use, including information overload, imperfect word processing tools, inadequate search functions, and having to relate to more than one system at a time.     

Using virtual reality to study the effect of information redundancy on evacuation effectiveness

The International Organization for Standardization evacuation alarm (ISO 8201: 2017) is ineffective in initiating evacuation, particularly when people are engaged in pre-evacuation activities, and it is not easy to conduct experiments for evaluating evacuation behavior due to ethical and cost issues. A virtual building emergency where alarms went off while participants were performing activities was created to study the effect of redundancy on evacuation effectiveness. Three alarms were studied: (i) a regular nonverbal ISO alarm, (ii) a speech-inserted ISO alarm, and (iii) a technology-based ISO alarm concept (sound, visual, and haptic information). Evacuation behavior, perceived urgency, and delay time were measured. Results confirmed the effect of redundancy on measurements, and participants complied better with the speech-inserted and technology-based alarms, but there were no differences in evacuation effectiveness between them. Participants perceived higher urgency from the technology-based solution, which can be more adaptive in complicated environments where background noise and language/education barriers are problems. Otherwise, the speech-inserted alarm is more cost-effective.     

虚拟现实中手重映射的偏移检测阈值研究

针对虚拟现实交互（virtual reality interaction,VRI）中环境限制导致使用手的操作效率较低的问题,提出了虚拟现实中手重映射的固定偏移检测阈值估计方法以提高使用手的操作效率,该方法从人的心理感知出发,引入心理测量函数计算出偏移检测阈值从而提升交互体验。首先,根据双选择强制选择（two alternative forced choice,2AFC）理论设计实验,记录被试者使用不同偏移的虚拟手完成目标抓取任务过程中的感觉差异作为评价标准,同时记录被试者完成任务的时间,根据心理测量函数（Quickpsy）对感觉差异进行计算,估计重映射交互的检测阈值;通过协方差确定虚拟手偏移量超过阈值后的方向、幅度和轴向及其相互作用是影响触碰任务性能的显著因素,若在阈值范围内,上述因素就不再影响任务性能;最后,以某VR（virtual reality,虚拟现实）医院物资智能配送系统为例验证所提方法的可行性。研究结果表明,适当的偏移缩短了用户完成触碰任务的时间,能够在提升交互效率的同时降低传统偏移量计算方法对VR的交互保真度的影响。     

Toc‐Tum mini‐games: An educational game accessible for deaf culture based on virtual reality

Human hearing is an important sense, which complements the other senses, and is essential for children to begin to acquire basic concepts of the world; however, in severe cases of disability, children become marginalized from these benefits. An example of this is with music, a deaf individual is to be able to perceive it. With this in mind, we developed a novel medical expert system based on virtual reality, called Toc‐Tum mini‐games, applying basic concepts of music in an accessible way to the deaf culture. The intelligent proposed system is validated in two different tests: (a) with the target audience to evaluate the interest in the game and (b) with professionals knowledgeable in the field of music or who have had contact with the deaf, evaluate the impact of the game teaching music to the deaf. The tests with the target audience showed that the methods of interaction allowed the children to understand most of the stages and that they were animated during the test days. Regarding the professionals, they were interested in the possibility of using the proposed system in question, even if some modifications in the design had to be made. The results showed that the Toc‐Tum mini‐games is an intelligent tool capable of introducing music in a playful and manageable way using a virtual environment.