Equitable opportunities for virtual reality access: An evaluation of cardboard headsets and the blended learning model
Abstract: The call for increased accessibility to virtual reality (VR) learning experiences in the modern classroom has contributed various affordable and equitable options to the field. The implementation of cardboard VR headsets (e.g., Google Cardboard) is a low-cost way for instructors to integrate VR learning into their classrooms. This research aims to explore if there are compounding benefits from the equitable factors of cardboard VR headsets and blended learning on students’ achievement, motivation, interest, and engagement. A multiple-choice objective pretest/posttest evaluated the effect of VR on students’ science achievement in blended learning activities. Further, motivation, interest, and engagement are highly sought-after in the classroom, so this study evaluated them in the blended learning model through survey instruments. In this experiment, 59 preservice teachers were separated into one control and two experimental groups. The control group learned a science lesson through the delivery of a whole group lecture and VR. One experimental group learned through the blended learning’s Three Centers rotational model, where preservice teachers rotated between a teacher-led small group, a collaborative group, and an independent VR cardboard headset activity. The second experimental group learned through blended learning and a video instead of VR to contrast and evaluate the effect of the VR variable.
Presider: Salma Ali, Texas A&M University