Enabling Seamless Creation of Annotated Spaces: Enhancing Learning in VR Environments

TL;DR

This paper explores how annotations in VR environments can improve learning by enabling educators to create static scene annotations on touchscreens, which students then explore in VR, demonstrating benefits despite interface usability issues.

Contribution

It introduces a method for asynchronous educator-student collaboration in VR learning, combining touchscreen annotations with immersive exploration, and evaluates its usability and educational impact.

Findings

Annotations are highly useful for learners in VR environments.

Touchscreen annotation interface has low intuitivity but is still effective.

Annotations enhance information retention and comprehension.

Abstract

We present an approach to evaluate the efficacy of annotations in augmenting learning environments in the context of Virtual Reality. Our study extends previous work highlighting the benefits of learning based in virtual reality and introduces a method to facilitate asynchronous collaboration between educators and students. These two distinct perspectives fulfill special roles: educators aim to convey information, which learners should get familiarized. Educators are empowered to annotate static scenes on large touchscreens to supplement information. Subsequently, learners explore those annotated scenes in virtual reality. To assess the comparative ease and usability of creating text and pen annotations, we conducted a user study with 24 participants, which assumed both roles of learners and teachers. Educators annotated static courses using provided textbook excerpts, interfacing through an 86-inch touchscreen. Learners navigated pre-designed educational courses in virtual reality to evaluate the practicality of annotations. The utility of annotations in virtual reality garnered high ratings. Users encountered issues with the touch interface implementation and rated it with a low intuitivity. Despite this, our study underscores the significant benefits of annotations, particularly for learners. This research offers valuable insights into annotation-enriched learning, emphasizing its potential to enhance students' information retention and comprehension.