Development of a Virtual Ecological Environment for Learning the Taipei Tree Frog

Abstract

The learning objectives of environmental education emphasize investigation in real life to enhance students’ skills and experiences in solving practical problems. This study used the virtual reality (VR) technology to develop a virtual ecological environment for learning about the Taipei tree frog, supported by situated learning and game-based learning design to enhance students’ learning interest and motivation. Users can wear the head-mounted display (HMD) to explore the virtual environment for learning the Taipei tree frog’s ecological behavior, such as foraging and mating as well as its habitats and predators. A teaching experiment was conducted to investigate students’ learning effectiveness and the senses of presence and anxiety after using the virtual ecological environment. The experimental group (wearing the HMD) contained 40 students, the control group (using the desktop VR) contained 40 students, and both groups were used as samples to learn about the Taipei tree frog. The results indicated that using HMD VR and desktop VR could both enhance learning achievements, but the learning effectiveness of the former was significantly higher than that of the latter. The levels of anxiety for both groups were about the same, but the level of presence for the experimental group was higher than that of the control group because the HMD VR provided a more immersive experience than the desktop VR. The virtual ecological environment can save the time and effort of travelling to the natural habitat for observing the Taipei tree frog, and the design of role-playing game (RPG) can enhance learners’ interest and motivation. Therefore, it is a useful tool for promoting environmental education.

Learning Outcomes in HMD-VR: a Literature Review

“…In summary, seven of the 31 studies comparing a VR group and another technology/method/control group included significant differences/changes that favoured the HMD-VR group (Agrawal et al, 2018;Freitas et al, 2020;Gutierrez et al, 2007;Liu et al, 2020;Lui et al, 2020;Ou et al, 2021;Parmar et al, 2016). In three studies, the technology/method/control group yielded better results than the HMD-VR group (Lai et al 2021;Makransky et al, 2019;Moreno & Mayer, 2004).…”

“…In total, 26 of the studies were published in journals, while the remaining 11 studies were published in conference proceedings. In addition, as the time scope of the studies was so wide, we could not tell whether the improved learning outcomes from VR use were caused by the superiority of VR or improvements in the VR technology over the years -most studies concluding that HMD-VR yields better outcomes than comparison groups are published in recent years (Agrawal et al, 2018;Freitas et al, 2020;Gutierrez et al, 2007;Liu et al, 2020;Lui et al, 2020;Ou et al, 2021;Parmar et al, 2016).…”

Meta-Analysis on Investigating and Comparing the Effects on Learning Achievement and Motivation for Gamification and Game-Based Learning

“…In the etymological aspect, the term "gamification" contains the Latin word "facere," suggesting the action of "making the game" [26]. Gamification aims to engage learners, enhance learning, and solve problems [4,23,[27][28][29][30][31][32][33]. Gamifying contexts does not necessarily require complete games [23,24], but it requires the immersive experiences created by the game elements [4].…”

“…Authors and publication years Game-related pedagogical models Game-related pedagogies Research domains [27] Leverage learning with gamification Gamification Learning achievement [48] Machine learning inspired approach Gamification Learning achievement [49] Integration of board games and augmented reality (AR) Gamification Intrinsic motivation Extrinsic motivation [13] Serious educational games (SEG) Gamification Learning achievement [30] Virtual reality (VR): a virtual ecological environment Game-based learning Learning achievement [32] Open and flexible blended learning environments Game-based learning Learning achievement [28] Multigenre digital game-based instruction (MGI) Game-based learning Learning achievement [29] Physical games stimulating acquisition Game-based learning Learning achievement [50] Multiteam After raising the research hypotheses, we searched the research materials compatible with the meta-analytic techniques.…”

Development of Virtual Reality Automotive Lab for Training in Engineering Students

“…Optical devices such as deep vision cameras (Leap Motion Controller™, Leap Motion Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA, Kinect™, Microsoft, WA, USA, Oculus Rift™, Oculus VR LLC, San Francisco, CA, USA), infrared cameras, pressure sensors, motion sensors, joysticks, and accelerometers, among others, complement the perception of the simulated environment. Because of this, Virtual Reality 2 of 17 application has grown, making this technology a useful tool to satisfy current needs in several areas of knowledge such as education [4][5][6][7], industry [2,8], music [9], medicine [10,11], architecture [12], and Virtual Laboratories [13,14], where it is possible to reproduce the conditions of a real environment with visual, tactile, and auditive stimulus [15,16].…”