Virtual environment has the potential to be used as a medium to facilitate cultural learning. However, this requires guidelines on how to design the environment. This article provides a conceptual framework that guides the design of a virtual environment that facilitates cultural learning for casual users. The exploratory sequential mixed-method design approach was used as the basis for the overall research design. Five studies involving experts and end users were performed to identify and evaluate the framework components. The framework consists of four important components: (i) Information Design, (ii) Information Presentation, (iii) Navigation Mechanism, and (iv) Environment Setting, and outlines two types of design elements: basic elements, which are essential for cultural learning to take place, and extended elements, which provide options for enhanced user experience. Results from the framework evaluation suggest that the proposed design elements are useful in facilitating learning and that the experience of using the virtual environment affected the end users’ sense of awareness and appreciation toward heritage value and preservation.
The education industry have evolved to meet the expectations of current technological trend. The field of mechanical engineering involves the study, design, development, construction, and testing of tools, engines, and machines. One of the critical equipment in the area of power plant engineering is the turbine, which are used to generate power. Students are taught to understand the drawings of these turbines through books or videos and occasionally visit the power plant site. This approach may not be appealing to the digital natives as they prefer to use technology to touch, feel and see the aspects of the turbine at any given time. The lack of engagement, shrinking attention span and obsession with digital devices amongst the younger generation have caused educators to experiment with various means of teaching techniques in ensuring that knowledge is successfully imparted. Hence, this paper provide results of a pilot study on a usability evaluation conducted on a group of undergraduate students to analyze the usability of a virtual reality (VR) application using the System Usability Scale (SUS) instrument. The study also aims to find out if there are any significant differences among gender and computer gamers in using the VR tool. Results indicate that the VR application requires further enhancement in terms of self-learning and interaction familiarity.
Besides being a medium for exhibiting three-dimensional heritage objects, the design and development of virtual heritage environments could also facilitate cultural learning. The aim of this article is to present some consideration on factors that could facilitate cultural learning in virtual heritage environment. Cultural learning in the context of this study refers to the acquisition of knowledge that encourages cultural awareness and appreciation. In this study, we explore virtual heritage environment design features, and cultural information characteristics and presentation formats that are important to facilitate cultural learning, from the casual user's perspective. We conducted experiments that required users to explore virtual heritage environments (focusing on architectural heritage) from selected heritage-related websites, followed by interview sessions. Four contributing factors were identified: information design, information presentation, navigation mechanism, and environment setting. The results suggest the need to reduce users' cognitive load when exploring virtual heritage environments while simultaneously presenting information that adds value to their understanding. The results also suggest that the inclusion of cultural information in virtual heritage environments is essential for cultural learning to take place.
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