That is, the immersion principle in multimedia learning predicts that people learn better with immersive media (e.g., a 3D video experienced through a HMD) than with less immersive media (e.g., equivalent instructional video presented on a 2D screen Makransky, n.d. The immersion principle in multimedia learning describes how immersive virtual environments promote better learning when they incorporate multimedia design principles (Makransky, n.d. In the present study, we vary immersion by comparing learning with a 2D projection on a screen versus a 3D HMD system with a head mounted display, and we measure presence through a self-report survey. In particular, immersion is described as an objective measure of the extent to which a system presents a vivid virtual environment while shutting out physical reality (Cummings & Bailenson, 2016 Slater & Wilbur, 1997), whereas presence is the psychological sense of ‘being there’ in the environment depicted by the virtual simulation (Slater, 1999). It is useful to distinguish between immersion-which involves objective features of the instructional technology-and presence-which involves the learner's subjective experience.

Furthermore, it describes an experiment to test the immersion principle in the above mentioned IBSL intervention in a real middle school education context, with the purpose of uncovering evidence concerning the value of integrating immersive media into educational interventions. This article provides an overview of the immersion principle in multimedia learning that builds on existing evidence of the value of immersive learning experiences in education. Although there is abundant literature on 2D virtual field trips in education (e.g., Spicer & Stratford, 2001 Tuthill & Klemm, 2002), and studies that investigate the value of 3D HMD based virtual field trips (Markowitz et al., 2018 Petersen et al., 2020), fewer studies have systematically investigated the educational value of using a 3D HDM instead of a 2D video, for presenting a virtual field trip in a real educational setting. Ana’s school has recently purchased HMDs, but she is unsure of the potential added learning and motivational value of using them compared to the more conventional video solution.Īna’s dilemma is one that many educational stakeholders will be facing in the coming years. The intervention is available in two versions where students can either experience climate change in Greenland with a 3D video presented via a head mounted display (3D HMD i.e., a higher-immersion medium) or by watching the same content as a 2D video viewed on a projected screen (i.e., a lower-immersion medium). They are then required to develop a number of experiments, and then present their results to a hypothetical UN panel of experts. In this intervention, students are assigned to groups and play the role of a research team that has to virtually travel to Greenland to investigate the evidence and consequences of climate change. Ana, a middle school geography teacher is in the process of deciding on how she will teach her class about climate change, and is considering using a nationally available inquiry based science learning (IBSL) intervention that lasts six lessons.

Virtual field trips