scholarly journals Development of a Virtual Wetland Ecological System Using VR 360° Panoramic Technology for Environmental Education

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 829
Author(s):  
Kuo-Liang Ou ◽  
Shun-Ting Chu ◽  
Wernhuar Tarng

In this study, the VR 360° panoramic technology is used to develop a virtual wetland ecological system for applications in environmental education. The system provides a virtual wetland environment for autonomous exploration, where the user can conduct inquiry-based learning by cardboard VR to obtain essential information and concepts in ecological protection. It contains the learning contents of wetland ecology and creatures in Hsinchu coastal areas, northern Taiwan. To investigate the learning effectiveness of the VR system, we recruited 42 seventh graders as participants and divided them evenly into two groups. The experimental group used the virtual wetland ecological system for learning and the control group learned with conventional teaching materials. The differences of the experimental results indicated: (1) the experimental group showed a high degree of satisfaction after using the virtual wetland ecological system; (2) the learning achievement of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group; (3) the learning motivation of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group. The virtual wetland ecological system can enhance the learning effectiveness and learning motivation using low-cost cardboard glasses, so it is a suitable tool for promoting environmental education in remote areas.

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lai-Chung Lee ◽  
Kuang-Chung Hao

Multimedia teaching applications have been widely utilized in various subjects. The presentation of teaching materials with animations and games helps to stimulate the visual sense and enhance the learning motivation of learners. Successful learning, however, requires the stimulation of learning motivation that can inspire learners to achieve the desired learning objectives. This study combines the ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction) motivation model, and humor to design a set of multimedia applications that include teaching animations and games for sixth graders' natural science and technology course, called the Cat's Cradle Multimedia Learning System (CCMLS). The scenario stories of anthropomorphic characters introduce four units of natural science: levers, axles, pulleys and gears. Additionally, games are designed to impress learners even more. After the applications were prepared, tests for learning effectiveness, learning motivation and perceived fun associated with teaching materials were conducted with 106 students at the Qishan Elementary School in Kaohsiung. The experimental group used CCMLS, while the control group used videos of the textbook as the applications. A pre-test and post-test, ARCS Learning Motivation Questionnaire, Smileyometer and interviews were conducted with both groups. According to the statistical analysis, significance was detected in regard to learning effectiveness between the experimental group and the control group. Significance was also found in ARCS learning motivation and perceived fun of teaching materials. Moreover, there is a significant positive correlation between the perceived fun related to the teaching materials and learning motivation. The contribution of this study lies in the proposal of the digital game-based learning (DGBL) from the design perspective: to enhance students' learning motivation and use willingness regarding the teaching materials of the drama and the cartoon characters in humorous dialogues. The proper sound and light effects and examples that are close to daily life will also be taken into consideration in the design of the multimedia applications.


Author(s):  
Morris Siu-yung Jong

Mobile learning (M-learning) has been in high regard for motivating today’s children to learn in schools. The present initiative, which harnesses M-learning in environmental education, aims to promote elementary pupils’ learning motivation through engaging them in conducting mobile inquiry-oriented ambience-aware fieldwork (MIAF) in outdoor landscapes. Besides presenting the rationale and pedagogic design of the initiative, this paper reports and discusses the findings of a quasi-experiment which examined the motivational effectiveness of MIAF in comparison with the conventional inquiry-oriented fieldtrip-based learning approach’s. The experiment was grounded upon the instructional motivation theory of ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction), involving a total of 145 elementary pupils. Results showed that, compared to the conventional approach, MIAF had significantly positive effects on the experimental group (versus the control group) upon the constructs of “A”, “C”, and “S”, but not “R”. This study offers researchers and practitioners in the domains of environmental education and M-learning new insights into adopting mobile devices in outdoor contexts, in particular, shedding light on designing and implementing inquiry-oriented fieldtrip-based learning in the natural environment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 5911
Author(s):  
Kuo-Liang Ou ◽  
Yao-Hui Liu ◽  
Wernhuar Tarng

The learning objectives of environmental education emphasize investigation in real life to enhance students’ skills and experiences in solving practical problems. This study used the virtual reality (VR) technology to develop a virtual ecological environment for learning about the Taipei tree frog, supported by situated learning and game-based learning design to enhance students’ learning interest and motivation. Users can wear the head-mounted display (HMD) to explore the virtual environment for learning the Taipei tree frog’s ecological behavior, such as foraging and mating as well as its habitats and predators. A teaching experiment was conducted to investigate students’ learning effectiveness and the senses of presence and anxiety after using the virtual ecological environment. The experimental group (wearing the HMD) contained 40 students, the control group (using the desktop VR) contained 40 students, and both groups were used as samples to learn about the Taipei tree frog. The results indicated that using HMD VR and desktop VR could both enhance learning achievements, but the learning effectiveness of the former was significantly higher than that of the latter. The levels of anxiety for both groups were about the same, but the level of presence for the experimental group was higher than that of the control group because the HMD VR provided a more immersive experience than the desktop VR. The virtual ecological environment can save the time and effort of travelling to the natural habitat for observing the Taipei tree frog, and the design of role-playing game (RPG) can enhance learners’ interest and motivation. Therefore, it is a useful tool for promoting environmental education.


2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 224-235
Author(s):  
Jia-Rong Wen ◽  
Ming Kuang Chuang ◽  
Sheng-Huang Kuo

Developments in technological tools happen every day. Developments in the publication of e-Books and production of e-readers also are happening daily. Currently, young people who live in highly technological areas are exposed to books not only through an adult's reading, but also by independently accessing e-Books which are available on the internet or on CD-ROMs. These multimedia tools usually provide assistance in oral reading, written text, oral discourse, music, sound effects, and animations 1 . The main purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of integrating e-Books into elementary school science and technology classes on students' learning effectiveness. This study employed nonequivalent group pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental design which consisted of conducting learning activities for 20 minutes a period, three periods a week, for a total of six weeks. In this study, there were 60 elementary sixth-grade students who were equally divided into an experimental group and a control group. The experiment design applied an e-Book Learning method for the experimental group and a Paper-Based Learning method for the control group, respectively. The instruments of this study consisted of three scales: (1) learning motivation scale, (2) learning attitude scale, and (3) learning effectiveness scale. After the experimental instruction, the data were analysed using seven different statistical methods: a Pearson correlation analysis, canonical correlation analysis, one-way MANCOVA, one-way MANOVA, one-way ANCOVA, path analysis, t-test, and paired t-test. These statistical methods enabled us to reach four conclusions: (1) There was no significant difference in learning effectiveness of e-Books integrated instruction between students of different sexes; (2) There was significant correlation between learning motivation and learning effectiveness of science and technology domain for the experimental group students; (3) There was significant correlation between learning attitudes and learning effectiveness in the science and technology domain for the experimental group students; (4) The experimental group students had a positive attitude toward e-Books integrated instruction. They thought the use of e-Books could enhance learning effectiveness and improve learning motivation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2888
Author(s):  
Li Zhao ◽  
Xiaohong Liu ◽  
Yu-Sheng Su

To analyze how variability changes over time can enhance the understanding of how learners’ self-efficacy, motivation, and satisfaction is controlled and why differences might exist among groups of individuals. Therefore, this study compared the effect of variability on pre-service teacher students in the flipped classroom approach with a course named modern educational technology (MET). In total, 77 students in two groups participated in this study. Learners in the experimental group received the flipped classroom treatment. Learners in the control group received the traditional lecture-centered instructional approach. The learning outcomes were evaluated by practice assignment, transfer assignment, and student perception survey. The survey includes the evaluation of learning satisfaction, self-efficacy, and learning motivation. Pre-test and post-test were conducted by the two groups. The data analysis results applied analysis of variance (ANOVA) or analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and revealed that the experimental group displayed a better learning achievement than the control group. The experimental group participants’ perception also showed variability (i.e., learning satisfaction, self-efficacy, and learning motivation) was better than the control group. Considering the overall study results, the flipped classroom model can be applied in the pre-service teacher students’ modern educational technology course.


2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 414-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Sugahara ◽  
Hisayo Sugao ◽  
Steven Dellaportas ◽  
Takahiro Masaoka

Purpose This research applies a quasi-experimental research method to investigate the impact of an innovative resource titled “Accounting Exercise” (teaching intervention using physical movement and lyrics) on learning motivation and performance on a group of students enrolled in a first-year undergraduate accounting course in Japan. Design/methodology/approach Five classes were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (two classes) or a control group (three classes). In the experimental group, 90 students participated in a 15-min “Accounting Exercise” at the commencement of lectures over three consecutive weeks. The remaining 133 students assigned to the control group did not participate in the Accounting Exercise. Findings The findings indicate that the Accounting Exercise provided stimuli in maintaining students’ learning motivation. This finding is important for entry-level students where learning motivation has the potential to influence students’ future decisions on major areas of study and career choices. Originality/value This finding is important for entry-level students where future career options are decided. This effect is also believed to contribute to reducing the declining numbers of students in accounting majors.


Gamification ◽  
2015 ◽  
pp. 472-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui-Chun Chu ◽  
Chun-Ming Hung

In this study, the game-based development approach is proposed for improving the learning motivation, problem solving skills, and learning achievement of students. An experiment was conducted on a learning activity of an elementary school science course to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach. A total of 59 sixth graders from two classes of the elementary school participated in the experiment. One class of 30 students was selected as the experimental group, and the other class of 29 students was the control group. From the experimental results, it was found that the proposed game development-based learning approach could effectively promote the students' problem-solving skills. However, the students' learning achievement and motivations were quite different from our expectations. A discussion of the experimental group interview data is provided and suggestions made.


2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (11) ◽  
pp. 1891-1905 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabiano F de Lima ◽  
Vinicius Cavalheri ◽  
Bruna S A Silva ◽  
Isis Grigoletto ◽  
Juliana S Uzeloto ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of elastic resistance training on improving muscle strength, functional exercise capacity, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and dyspnea in people with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods For this systematic review, PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Embase (OVID), PEDro, SciELO, and CINAHL were searched from inception to November 2019. Included studies were randomized clinical trials in which people with stable COPD were allocated to (1) an experimental group that received lower-limb resistance training, upper-limb resistance training, or both using elastic resistance; or (2) a control group that received no or sham resistance training or conventional resistance training using weight machines. Data extraction was performed by 3 review authors. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the PEDro scale. Eight studies on 332 participants were included. Results Knee extensor strength was higher in the experimental group (standardized mean difference = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.09–0.95) compared with the non-exercise control group. Compared with the conventional exercise control, the experimental group presented similar effects for muscle strength, functional exercise capacity, HRQoL, and dyspnea (95% CI overlapped the line of no effect for all). Conclusions Elastic resistance training improves muscle strength in people with COPD. The current review suggests elastic resistance as a potential alternative to conventional resistance training using weight machines, as they show similar effects on muscle strength, functional exercise capacity, HRQoL, and dyspnea. Impact Due to its beneficial effects, including reduced risk of exacerbation-related hospitalizations, exercise training is viewed as the cornerstone of pulmonary rehabilitation in people with COPD. This study shows that elastic resistance training can be an effective, portable, practical, and low-cost alternative to conventional weight resistance training. Lay Summary Training with elastic resistance tubes or bands—which are easy to carry, easy to use, and relatively low cost—can be an effective way to improve strength for people with COPD and promote similar benefits to those achieved with weight machines.


2015 ◽  
Vol 764-765 ◽  
pp. 1395-1399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chung Ho Su ◽  
Po Yuan Su

Research on gamification of learning has been very popular in the past years; especially, the learning effectiveness in applying games to the education of natural science in elementary and junior high schools has been proven. Aiming at the human blood circulation unit, which is rather difficult to comprehend, in the biology materials for junior high school students, Mobile Meaningful Blood Circulation Learning System, called MMBCLS game-based learning, is developed. The players could comprehend the functions of systemic circulation and pulmonary circulation through games. In the study, the instructional design is based on Meaningful Learning and follows the principles of digital game-based learning models to design the after-class multimedia materials, which allow learners enjoying learning with fun. The quasi-experimental design is utilized for the learning assessment, where the experimental group applies MMBCLS, while the control group uses general instruction for the teaching materials. The experimental results show significant difference of the experimental group in the learning effectiveness and better post-test results than the control group. The research outcomes could be the reference of material design for teachers and provide educators with the reference of mobile as meaningful media material design.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-70
Author(s):  
Zachary Farouk Chai ◽  
Suyansah Bin Swanto

Environmental education has long been introduced as early as the 18th century in western countries, but in Malaysia, it still can be considered as a new start in the year 1979. In relation to this, various programs have been conducted by the government to produce literate individuals that are aware of and concern of environmental issues. In primary English education, there are a few topics on the environment that should be taught by teachers, and environmental education is also considered as a cross-curricular subject. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of environmental problem-based learning (PBL) on Malaysian primary school learners' vocabulary achievement. Environmental PBL is an instructional method that provides learners the opportunities to learn cooperatively in groups to find solutions to any problem. This study employed experimental design, which involved 20 learners that came from an intermediate level of English proficiency. They were randomly divided into experimental group and control group. The experimental group was treated with environmental PBL in learning new vocabulary, while the other group was taught using the conventional memorisation method. A set of vocabulary test (pre and post) was used to measure learners' vocabulary achievement and the data were analysed by using independent sample t-test. From the data, it was found out that the learners who were taught by using environmental PBL improved their vocabulary acquisition significantly as being compared to the control group based on the means of marks obtained by the research participants in the experimental group with 12.80 and the mean achieved by the control group with 6.20. Next, this study also showed how environmental PBL helped the experimental group in learning vocabulary based on their orientations which included two themes (effectiveness and participation). Hence, it is suggested that English teachers should use environmental PBL as an effective method of teaching vocabulary to young learners. 


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