Virtual Reality for Learning: Assessment of Awareness and Preference in Emerging Regions

Abstract

In this research, the awareness and the preference of using Virtual Reality (VR) as a medium of Learning in the Emerging Regions in South Asia such as Sri Lanka, was assessed with a randomly selected audience of 250. Currently VR is one of the fastest growing industries globally and application of Virtual Reality in Education and Learning plays a significant role in its growth. Yet in emerging regions such as Sri Lanka, the uses of such technologies are relatively less. The experiment was conducted with 250 volunteers provided with a questionnaire before and after experiencing the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Historic scenery of Chola Dynasty was created with a Virtual tutor where the user was given the complete freedom to navigate in the historic scenery and learn from the virtual tutor. The scenery was designed and developed by considering Human Computer Interaction (HCI) heuristics, Hand-Gestures and realistic audio material in order to provide the learner a realistic and an immersive experience. The results showed that the majority of the school students show a major interest in using VR as a medium of learning and the second highest to show such an interest within the sample were the undergraduates. Even though the majority of the student and undergraduate community have not experienced VR before, this being their first encounter with a VR based application showed positive results. Also having various handgestures for the virtual characters used for tutoring showed to be very much effective as demonstrated by the results of the experiment.