as well as a visiting scholar at Syracuse University from 2019 to 2020. Her primary research interests include emerging technologies for education. She has published several research papers in national and international journals, as well as presenting at a range of conferences. Lei Wang is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation at Syracuse University. Her research interests include technology integration to facilitate learning and teaching practices, teacher preparation and selfregulation. Jing Lei is a professor in the Department of Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation at Syracuse University. Her research interests focus on technology integration into instruction, online teaching and learning and digital citizenship. Qiu Wang is an associate professor of quantitative research methodology at Syracuse University. His research interests include psychometrics and educational assessment, large-scale modeling and bigdata analyses, intervention effect estimation and propensity score matching in program evaluation. Youqun Ren is a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at East China Normal University. His research interest includes educational technology and learning science.
The use of new technology encouraged exploration of the effectiveness and difference of collaborative learning in blended learning environments. This study investigated the social interactive network of students, level of knowledge building and perception level on usefulness in online and mobile collaborative learning environments in higher education. WeChat, which is a mobile synchronous communication tool, and modular object-oriented dynamic learning environment (Moodle) were used as mobile and online collaborative learning settings. Seventy-eight college students majoring in information engineering participated in the experiment. The following findings were revealed by combining methods of social network analysis, content analysis and questionnaire survey: (1) the collaborative social networks generated in this study showed that students had tighter interaction relationships in Moodle than in WeChat; (2) deeper level of knowledge building in collaboration and interaction through Moodle than WeChat was observed; and (3) Moodle got higher perception level than WeChat because of its usefulness for collaboration.
Background
Immersive virtual reality (IVR) applications that support student learning have gained increasing interest. However, empirical studies exploring the educational potential of using IVR in primary school science classrooms are lacking.
Objectives
This study developed a series of IVR science lessons for primary school students and examined the effects of these lessons on learning outcomes.
Methods
Our mixed‐method approach employed pre‐ and post‐tests to measure academic achievement, questionnaires to measure motivation and cognitive load, and semi‐structured interviews to further explore students' feelings and attitudes about IVR science lessons. Participants included 362 Grade 4 students assigned to either the experimental (IVR‐based classroom) or control (traditional classroom) groups. The experimental group engaged in IVR science lessons using Head‐Mounted Displays; the control group learned the same material through traditional methods.
Results and conclusions
The results showed that the IVR‐based classroom significantly improved primary students' academic achievement and science motivation and decreased their cognitive load. Moreover, the experimental group reported positive experiences with the IVR science lessons.
Takeaways
These findings help unpack the relationships between IVR and academic achievement, science motivation, and cognitive load in primary school science lessons, thus providing insight on integrating IVR into existing classrooms.
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