he Virtual Playground: an Educational Virtual Reality Environment for Evaluating Interactivity and Conceptual Learning



VE and helped in organizing the overall process of the evaluation. The large-
scale experiment, which took place in 2005, involved a total of fifty (N=50)
children, 25 girls and 25 boys from different schools and socioeconomic
backgrounds, who participated in one of three different conditions, two
experimental VR conditions and a non-VR group.

5.1. Experimental procedure

Each study was conducted with one participant at a time lasting, on average,
90 minutes for each. The experimental methods included direct observation,
interviews and pre- and post-test questionnaires, designed in collaboration
with math teachers. Prior to the main activity, the participant was asked to fill
out a questionnaire with math questions that are based on the fractions
questions found in standardized tests (such as the Key Stage 2 SAT math
test). A user profiling questionnaire was also given at this time. This included
questions that attempted to draw a picture of the child’s familiarity with
computers, frequency of computer game play, and understanding of or prior
experience with virtual reality.

condition

activity

interactivity

immersion

participants
involved

female

male

C1: interactive

VR (IVR)

active

Yes

yes (VR cave)

9

8

C2: passive VR
(PVR)

passive

no (watching a
robot interact)

yes (VR cave)

5

9

C3: non-VR
(LEGO)

active

^No

no

8

25

25

Total 50

Table 1. Condition attributes and numbers of participants involved.

After the questionnaire was completed, the child was assigned to one of three
experimental conditions; either the non-VR condition or one of two VR
conditions
(Table 1). Each child participated in only one of the three
conditions of the study (between-groups design). An even spread according to
aptitude and gender was attempted; however the practical difficulties we
encountered in recruiting the participants (one child at a time had to be

13



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