The key question we address is whether interactivity in a virtual environment (VE) impacts conceptual learning. We developed a Virtual Reality (VR) application to simulate a playground, in which children had to engage in tasks that required solving arithmetical fractions problems. Fifty (50) children were tested in an empirical study with different conditions that varied the levels of interactivity and immersion, from a fully interactive to a non-immersive and non-interactive activity with LEGOs. A methodological framework, where quantitative and qualitative analyses complement each other, was developed to analyze children's activity. Our findings from the quantitative analysis showed that participants in the VEs seemed to have a greater overall gain than those that did not perform the activity in VR but did not clarify whether interactivity in the VE was the defining factor in this gain. The qualitative analysis indicated that it was the “passive” VR condition which provided evidence of sustained conceptual change. With countless educational VR applications becoming available nowadays to the public due to VR's recent resurgence in prominence through inexpensive headsets, the study of the effect of VE attributes, such as interactivity, is timely.

中文翻译：

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交互式与被动虚拟现实学习活动在唤起和维持概念变化方面的效果比较

我们解决的关键问题是虚拟环境 (VE) 中的交互性是否会影响概念学习。我们开发了一个虚拟现实 (VR) 应用程序来模拟游乐场，在那里孩子们必须从事需要解决算术分数问题的任务。在一项实证研究中对五十 (50) 名儿童进行了测试，这些条件改变了互动和沉浸程度，从完全互动到非沉浸式和非互动式乐高积木活动。开发了一种方法框架，其中定量和定性分析相辅相成，用于分析儿童的活动。我们的定量分析结果表明，与未在 VR 中进行活动的参与者相比，VE 中的参与者似乎具有更大的整体收益，但并未阐明 VE 中的交互性是否是这种收益的决定性因素。定性分析表明，正是“被动”VR 条件提供了持续概念变化的证据。由于 VR 最近通过廉价头显重新流行，如今无数教育性 VR 应用程序向公众开放，因此对交互性等 VE 属性的影响进行研究是及时的。