Human Factors in the Design of Virtual Reality Instruction

Montana Tech Library Digital Commons @ Montana Tech Graduate Theses & Non-Theses Student Scholarship Winter 2018 Human Factors in the Design of Virtual Reality Instruction Tim Lewis Montana Tech Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.mtech.edu/grad_rsch Part of the Technical and Professional Writing Commons Recommended Citation Lewis, Tim, "Human Factors in the Design of Virtual Reality Instruction" (2018) Graduate Theses & Non-Theses 185 https://digitalcommons.mtech.edu/grad_rsch/185 This Non-Thesis Project is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at Digital Commons @ Montana Tech It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses & Non-Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Montana Tech For more information, please contact sjuskiewicz@mtech.edu Human Factors in the Design of Virtual Reality Instruction by Tim Lewis Project Report submitted as part of the requirements for the degree of M.S Technical Communication Montana Tech 2017 Abstract The obje ctive of this proje ct wa s to ide ntify me a s ura ble fa ctors tha t contribute to the qua lity a nd e ffe ctive ne s s of tra ining a nd e duca tion in a virtua l re a lity e nvironme nt The s e cond obje ctive wa s to de ve lop a VR a pplica tion us ing the Oculus Rift he a d mounte d dis pla y a nd nd controlle rs to pre s e nt high re s olution 360° vide o with cumula tive multi-choice cha lle nge s to cre a te a me nta l s ta te of flow, imme rs ion, a nd a s us pe ns ion of dis be lie f Fina lly, this docume nt re pre s e nts a guide line on how to produce virtua l re a lity e duca tion a nd tra ining conte nt with a re a l-world e xa mple of the proce s s from re s e a rch, de s ign, production a nd us e Keywords: Virtua l Re a lity, Mixe d Re a lity, Augme nte d Re a lity, Tra ining, Educa tion, Flow, Imme rs ion, S us pe ns ion of Dis be lie f, Ins tructiona l Te chnology, Ins truction, Le a rning, S kill Development, Curriculum Development, Simulation Based Instruction Acknowledgements S pe cia l tha nk you to the fa culty a nd s ta ff a nd othe r s tude nts in the Te chnica l Communica tion a nd Libe l Arts de pa rtme nts of Monta na Te ch Cha d Okrus ch, Nick Ha wthorne , S cott Ris s e r, J ulia Quigle y, He nrie tta S hirk, Da nie l S te rling, a nd ma ny othe rs ve be e n ins pira tiona l, ins tructiona l, a nd he lpful on ma ny le ve ls Table of Contents ABSTRACT II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS III TABLE OF CONTENTS .IV LIST OF FIGURES .V GLOSSARY OF TERMS VI VIRTUAL REALITY AS A MEDIUM VR’S APPLICATION IN LEARNING 3 VR INSTRUCTION AS A TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION CHALLENGE Project Planning Solution Design Visual Communication Content Development Final Production LITERATURE REVIEW 360° Imagery and Video 1.3 Suspension of Disbelief 1.4 Instructional Design in Virtual Environments 10 Presence, Immersion, and Flow in Virtual Environments 12 DEVELOPING A VR INSTRUCTION ENVIRONMENT 20 The VR Hardware 21 The software 23 Application Development 24 Elements of the application design: 25 The 360° Video Production 26 CONCLUSION 26 BIBLIOGRAPHY 28 List of Figures Figure 1: Fa ctors Ne ce s s a ry for S us pe ns ion of Dis be lie f Figure 2: Ke y Fa ctors of Effe ctive Ins tructiona l S imula tions 10 Figure 3: Conditions Tha t Allow Flow 12 Figure 4: Cha cte ris tics of Flow 13 Figure 5: Fa ctors of P re s e nce 17 Figure 6: S e ns ory Fa ctors Affe cting Imme rs ion 18 Figure 7: Dis tra ction Fa ctors Affe cting Imme rs ion 18 Figure 8: Re a lis m Fa ctors Affe cting Imme rs ion 18 Figure S tude nt We a ring VR He a ds e t 21 Figure 10: My Ha rdwa re S e le ction Ana lys is 22 Figure 11: Multiple Choice Que s tions in VR 25 Glossary of Terms Virtua l Re a lity (VR) He a d Mounte d Dis pla y (HMD) 360° Vide o Flow S us pe ns ion of Dis be lie f Imme rs ion Compute r-a ide d Educa tion Compute r Ge ne te d Ima ge ry (CGI) Optima l Expe rie nce A me dium tha t s urrounds the us e r in a n inte ctive e nvironme nt A high-re s olution s cre e n worn ove r the e ye s with he a d tra cking s e ns ors a llowing the us e r to look a round in a virtua l e nvironme nt A vide o forma t tha t us e s pa nora mic ima ge ry pla ye d in a s phe re a round the us e r’s pe rs pe ctive A me nta l s ta te of focus on a ta s k tha t is cha cte rize d by he ighte ne d a tte ntion a nd incre a s e d re te ntion of informa tion The a ct of not que s tioning the va lidity of a n e xpe rie nce The fe e ling of be ing in a n e xpe rie nce fully a s if it is re a lity Any ins tructiona l conte nt pre s e nte d us ing a compute r A 3D mode ling te chnique tha t a llows a nima tion of virtua l e le me nts A me a s ura ble e ve nt a nd tha t inte rna l a nd e xte rna l fa ctors influe nce it 1 Virtual Reality as a Medium We s pe our tools a nd the re a fte r our tools s pe us This phra s e s be e n us e d by ma ny pe ople to de s cribe how the communica tion tools we cre a te a nd us e a ffe ct our conce pts a bout re a lity a nd e ve n our ide a s of wha t is pos s ible The la te s t e volution of inte ctive me dia is de mons tra ting this in a profound wa y tha t promis e s to s pe how pe ople communica te , le a rn, a nd pla y Virtua l Re a lity (VR), Augme nte d Re a lity (AR), a nd Mixe d Re a lity (MR) de vice s a re now re a dily a va ila ble a t a cons ume r le ve l price point Curre ntly, VR, AR, a nd MR a re pre s e nte d through compute r-ge ne te d s imula tions a llowing us e rs to e xpe rie nce virtua l e nvironme nts with us e r inte rfa ce s tha t provide vis ua l, a uditory, a nd s e ns ory e xpe rie nce s , tra ns porting us e rs into a diffe re nt re a lity He a d Mounte d Dis pla ys (HMDs ) a re worn ove r a us e r’s e ye s , a s the y move the ir he a d, the pe rs pe ctive cha nge s with the ir move me nts Ha nd controlle rs with ptic fe e dba ck a re us e d to inte ct with the e nvironme nt furthe r The s e us e r inte rfa ce s cre a te a re ma rka bly re a lis tic s e ns e of imme rs ion in a virtua l e nvironme nt Us ing virtua l e nvironme nts to communica te is a n a ncie nt conce pt tha t s fa s cina te d pe ople throughout his tory Ancie nt te mple s a nd ca the dra ls we re ve rs ions of s ome of the firs t virtua l e nvironme nts , a s the y we re cre a te d to e voke e motions a nd pre s e nt na rra tive s tha t a llowe d the a udie nce to e xpe rie nce a diffe re nt re a lity S ta ge d pla ys with e la bora te s e ts , a ctors in cos tume s , a nd s pe cia l e ffe cts s uch a s s moke a nd lights ve be e n us e d for ce nturie s to imme rs e the a udie nce into a virtua l re a lity In mode rn his tory, Wa lt Dis ne y cre a te d na rra tive e nvironme nts with e xte ns ive s pa tia l inte rfa ce s a nd virtua l re a litie s whe n he built Dis ne yla nd’s “P ira te s of the Ca ribbe a n” a nd othe r the a trica l e xpe rie nce s tha t cre a te d fully imme rs ive virtua l e nvironme nts (P e a rce , 1997) Now, mos t compute r-ge ne te d virtua l e nvironme nts a re cre a te d with low fide lity, 3D mode ls , a nd 3D re nde re d e nvironme nts us ing Compute r Aide d Gra phics (CGI) The CGI me thod to cre a te virtua l e nvironme nts wa s firs t us e d in the 1980s a nd be ca me the prima ry tool for vide o ga me de ve lopme nt a nd e xpe rime nta l s imula tion tra ining by NAS A a nd the US Milita ry Cre a ting virtua l e nvironme nts us ing CGI is a time -cons uming proce s s re quiring a high de gre e of s kill, e xpe ns ive s oftwa re , a nd powe rful compute rs Eve n with s ta te -of-the -a rt te chnology life -like re a lis m s re ma ine d e lus ive for CGI virtua l e nvironme nts Adva nce s in digita l vide o ca me s a nd s oftwa re tha t s titche s a nd re nde rs 360° ima ge ry a nd vide o ve s te a dily brought incre a s e d re s olution, fra me te , a nd e a s e of production a re ma king it e a s ie r a nd quicke r to cre a te photore a lis tic, virtua l e nvironme nts This pidly cha nging te chnology is ma king the production of 360° ima ge ry a nd vide o dra s tica lly quicke r a nd che a pe r tha n cre a ting the re nde re d CGI virtua l e nvironme nts In re ce nt ye a rs , ma s s ive s tride s ve be e n ma de in te chnology incre a s ing computing powe r, improving s cre e n re s olutions , a nd e nha ncing gra phics The s e a dva nce me nts in te chnology a llow imme rs ive VR, AR, a nd MR to come ce nte r s ta ge a s a pra ctica l me thod to pre s e nt photore a lis tic virtua l e nvironme nts to the ma s s e s Like a ll e volutions in communica tion te chnology, the e me rge nce of VR provide s ne w opportunitie s to cre a te a nd de live r more s e ns ory rich informa tion To cre a te e ffe ctive conte nt in VR re quire s a ne xt le ve l a pproa ch compa re d to othe r me diums With othe r me diums like print a nd vide o, the us e r’s a tte ntion is intuitive ly focus e d on the na ture of the me dium, s uch a s the te xt on the pa ge , the fra ming of the vide o, or the dura tion a nd pa ce of the a udio With VR, the us e r ca n look a wa y from the inte nde d s ubje ct a nd dis re ga rd the pa ce a nd time line of the conte nt, but s till be imme rs e d in the e xpe rie nce This dyna mic ma ke s the cre a tion of VR conte nt more comple x tha n the cre a tion of othe r me dia conte nt, but it a ls o ma ke s the e xpe rie nce more re a lis tic VR’s Application in Learning Tra ining is ge ne lly cha cte rize d a s the de ve lopme nt of s pe cific s kills while e duca tion is the a ccumula tion of the ore tica l knowle dge a bout a s ubje ct The us e of VR s hows promis e in both tra ining with s imula tions tha t provide ins truction a nd pra ctice of s kills , a nd a ca de mic e duca tion tha t e xpla ins comple x topics in inte ctive a nd vis ua lly compe lling wa ys In both ca s e s , VR ins truction s be e n s hown to be e ffe ctive a t fos te ring intrins ic motiva tion, re fle ctive thinking, a nd pe rce ive d le a rning e ffe ctive ne s s , thre e ke y e le me nts of e ffe ctive le a rning conte nt (Zha ng, J ia ng, Ordóđe z de P a blos , Lytra s , & S un, 2017) Toda y, workforce tra ining a nd a ca de mic ins truction is s till de live re d much how it s be e n for de ca de s The gold s ta nda rd is in-pe rs on ins truction, though compute rs ve be e n us e d to e duca te a nd tra in pe ople for de ca de s Compute r-a ide d ins truction provide s e a s e of a cce s s from a nywhe re a s it fits in the us e r’s s che dule , it ma inta ins cons is te nt s ta nda rds , a nd re duce s the ne e d for tra ve l Compute r-a ide d ins truction ta ke s a va rie ty of forms s uch a s te xt, illus tra tions , vide os , vide o confe re ncing, inte ctive pre s e nta tions , a nd s tory drive n ga me s While compute r-a ide d ins truction is e ffe ctive for s ome a pplica tions it is ge ne lly uns ucce s s ful in ma inta ining us e rs ’ inte re s t (Mona n, McArdle , a nd Be rtolotto 2008) My proje ct inve s tiga te d ove rla pping topics in e -le a rning, ps ychology, a nd VR te chnology tha t provide me a ningful a nd time ly knowle dge a bout how to be s t us e VR to communica te a nd le a rn Thre e ke y fa ctors le a ding to improve d me mory a nd s kill re te ntion of ins tructiona l conte nt in VR we re ide ntifie d Firs t, to cre a te the optima l s ta te of mind for le a rning, the VR tra ining conte nt ne e ds to create a psychological state of flow for the user during the training experience Second, is to produce training content that encourages a suspension of disbelief Third, is to develop a sense of immersion within the training experience, an element that is essential in order to create flow and the suspension of disbelief 17 e nvironme nt providing a s tre a m of s timuli a nd e xpe rie nce s Involve me nt a nd imme rs ion a re both re quire me nts for pre s e nce Witme r groupe d the fa ctors of pre s e nce into four ca te gorie s a ffe cting involve me nt a nd imme rs ion: control fa ctors , s e ns ory fa ctors , dis tra ction fa ctors , a nd re a lis m fa ctors Witme r cons tructe d a Like rt s tyle s urve y tha t te s te d e a ch fa ctor Afte r e xpe rime nts on 152 s ubje cts , the s core of e le ve n of the twe lve control fa ctors , five of the s e ve n re a lis m fa ctors , e ight of the nine s e ns ory fa ctors a nd four of the s ix dis tra ction fa ctors corre la te s ignifica ntly with the tota l s core of the P re s e nce Que s tionna ire (Witme r,1998) Factors of Presence (Witmer,1998) Degree of Control More control over the environment provides the use with a greater sense of presence Immediacy of Control Appropriate and apparent consequences of actions add to a sense of presence Anticipation The ability to anticipate or predict the environment increases sense presence Mode of Control The more closely the manner of interaction relates to what is expected for the environment the greater the sense of presence Physical Environment Modifiability The ability to modify the environment increases presence Figure 5: Factors of Presence Sensory Factors Affecting Immersion (Witmer,1998) Sensory Modality Visual senses have the highest impact on the feeling of presence with other senses like sound, and touch contributing Environmental Richness The greater the sensory information in each modality, the more a sense of presences is achieved Multimodal Presentation The more completely all senses are engaged the greater the sense of presence Consistency of Multimodal Information If the experience of each sense agrees with others it increases the sense of presence 18 Degree of Movement Perception The perception of movement increases the sense of presence Active Search Control of focus within the environment can increase sense of presence Figure 6: Sensory Factors Affecting Immersion Distraction Factors Affecting Immersion (Witmer,1998) Isolation Isolation from reality as in a head mounted display, leads to a greater sense of presence Selective Attention The audience’s ability to focus or ignore distraction impacts the sense of presence Interface Awareness The less the interface is noticeable, the greater the sense of presence Figure 7: Distraction Factors Affecting Immersion Realism Factors Affecting Immersion (Witmer,1998) Scene realism presence increases as realism increases Consistency of information with the objective world, the more consistent the environment is to the real world the easier presence is Meaningfulness of experience the more the experience becomes meaningful to the audience, the more presence increases Separation anxiety / disorientation the more present the audience feels in the environment the more they should experience disorientation upon returning to reality Figure 8: Realism Factors Affecting Immersion Another chief investigator in presence and immersion is Slater has influenced many researchers in immersive virtual environments Written at a time when virtual environments were just becoming a possibility, the authors identify “presence” as being the central goal and defining feature of virtual reality 19 S la te r a na lyze d the conce pts of imme rs ion a nd pre s e nce in virtua l e nvironme nts , propos ing tha t the de gre e of imme rs ion in a virtua l e nvironme nt ca n be obje ctive ly a s s e s s e d a nd me a s ure d a s a cha cte ris tic of the te chnology S la te r contra s ts imme rs ion vs pre s e nce , ide ntifying imme rs ion a s a n obje ctive a nd qua ntifia ble de s cription of wha t a virtua l e nvironme nt s ys te m is ca pa ble of, pre s e nce be ing he a vily influe nce d by the fa ctors of imme rs ion “Immersion is a description of a technology and describes the extent to which the computer displays are capable of delivering an inclusive, extensive, surrounding and vivid illusion of reality to the senses of a human participant Inclusive (I) indicates the extent to which physical reality is shut out Extensive (E) indicates the range of sensory modalities accommodated Surrounding (S) indicates the extent to which this virtual reality is panoramic rather than limited to a narrow field Vivid (V) indicates the resolution, fidelity, and variety of energy simulated within a modality (for example, the visual and color resolution) Vividness is concerned with the richness, information content, resolution and quality of the displays.” (Slater, 1997) Slater described another factor of immersion as the ability of the virtual environment to match the user's real-world body movements inside the virtual environment A selfrepresentation of the user body as part of and the center of the virtual environment “Matching requires that there is match between the participant's proprioceptive feedback about body movements, and the information generated on the displays A turn of the head should result in a corresponding change to the visual display, and, for example, to the auditory displays so that sound direction is invariant to the orientation of the head Matching requires body 20 tracking, at least head tracking, but generally the greater the degree of body mapping, the greater the extent to which the movements of the body can be accurately reproduced.” (Slater, 1997) Slater categorizes each dimensions of immersion with an associated scale, indicating the extent of its realization The measure of matching includes the latency between action by the user and the response by the virtual environment The final dimension of immersion described by the paper is plot, the degree that the virtual environment presents a self-contained storyline that is self-contained, has its own dynamic unfolding of events Presence is contrasted with immersion as being the perfect state of consciousness where the mind believes it is there within the virtual environment “Immersion can be an objective and quantifiable description of what any particular system does provide Presence is a state of consciousness, the (psychological) sense of being in the virtual environment.” (Slater, 1997) These factors of immersion and their role in presence within a virtual environment have been frequently used and cited by researchers, making them a sort of standard measurement tool to analyze presence in virtual environment technology (Slater, 1997) Developing a VR Instruction Environment My re s e a rch a nd pra ctice throughout this proje ct re volve d a round unde rs ta nding the ps ychology of le a rning, the production of the 360° vide o, a nd the de ve lopme nt of inte ctive VR e xpe rie nce s for e duca tion a nd e nte rta inme nt purpos e s This a ccumula tion of knowle dge , te chnica l s kills in a va rie ty of s oftwa re , a nd de ve lopme nt me thods culmina te d in this proje ct with the de s ign a nd production of a functioning pla tform to pre s e nt VR ins tructiona l conte nt 21 My lite ture re vie w ide ntifie d a lis t of core fa ctors tha t contribute to e ffe ctive ins tructiona l conte nt Be ca us e whe n I s ta rte d this proje ct in 2015, ve ry little re s e a rch d be e n publis he d, te s ting the fa ctors for e ffe ctive ins truction s pe cifica lly in VR, I d to a pply re s e a rch form online le a rning, s imula tion le a rning, a nd huma n fa ctors tha t a ffe ct me mory re te ntion a nd focus Cre a ting a VR ins tructiona l e nvironme nt tha t e voke s Flow, S us pe ns ion of Dis be lie f a nd Imme rs ion be ca me the prima ry re quire me nts during the de ve lopme nt pha s e of the proje ct Us ing the s e crite rion, choice s we re ma de to cre a te a choos e your a dve nture s tyle s oftwa re to cura te a nd pla y 360° vide os in a VR he a ds e t with inte ctive inte ctions The a pplica tion s hould cultiva te focus a nd me mory re te ntion by pre s e nting the ins tructiona l conte nt in a wa y tha t s timula te s a Flow like ps ychologica l s ta te in the us e r To promote buy in a nd e ncoura ge a ps ychologica lly s a fe le a rning e nvironme nt the ins tructiona l conte nt s hould build s us pe ns ion of dis be lie f in the us e r To incre a s e re te ntion a nd inte re s t in le a rning s kills a nd proce s s e s the ins tructiona l conte nt a nd VR e quipme nt s hould fa cilita te a qua lity s e ns e of imme rs ion in the us e r The VR Hardware The be ginning of this proje ct s ta rte d with a n a na lys is of a va ila ble VR rdwa re Ba s e d on pa s t e xpe rie nce s a nd be s t pra ctice s in ite tive de s ign principle s , I de te rmine d it wa s e s s e ntia l tha t the VR e quipme nt d to be a cce s s ible to cons ume rs , a nd re lia bly s upporte d by the ma nufa cture for the fore s e e a ble future The qua lity of the us e r e xpe rie nce a nd its a bility to de live r a s e ns e of imme rs ion, s us pe ns ion of dis be lie f a nd the functiona lity to cre a te a s ta te of Figure Student Wearing VR Headset 22 flow wa s a nothe r prima ry crite rion Anothe r cons ide tion wa s the e a s e a nd cos t of de ve lopme nt of the VR e xpe rie nce with the functiona lity de te rmine d from the re s e a rch Fina lly, the pla tform d to be ca pa ble of the qua lity ne e de d to produce a high de gre e of imme rs ion My Hardware Selection Analysis Consumer Access How easily will consumers access the equipment and instructional content This includes the cost, operating system, and how easily it can be purchased? Manufacturer Support How well will the VR equipment manufacturer provide replacement parts, software updates, application development utility? Ecosystem Longevity How long after purchase will the manufacturer improve and maintain the development environment, hardware, and how long will applications developed for the system be useable before deprecation? Quality of user Experience How well will the head mounted display, audio systems, controls, menus, and ease of use provide a quality experience? Ability to deliver factors of effective Instruction How well will the system deliver Immersion, Suspension of Disbelief, and Flow? Figure 10: My Hardware Selection Analysis There were three main VR ecosystems that promised to have the longevity and quality needed as this project started; the Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive, and Google Cardboard that became Google Dream Each VR platform has advantages and disadvantages from a development standpoint Google Cardboard became Google Dream since 2015 when this project was started, it may eventually have the quality of Oculus and Vive but as this project started, the user experience was poor, limited to Android mobile devices requiring large video assets to be downloaded or streamed, making it difficult to deliver high resolution video to the application 23 Google products come with a lot of ris k for de ve lope rs be ca us e of Google ’s philos ophy of cons ta nt cha nge a nd the ir tra ck re cord of e xpe rime nting with products only to ca nce l the pla tform or cha nge the dire ction of the te chnology quickly with no wa rning a s the y did with Google Gla s s HTC Vive wa s de ve lope d by the Va lve vide o ga me compa ny in colla bora tion with HTC The Vive wa s a gre a t option with only s lightly lowe r qua lity a s the Oculus but re pre s e nte d a s imila r ris k be ca us e it wa s initia lly pre s e nte d a s a n e xpe rime nt but s s ince e volve d into a s ta ble pla tform with e ve n more curre nt de ve lopme nt tha n Oculus The Oculus Rift wa s s e le cte d a s the pla tform be ca us e of the ma s s ive inve s tme nt be ing done by Fa ce book in its de ve lopme nt Fa ce book indica te d cle a rly tha t Oculus wa s a pla tform tha t the y inte nd to promote a nd improve for ma ny ye a rs to come The Oculus a ls o d the highe s t HMD qua lity a nd offe re d e xte ns ive s upport for s e ve l de ve lopme nt e nvironme nts s uch a s Unity a nd Unre a l Engine The fe a ture s tha t ma de it cle a rly a be tte r choice wa s the Fa ce book’s e a rly s igna ls of building in s ocia l me dia ca pa bility a nd full, docume nte d de ve lope r s upport This ma de Oculus a pla tform tha t a ppe a re d to ve longe vity in a quickly cha nging te chnology la nds ca pe The software Afte r de te rmining tha t the Oculus Rift wa s to be us e d, two de ve lopme nt e nvironme nts tha t s upporte d the Oculus we re a na lyze d, the Unity Ga me Engine a nd the Unre a l Engine Both ve s imila r ca pa bilitie s but Unity a ppe a re d to be more wide ly s upporte d, a fa vorite for de ve lope rs with a n a ctive de ve lope r community a nd a low ba rrie r of e ntry with a fre e ve rs ion a nd a wide nge of tutoria ls a nd e xte ns ive docume nta tion Unity s upports s e ve l progra mming la ngua ge s , but C# wa s de te rmine d to be ide a l be ca us e it is a fa vore d by ga me de ve lope rs for it is de s igne d to be s ca la ble a nd fle xible for obje ct orie nte d progra mming proje cts 24 Application Development Afte r the de la ye d re le a s e of the Oculus Cons ume r Ve rs ion in J une 2016 pus he d the s ta rt of the proje ct ba ck a fe w months , the a pplica tion de ve lopme nt s ta rte d in J uly of 2016 S oftwa re de ve lope rs we re give n a s e rie s of goa ls for the a pplica tion de ve lopme nt a nd a budge t of $5,000 to a ccomplis h the progra mming Two diffe re nt s oftwa re de ve lope rs we re hire d during de ve lopme nt be ca us e the firs t le ft the proje ct for a job be fore it wa s comple te d The a pplica tion is de s igne d to de live r informa tion rich, multi-s e ns ory 360° vide o with a quick s ucce s s ion of que s tions a bout the conte nt a nd ins ta nt fe e dba ck on the us e r’s re s pons e , the s e ns e of control, a nd quick pa ce of us e r cha lle nge s wa s de s igne d to cre a te a s ta te of flow with a he ighte ne d s ta te of focus in the us e r The goals of the software development were as follows: ● Build a Windows na tive a pplica tion us ing the Unity Ga me Engine a nd C# progra mming la ngua ge to de live r 360° vide o e duca tiona l s ce na rios with forma tive a nd s umma tive cha lle nge s ● The tra inings will be de live re d through the Oculus Rift VR pla tform, us ing a n Xbox one controlle r ● The vide o a s s e ts a nd a pplica tion will be s tore d on the P C a nd la unch inde pe nde nt of the Oculus Home da s hboa rd ● The 360° vide o will be de live re d in a n e quire cta ngula r proje ction in a n mp4 vide o forma t of the highe s t re s olution a nd fra me te pos s ible ● The a pplica tion a llows the vide o a s s e ts a nd cha lle nge que s tions to be e a s ily cha nge d in through by pla cing ne w vide o file s in a n a s s e ts folde r a nd cha nging a te xt docume nt pointing to the vide os a nd e diting the forma tive a nd s umma tive cha lle nge s 25 Elements of the application design: An introduction to the training in the form of a starting screen will appear when the app loads giving the user an introduction and short description of how to use the app and the training content that the user is about to experience A training process menu in the form of a screen that allows the user to choose the training module with a title and a thumbnail for each scenario The process menu appears after completion of each training module allowing the user to progress to the next module or go back to any of the previously completed modules Tutorial timeline control in the form of a menu of and start buttons for the user to control their progress through the tutorials The tutorial plays a 360° video clip that goes through each step of the instruction modules After each step is played the video pauses and triggers a formative question If the user chooses the correct answer the training progresses to the next step If the user selects the wrong answer the training replays the last step of the training module Identify the object challenge type in the form of a 360° panoramic image shown with a prompt for the user to identify a hotspot area in the panorama The headset is used to look at the object and the Xbox controller is used to select it Multiple Choice Challenge Question in the form of a heads-up style multiple choice question is displayed at the end of each video clip The Xbox controller is used to select the choices The Figure 11: Multiple Choice Questions in VR challenge question is relative easy and the user interaction is quick promoting a state of flow throughout the training experience 26 S ucce s s S cre e n a nd P rogre s s ion in the form of a popup s tyle me s s a ge , “Corre ct” the n progre s s ing the ins truction to the ne xt 360° vide o clip S umma tive Que s tions in the form of a s e rie s of que s tions pre s e nte d a t the e nd of e a ch module to re vie w the informa tion pre s e nte d in the module The Xbox One controlle r is us e d to s e le ct the a ns we rs Da ta Colle ction in the form of the re s ults of the s umma tive a nd cumula tive que s tions colle cte d a nd writte n to a te xt file The 360° Video Production The ins tructiona l conte nt is re corde d in 360° vide o ba s e d on a curriculum de s igne d by a n e xpe rt in the topic The vide os a re produce d with the goa l of imme rs ing the us e r into a firs tpe rs on point of vie w during ins tructiona l s ce na rios with re a l pe ople de mons tra ting the s kills a nd knowle dge The 360° vide os a re re corde d a nd e dite d in s hort clips to fa cilita te quick us e r inte ctions be twe e n the cumula tive cha lle nge inte ctions Conclusion This inve s tiga tion s va lue for a wide va rie ty of tra ining, e duca tiona l, a nd e nte rta inme nt a pplica tions The obvious is in a ca de mic e duca tion, indus tria l, me dica l, a nd bus ine s s tra ining s ce na rios whe re the s kill or knowle dge fits with the te chnology By e s ta blis hing a s e t of de s ign crite ria tha t le a d to be tte r focus a nd informa tion re te ntion through 360° vide o tra ining s implica tions for ma rke ting, ps ychothe py, a ddiction tre a tme nt, cultura l pre s e rva tion, a s we ll a s a lmos t a ny othe r communica tion purpos e This proje ct produce d a s ta ble tra ining tool tha t ca n be e a s ily cus tomize d de pe nding on the purpos e The tra ining tool incorpora te s the re s e a rch in wha t a n e ffe ctive VR tra ining e xpe rie nce re quire s It us e s quick, cha lle nge s a nd imme rs ive 360° vide o a nd a n e a s y to us e us e r inte rfa ce to cre a te a s ta te of flow a nd e ncoura ge a s us pe ns ion of dis be lie f in the le a rne r 27 The low cos t to ca pture 360° vide o of e nvironme nts pre s e nts a gre a t opportunity to build wha t fe e ls like re a l world e xpe rie nce , with improve d s itua tiona l a wa re ne s s for de ma nding s itua tions Tra inings ca pture d with 360° vide o a nd de live re d with cons ume r le ve l he a d mounte d dis pla ys will be e a s y to a cce s s , low ris k s olutions to pra ctice complica te d ma inte na nce ta s ks , e me rge ncy re s pons e s , s kill de ve lopme nt in comple x s itua tions This ve in of re s e a rch is ve ry de e p with ma s s ive pote ntia l be ca us e it is a re la tive ly ne w fie ld of re s e a rch with the ne w lowe r cos t ca pture a nd de live ry te chnologie s In the future , ca pturing the 360° vide o in multiple pe rs pe ctive s including firs t a nd third pe rs on pe rs pe ctive s with a more dra ma tic s toryline will e ncoura ge more imme rs ion a nd s us pe ns ion of dis be lie f A s cript tha t drove the a ction in the vide o with quicke r, more bite s ize d chunks of informa tion a llowing a fa s te r pa ce for cha lle nge s would be tte r e ncoura ge the s ta te flow A more polis he d us e r inte rfa ce a nd a tutoria l a bout how to us e the a pplica tion would improve the us e r e xpe rie nce 28 Bibliography Admira a l, W., Huize nga , J , Akke rma n, S , & Te n Da m, G (2011) The conce pt of flow in colla bora tive ga me -ba s e d le a rning Compute rs in Huma n Be vior,27(3), 1185-1194 Agra wa la , M., Li, W., & Be rthouzoz, F (2011) De s ign principle s for vis ua 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Elements of the application design: An introduction to the training in the form of a starting screen will appear when the app loads giving the user an introduction and short description of how... internal conflicts of worry or other distractions The person is focused on the challenge at hand without thinking about other things The person is in a state of Flow within a stream of information with