Research

Introduction

The article “Leveling up: Are non-gamers and women disadvantaged in a virtual world classroom?” examines if a student’s gaming experience and gender can put them at a disadvantage when using virtual/augmented reality in the classroom.  The study was developed because virtual and augmented reality are being used more and more as educational tools. The article examines the results of a Taiwanese study, that involved 348 undergraduates took part in an exercise inside a business negotiation skills virtual world classroom.

Statement of the Problem

More and more colleges and universities are using virtual/augmented reality as part of the their online and traditional classrooms. According to the article, “Assuming college students are comfortable and experienced with virtual worlds may be dangerous. Less than half of Americans report three or more hours of computer game play a week. This means there is clearly a population of young people engaging in hobbies other than computer gaming with little to no opportunity for, or interest in, PC gaming or console use.”

Significance of the Problem

According to Allen and Seaman, surveys taken in 2010 and 2011 show an increase from 30% to 31% of college students who participated in at least one online course.  A major part of virtual reality is the user’s ability to feel a presence within the virtual world.  Meaning, they don’t just feel like they are playing a game, but in fact they feel like they are immersed in the virtual world.  This information could imply a student’s lack gaming skills or gender could plays a negative role in the experience and prohibit them from becoming fully immersed in the virtual world.

Conceptual Framework

 The framework of this study was based on the following three hypotheses:

H1 – “In a virtual-world classroom setting, male students will experience higher levels of presence than female students.”

H2 – “In a virtual-world classroom setting, students who have purchased more software experience higher levels of presence than students who have purchased less software.”

H3 – “Students with lower experience levels of computer gaming exhibit lower levels of presence in a virtual world classroom setting.”

Research questions

The study hoped to answer the following questions:

1.     Can a student’s gender negatively impact their feelings of presence when immersed in a virtual reality environment?

2.     Does owning more gaming equipment and games positively impact a student’s experience in a virtual reality environment?

3.     Does a student’s computer gaming experience impact their experience in a virtual reality environment?

Methodological approach

An initial survey conducted before the online classes began collected “data concerning gender, gaming experience, gamer and software ownership.

The 348 students who responded to the study were “introduced to the virtual component of the class during the first class meeting, with physical classroom-based lectures following, including instructions/examples of software use, headset/microphone setup, and troubleshooting.”

During the 18-week course, the students spent approximate 1/3 of the class in the virtual world setting, another 1/3 of the class was delivered by online video lectures and online assignments, and the final 1/3 of the class was in the traditional classroom setting with demonstrations of the technology. At the end of the class, the students had to pass a test that demonstrated their ability to use the virtual world.

After the 5^th virtual world class sessions, students were given a presence survey.  The survey measured the student’s “feelings of presence” and used a “7-item telepresence scale from Klein (2003), often used to measure feelings of presence in virtual settings (Kim & Biocca, 1997; Nelson, Yaros, & Keum, 2006; Persky et al., 2009).”

Findings

Despite male participants having more gaming experience than females, the results of the survey did not show a significant difference in feelings of presence between the genders.

The study also showed that students who owned more gaming software did not give them an advantage for feelings of presence. Finally, actual gaming experience did show some impact on feelings of presence, which does partially support the hypothesis.  

Conclusions and Implications

The researchers conclude that the results of their study help alleviate educators concerns that there is a risk of putting some students at a disadvantage when adopting teaching methods like virtual and augmented reality. They go on to say that any potential disadvantages can be overcome with a “specific training time or short exercise to help such students learn the common interface conventions.”  They also state that as innovations in virtual and augmented reality continue to become mainstream trends, students will begin to question university distance learning programs if they are not using the technology.  

Warden, C., Stanworth, J., & Chang, C. (2016). Leveling up: Are non-gamers and women disadvantaged in a virtual world classroom?. Computers In Human Behavior, 65, 210-219.