Usability and Engagement Study for a Serious Virtual Reality Game of Lunar Exploration Missions

Cao, Lizhou; Peng, Chao; Hansberger, Jeffrey T.

doi:10.3390/informatics6040044

Cited by 13 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 27 publications

(34 reference statements)

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“…An important element connected to trainee engagement with the subject matter (specifically, emotional, thought awareness, and memory recall activities) was the affordance of privacy in a group setting provided by the VR headset. Existing research into the use of VR in education and training has shown the benefits of immersive VR over 2D screen delivery in areas of increased relaxation and arousal, motivation, engagement, and interest [34,[66][67][68]. Although future research is required to validate the outcomes for PE platform in direct comparison to a screen-delivered training tool, it seems unlikely that trainees would feel an equivalent sense of presence, privacy, and engagement in a room and training setting of 20 trainees.…”

Section: Engagement and User Acceptance Of A Novel Training Solutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of a Virtual Reality Platform to Train Stress Management Skills for a Defense Workforce: Multisite, Mixed Methods Feasibility Study

Kluge,

Maltby,

Kuhne

et al. 2023

J Med Internet Res

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Background Psychological stress-related injuries within first-responder organizations have created a need for the implementation of effective stress management training. Most stress management training solutions have limitations associated with scaled adoption within the workforce. For instance, those that are effective in civilian populations often do not align with the human performance culture embedded within first-responder organizations. Programs involving expert-led instructions that are high in quality are often expensive. Objective This study sought to evaluate a tailored stress management training platform within the existing training schedule of the Australian Defense Force (ADF). The platform, known as Performance Edge (PE), is a novel virtual reality (VR) and biofeedback-enabled stress management skills training platform. Focusing on practical training of well-established skills and strategies, the platform was designed to take advantage of VR technology to generate an immersive and private training environment. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of delivering the VR platform within the existing group-based training context and intended training population. In this setting, the study further aimed to collect data on critical predictors of user acceptance and technology adoption in education, including perceived usability, usefulness, and engagement, while also assessing training impacts. Methods This study used a mixed methods, multisite approach to collect observational, self-reported, and biometric data from both training staff and trainers within a real-world “on-base” training context in the ADF. Validated scales include the Presence Questionnaire and User Engagement Scale for perceived usefulness, usability, and engagement, as well as the State Mindfulness Scale and Relaxation Inventory, to gain insights into immediate training impacts for specific training modules. Additional surveys were specifically developed to assess implementation feedback, intention to use skills, and perceived training impact and value. Results PE training was delivered to 189 ADF trainees over 372 training sessions. The platform was easy to use at an individual level and was feasible to deliver in a classroom setting. Trainee feedback consistently showed high levels of engagement and a sense of presence with the training content and environment. PE is overall perceived as an effective and useful training tool. Self-report and objective indices confirmed knowledge improvement, increased skill confidence, and increased competency after training. Specific training elements resulted in increased state mindfulness, increased physical relaxation, and reduced breathing rate. The ability to practice cognitive strategies in a diverse, private, and immersive training environment while in a group setting was highlighted as particularly valuable. Conclusions This study found the VR-based platform (PE) to be a feasible stress management training solution for group-based training delivery in a defense population. Furthermore, the intended end users, both trainers and trainees, perceive the platform to be usable, useful, engaging, and effective for training, suggesting end-user acceptance and potential for technology adoption.

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Section: Engagement and User Acceptance Of A Novel Training Solutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of a Virtual Reality Platform to Train Stress Management Skills for a Defense Workforce: Multisite, Mixed Methods Feasibility Study

Kluge,

Maltby,

Kuhne

et al. 2023

J Med Internet Res

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show abstract

“…The use of virtual reality opens up very wide opportunities for education, thanks to interactivity, creativity and deep involvement, it can significantly motivate students to learn. Numerous studies have shown that the use of educational games based on virtual reality has a positive impact on the level of student involvement and the quality of their learning (Cao et al, 2019;Cheng et al, 2015;Lim et al, 2017). The degree of student involvement has a strong correlation with learning outcomes in a computer-based learning environment (Tempelaar et al, 2019).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Involvement In Virtual Reality Based Game Learning

Platov¹

2020

European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences

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“…Creating a serious game about a mission to the moon and evaluating the use of Virtual Reality (VR) with respect to usability and engagement are the focus of Lizhou Cao, Chao Peng, and Jeffrey T. Hansberger's contribution [3]. In this work, they design and implement a serious VR game that immerses players into activities of lunar exploration missions in a virtual environment.…”

Section: Games As Teaching Toolsmentioning

confidence: 99%