Video game experience, gender may improve VR learning

Students who used immersive virtual reality (VR) did not learn significantly better than those who used two more traditional forms of learning, but they vastly preferred the VR to computer-simulated and hands-on methods, a new Cornell study has found. Though the virtual reality experiment didn't change learning outcomes overall, the researchers found that students with more video game experience learned better using VR than those with little video game experience - a finding that correlated closely with gender.

The study - which has new implications as learning around the world shifts online to combat the spread of coronavirus - aimed to take a step toward determining whether new educational technology tactics, while popular, are actually effective.

Males were far more likely to have video game experience, the survey found, and also learned more in the VR simulation, suggesting that either gender or prior video game experience could impact the success of VR-based learning. Reviewing prior work, the researchers found that video games requiring players to navigate 3D spaces are more popular among males than females.

(Content Courtesy: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-03/cu-vge032520.php)