Title: How elementary students experience the use of immersive technology

Authors: Francisco Javier Sandoval-Henríquez; María Graciela Badilla-Quintana

Addresses: Unidad de Autoevaluación, Dirección de Gestión Estratégica, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción 4090541, Chile ' Centro de Investigación en Educación y Desarrollo CIEDE-UCSC, Departamento de Currículum, Evaluación y Tecnologías en Educación Facultad de Educación, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción 4090541, Chile

Abstract: The integration of immersive technology is one of the main trends in education. The purpose of this study is to understand how elementary school students experience the use of immersive technology, considering three properties: interactivity, presence, and flow. A natural science pedagogical intervention that incorporated the use of virtual reality and augmented reality was elaborated. 231 students from four schools in Concepción, Chile, participated. After the intervention, an instrument was applied to learn about the immersive experience. Findings indicate a high degree of agreement with the instrument's statements, which allows us to determine favourable levels of interactivity, presence, and flow, as well as the significant and positive association of these technological properties. Guidelines are proposed to maximise the capacity of immersive technologies in learning environments.

Keywords: learning; natural science; virtual reality; augmented reality; immersive technology; elementary education; interactivity; presence; flow; pedagogical intervention.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLT.2022.125076

International Journal of Learning Technology, 2022 Vol.17 No.2, pp.115 - 132

Received: 30 May 2021
Accepted: 04 Dec 2021
Published online: 25 Aug 2022 *

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