=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-3099/paper18
|storemode=property
|title=Immersive Experience Through Virtual Reality App to Generate Spaces for Synchronous Interaction
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3099/paper18.pdf
|volume=Vol-3099
|authors=Miguel Ángel Córdova Solís
}}
==Immersive Experience Through Virtual Reality App to Generate Spaces for Synchronous Interaction==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3099/paper18.pdf
Immersive Experience Through Virtual Reality App to
Generate Spaces for Synchronous Interaction
Miguel Angel Córdova-Solís 1[0000-0003-0810-1618]
1 Continental University, Huancayo JU 12002, PERU
mcordova@continental.edu.pe
Abstract. This research analyses the potential of the use of a virtual reality app
developed by the same university in the context of providing an immersive
student-teacher and student-student interaction space that replicates the
Huancayo campus and the university's classrooms that allows to overcome the
nostalgia of not "attending" the university campus and having a digital means of
interaction. For the evaluation of the same, an adapted questionnaire was
administered to the students from the subject who attended regularly and to the
teacher an interview about the benefits and difficulties arising from the use of
the app. The results reveal a high degree of student satisfaction on the scales
consulted: dynamization of the teaching-learning process, personal
relationships, motivation and content acquisition; the biggest drawback
manifested stems from the student's connectivity and data plan for greater
dedication and usage.
Keywords: Mobile App, Virtual Reality, Inmersive, Experience
1 Introduction
In 2016, only 2% of U.S. teachers had used VR in their classes, up from 60% who
intended to incorporate it as part of the educational process [1]. This data shows that
Virtual Reality is a fledgling technology but with a high recognition of its potential on
the part of the teaching community. In the same survey, 83% of teachers are
convinced that Virtual Reality will help improve academic outcomes, with a better
understanding of the concepts taught (77%), an improvement in collaborative
processes (71%) and an increase in student motivation (84%) [1].
1.1 Virtual reality
Virtual reality doesn't have a single concept; for example, we can cite three interesting
conceptualizations; [2] It defines it as "the complete immersion of human sensomotor
channels in a vital computer-generated experience", for [3] "virtual reality, is a new
way to explore reality. An extension of the senses by which we can learn or do
something with reality that we could not do before", finally for [4] "Virtual Reality is
a simulation of a three-dimensional environment generated by computers, in which
Copyright © 2020 for this paper by its authors. Use permitted under Creative Commons
License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
1
the user is able both to see and manipulate the contents of that environment". These
concepts present some elements in common: a) is a computer-generated simulation, b)
is three-dimensional and c) is interactive. According to [5], a virtual reality system
has three phases: passive (cannot be controlled), exploratory (allows a user journey)
and interactive (allows you to experiment and explore the environment in addition to
modifying). There is a number of researches that recognize the contribution of virtual
reality in education; [6] For example, they highlight the implication of virtual reality
in the added motivation for the student, as they will encourage them to learn and
continue exploring the virtual world, while watching and listening at the same time.
They cite researchings [7], [8] and [9] that have shown that the learning curve with
virtual aids is faster and achieves greater and better assimilation of content than
traditional teaching tools, mainly because students use almost all their senses in the
process of learning a subject.
For [5], a virtual reality system is immersive when it gets "the user to feel like they
are within the environment generated by the computer. For this the equipment used
must be equipped with devices capable of deceiving (or stimulating) as many senses
as possible", although the developed system allows access from oculus glasses, the
social distancing originated as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic has motivated the
development of the app version to be accessed by low-cost glasses.
1.2 Contextualization and description of the experience
This work is primarily aimed at highlighting the potential of using a virtual reality app
in higher education. To do this, an experience has been designed consisting of
student-teacher and student-student interaction in a classroom on the Huancayo
campus replicated in 3D through virtual reality. In total, four learning sessions were
held in this virtual space for student-teacher interaction and the space was open
throughout the academic period to facilitate student-student interaction; participants
were the students and the teacher of the Business Solutions Development subject of
the Professional Career in Business Engineering. In the first class through this app,
five questions were asked to students in order to know the resources and previous
knowledge. 80% of students had a computer, 90% had a smartphone and 93.5% had
an Internet connection, 10% who did not have a smartphone used the Nox emulator
(see Fig. 1). As far as virtual reality is concerned, only 15% knew or had notions of
what virtual reality is, only 3 out of the 32 students had participated before in some
virtual reality experience, in both cases through video games. Based on these results,
it can be said that students are especially receptive to the use of new technologies, but
this does not mean that everyone is digitally trained for the use and exploitation of all
tools. Therefore, the first class had to be dedicated to explain the various access
methods (smartphone and Nox emulator). In the last session, a survey was applied to
know the perception of student satisfaction in five topics (student participation,
dynamization of the teaching-learning process, social relations, motivation and
content acquisition).
2
Fig. 1. Screenshot of the Nox emulator and the installation of the UC VR app
The simulated experience is to generate a virtual space that facilitates interaction in
learning and is a major part of the teaching-learning process. Actually, as noted by
[10], it is the interaction that exists in an educational experience that defines how the
student learns about the content, his peers and the teacher; that is, the interaction can
be student-content, student-student and teacher-student.
As for student-teacher interaction, the essential part that is always motivating for a
culture where the teacher's figure and intellectual opinion is appreciated is reflected in
the facilitator's interaction with his students [10]. The most relevant moments are
when instructions are given, the learning process is guided, a specific topic is
presented, it is explained or exemplified, links are created, reflection questions are
asked, schemes are proposed, activities are organized or participations, tasks or jobs
[10] are given feedback. The following table 1 details the simulated student-teacher
interaction experiences.
Table1. Details of the immersive experience to generate student-teacher interaction.
Type of interaction Description Participating
students
Student – teacher Week 4 - Extended Reality 30 students
(Class 1)
Student – teacher Week 7 - Review of various topics 29 students
(Class 2) prior to partial evaluation
Student – teacher Week 11 - Emerging Technologies 31 students
(Class 3)
Student – teacher Week 15 - Review of various 27 students
(Class 4) topics prior to the final evaluation
As for student-student interaction, the “best means of promoting learning is the
interaction that occurs between several apprentices” [10]. “The primary part of the
constructivist approach that promotes knowledge building arises at a time when
students interact with each other to reach conclusions, create, evaluate, form
judgments, research, solve problems and carry out other cooperative learning means.
That's where the teacher's intervention focuses on guiding this process of negotiation
and knowledge management” [10]. Team, couple or full-class cooperation creates a
socio-effective and intellectual environment that promotes openness, tolerance to
diversity and teamwork for intellectual development. “The active part of the student
3
and the teacher's guidance and framing create a very productive intellectual and
affective practice” [10].
As Moreno points out [11], "intersubjective access in interpersonal relationships
generates a dynamic of demands and expectations that influences the ways of acting
and thinking of the people involved in the process". Table 2 shows the details of the
experience of using the application to generate student-student interaction, some data
is shown such as number of accesses and number of students synchronously
connected to the app per week during the academic period.
Table 2. Details of the immersive experience to generate student-student interaction.
Week Access Numbers Number of synchronously connected
students
Week 4 24 students 18 students
Week 5 20 students 08 students
Week 6 28 students 12 students
Week 7 29 students 19 students
Week 8 15 students 11 students
Week 9 28 students 12 students
Week 10 25 students 19 students
Week 11 31 students 21 students
Week 12 24 students 16 students
Week 13 26 students 15 students
Week 14 22 students 18 students
Week 15 27 students 19 students
Week 16 07 students 5 students
2 Developed app
To understand the development of the app, it’s necessary to present the architecture of
the solution for the virtual reality platform [12], Oculus Rift, which uses the helmet
(HDM) for video output and the Oculus Touch controls (Fig. 2), as an input device,
this was the architecture of the virtual reality experience solution and initially
conceived. However, due to social distancing and the impossibility of using Oculus
equipment, a systems component was implemented for the mobile app, which would
allow access and experience from a mobile app. Below will be presented a series of
screenshots, to know the main images of the immersive experience.
4
Fig. 2. Project solution architecture (Virtual reality)
The application makes use of a local database serialized in binary format,
consisting of several files stored within the persistent folder on the device where the
application is running. Each new scene will have its own data file, there will also be a
local file to store the data requested from the remote Playfab server, which is a BAAS
(back-end as a service). Finally, some application metric data is sent to Unity
Analytics, a business intelligence service. The application requires Internet access to
communicate with the Playfab and Unity Analytics servers. At the design level, it
should be noted that it was designed in 3D from the plan of the physical campus of
the university and the one-person tables and chairs, doors, curtains, among other
elements are similar to the shapes, colors and textures of these elements of the campus
in Huancayo.
Fig. 3 shows the Continental University campus, in the city of Huancayo; which is
a replica of the real campus that exists in this city; with regards to pavilions, the
pavilions B and C have been simulated.
Fig. 3. Campus tour in virtual reality
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In Fig. 4, an interface for the logging and registration of new users is shown.
Fig. 4. Screen for user logging and registration
Finally, Fig. 5 shows a simulated class in the app within a classroom that is also a
replica of a physical classroom, in which the user interface is observed and options for
managing the quality of the resolution of the the 3D components, scrolling controls,
microphone, and viewfinder mode in any glasses that support the placement of the
smartphone within these glasses.
Fig. 5. Screen showing the simulation of a class
6
3 Methodology
This research was aimed at knowing the assessment that students and teachers make
of the app in a subject, in relation to the promotion of participation, the dynamization
of the teaching-learning process, social relations, motivation and the acquisition of
content in their training as future teachers. For the evaluation of learning experiences,
a questionnaire was administered to the students of the subject, adapted from Durán
[13]. The questionnaire consisted of 46 Likert items grouped into five scales:
participation, dynamization of the teaching-learning process, personal relationships,
motivation and content acquisition.
These items offer 4 response options, with the intention of forcing the student to
lean in one direction their rating. The four possible alternatives are: totally agree,
moderately agreed, moderately disagreed and totally disagreed. The questionnaire is
completed with 4 overall rating questions of the app, which students had to answer by
completing a score scale between 0 (minimum negative value) and 10 (maximum
positive rating). The questionnaires were answered voluntarily and anonymously by
the students. In total, the students who participated and collaborated in the research
were 28. The data analysis mainly used univariate descriptive statistics techniques,
mainly percentages and central trend (average) statistics using the SPSS statistical
program for Windows. The teacher's assessment was based on an open interview with
two issues related to the benefits and difficulties identified in the use of the app,
taking particular attention to the five topics that constituted the scales of the student
questionnaire.
4 Results: Learning Experience Assessment
The information obtained in the student survey refer to very favorable results and a
high degree of satisfaction in the five topics (scales) consulted.
• On scale 1 (student participation) student participation was valued considering
visits and entries in the virtual reality app. An acceptable number of the app’s visits
to interact with your peers is reflected. 90% of respondents entered the app for
student-student interaction; and 100% of them entered the app for student-teacher
interaction classes.
• In the analysis of scale 2 (dynamization of the process teaching - learning) we can
highlight the excellent assessment that students make of the app as an dynamizing
tool of the teaching-learning process; thus, it exceeds 90% those that indicate that it
stimulates the follow-up of the subject, stimulates the search for new information
on the subject, facilitates the expression of ideas and opinions on current topics
related to the subject, encourages the participation of students in the subject,
promotes critical thinking and promotes creative thinking. The item "the app favors
the resolution of doubts regarding the subject" receives a less high rating, although
with a positive trend; 30.4% express moderately disagree with such a proposition.
• The current education system generated by the pandemic has limited the
development of social competences. The analysis of scale 3 on social relationships
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sets an opposite trend, clearly indicating that students perceive that the app
promotes personal relationships, establishing new modalities of teaching-student
relationship, as well as increasing the possibilities of contact between the group of
students. Thus, over 80% students who appear to be totally or moderately in
agreement on proposals such as: facilitates contact with the teacher; enhances
collaboration with the teacher; facilitates communication between students;
encourages personal relationships with peers; encourages the student to feel part of
the group; stimulates new forms of relationship. It stands out that 93.5% perceive
that the app favors the interaction and collaborative work of the students.
• Scale 4 (motivation) represents the results of students in the face of the app usage
as a tool that favors motivation. None of the included propositions gets negative
assessment, presenting, on the contrary, a clearly positive trend in relation to
fostering interest in healthy habits, deepening the subject, performing activities of
the subject, using new technologies.
• With the last scale, it is intended to know the suitability of the app in the
acquisition of content. One of the most positive aspects of the use of this resource
in teaching is that it facilitates the acquisition of specific content of the subject,
both theoretical and practical; positive attitudes to educational innovations and
practice as future teachers; the development of less specific knowledge (relating to
New Technologies), and, fundamentally, in this information society, is that to the
88.8% it favors the construction of new knowledge, new thoughts.
• Finally, with regards to the global issues about the app and its usage (on a scale of
0 to 10) students make a remarkable assessment of the app as a tool (X̄ = 7.1); they
significantly rate (X̄ = 8.2) the teacher's use and value their participation by 7.5.
Finally, we find that they consider positive (X̄ = 7.8) the interest that, to them, have
the virtual reality app in teaching practice.
• The teacher welcomes positively the experience, he believes that students have
improved competencies such as: increased interest in health education, better self-
learning capacity and greater responsibility. She recognizes the existence of
meaningful learning and states that she improved the abilities not only of the
students but also of herself.
• Regarding the difficulties, the teacher identified that not all students have a
smartphone and that most of them have recurring frequencies of slow internet
during the day or with limited megabytes, which restricts or limits the usability of
the app. only 20% of students have a virtual reality goggle that gives them an even
more immersive experience.
5 Conclusions
• First, the use of the virtual reality application contributed to generating
participation processes, assuming high rates of student participation; The use of the
application as an educational resource has impacted, opens up and brings them
8
closer to participation channels and offers them new perspectives inside and
outside the classroom, coinciding with similar research results [14, 15, 16, 17].
• Secondly, it can be considered an adequate practice to maintain an active role of
the student, allowing reflection and contrast of their own and other people's ideas
and facilitating the student to be more autonomous as indicated [18, 19].
• Third, the experience was also favorable for the development of social skills in the
collaborative construction of knowledge. Virtual reality can become a tool for
collaboration and communication, as suggested by research [20, 21, 22, 23].
• Fourth, the application has become an easy-to-use tool that increases motivation.
Students obtain benefits when using the 3D application, since their interests and
motivation increase due to the interaction and feedback with their classmates and
teachers, this conclusion is reinforced with similar results and research conclusions
[24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30]
• Fifth, the cognitive benefits cannot be overlooked either; The application
facilitated the acquisition of content, helping to improve understanding and
dictation of the subject, serving as a support for teaching. However, there is a great
opportunity to continue improving the application so that it is not only limited to
the transmission of content but also in the acquisition of abilities or skills, as
shown by the following investigations [31, 32, 33, 34].
6 Future work
• We are aware of the limitations of this research: limited number of subjects, a
single teacher, exclusively students from a career where these emerging technology
topics are addressed so it is necessary to expand the research in this line, which
considers aspects such as the teaching style, use of the app in the pedagogical
model, characteristics of the students, educational level, history of use.
• It also seems necessary to delve into some of the drawbacks of using the app that
may arise from this study: the "investment" of work and time that the teacher
spends in designing a learning session with the app; the use of technology as a tool
and not as a goal in itself in teaching-learning processes; changes in educational
practices with the use of the app; potentialities versus app usages.
• At the technological level, the app has great opportunities to improve, such as the
possibility for each user to select or customize their avatar, the possibility to
generate actions such as walking, flying, sitting, raising their hand, among other
actions to fine-tune and improve the user experience.
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