The Effectiveness of the Force Feedback Technology Application in the Immersive Physics Learning
摘要
Experiments are essential components of physics learning as students could have a deeper understanding of the domain topic through visual and haptic experiences in experiments. However, experimental activities in traditional educational settings face the challenge of a lack of guidance from experienced teachers and a shortage of facilities to support the diverse needs of physics experiments. Immersive learning supported by virtual reality technology could well-address current challenges in traditional classrooms. However, most immersive learning environments in literature focused on providing students with authentic visual and audial experiences, ignoring the importance of haptic experiences for learning physics in the immersive learning environment. As a result, students usually reported a lack of sense of presence and limited interactive experience. This study aims to evaluate the force feedback technology application’s effectiveness in immersive physics learning. A pre-and post-test random experimental design was adopted in this study. Thirty-eight students were enrolled in this study and were randomly assigned into two groups, the experimental group and the control group. Data regarding students’ domain knowledge, sense of presence, and efficacy of interaction were collected before and after the experiment. Results showed that the use of force feedback technology in immersive physics learning significantly improved students’ sense of realism and efficacy of interaction, but did not affect the knowledge gains significantly. It is suggested to explore further the potential mechanisms on how to embed the force feedback technology in immersive physics learning environments.