Shwu-huey Wang, a senior lecturer at the Far East University in Taiwan, is also a Ph.D. candidate of the National Changhua University of Education.
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Applying a 3D situational virtual learning environment to the real world business—an extended research in marketing
Article first published online: 9 JUN 2011
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2011.01194.x
© 2011 The Author. British Journal of Educational Technology © 2011 BERA
Additional Information
How to Cite
Wang, S.-h. (2012), Applying a 3D situational virtual learning environment to the real world business—an extended research in marketing. British Journal of Educational Technology, 43: 411–427. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2011.01194.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 18 APR 2012
- Article first published online: 9 JUN 2011
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Abstract
In order to understand (1) what kind of students can be facilitated through the help of three-dimensional virtual learning environment (3D VLE), and (2) the relationship between a conventional test (ie, paper and pencil test) and the 3D VLE used in this study, the study designs a 3D virtual supermarket (3DVS) to help students transform their role from passive learners to active participants. In the 3DVS, a virtual customer poses a total of 18 scenario-based questions to the participants during the shopping process; the participants have to play a virtual clerk, and answer the questions by integrating marketing mix theory with the real-world situation. The whole experiment includes a pretest, 3DVS training and a posttest. The instruments utilized in each of the pre- and posttest are four open-ended questions aimed at understanding the participants' application performance. The findings of a chi-square independence test show the following: (1) the 3D VLE is especially beneficial to those who have not adapted to traditional learning, and (2) there is no significant relationship between performance in 3DVS training and performance of the pretest. However, performance in 3DVS training is significantly correlated to that of the posttest.
Practitioner notes
What is already known about this topic
- • Virtual reality (VR) technology is very noticeable in the recent decade.
- • A virtual learning environment (VLE) that is extended from VR technology has been widely applied to both practice and education.
- • VR technology has been verified to be helpful in different areas of education.
What this paper adds
- • The paper goes further to explore what kind of students could be most facilitated by the three-dimensional (3D) VLE.
- • The paper also tries to find out the relationship between traditional instruction and a 3D VLE.
- • It is the first time that researchers used VR technology to enhance business students' learning.
Implications for practice and/or policy
- • The paper provides evidence that a 3D VLE is especially beneficial to those who are not adaptive to traditional instruction (eg, exam- or lecture-based instruction).
- • The paper also concludes that after being trained by a 3D VLE, a student may very possible reach a better learning performance.
- • The results provide very important reference for instructors or designers to design a more proper 3D VLE to enhance learning in the future.