Presentation
Examining User Interactions with Signaling Elements in Virtual Reality
DescriptionThis study examined how learners leveraged three different types of signaling elements in Scale Worlds, an immersive virtual reality (IVR) application designed to improve size and scale cognition. Signaling elements, which are instructional cues in the form of graphics, colors, sounds, or text in IVR, may improve learning outcomes by enhancing related cognitive processes. However, it is unclear the extent to which learners utilize these signaling elements in practice. A think-aloud protocol was used to understand how participants engaged with signaling elements while answering questions related to corresponding cognitive processes. Thematic analysis of the think-aloud data suggests that numerical measures are an especially salient signaling element that learners relied on when conceptualizing the size and scale of entities in IVR. These findings can guide design decisions for future work on educational IVR in the context of size and scale cognition or STEM education, as implementing numerical measures to facilitate mathematical reasoning in IVR environments may bolster learning outcomes related to numeracy and conceptual understanding.
Event Type
Lecture
TimeWednesday, October 15th3:20pm - 3:40pm CDT
LocationGrand Hall K
Extended Reality