Diving in? How Users Experience Virtual Environments Using the Virtual Theatre

Simulations are used in various fields of education. One approach of improving learning with simulations is the development of natural user interfaces, e.g. driving or flight simulators. The Virtual Theatre enables unrestricted movement through a virtual environment by a Head Mounted Display and an omnidirectional floor. In the experimental study presented (n = 38), the effects of objective hardware characteristics were being tested in two groups. The task was the same: Remembering positions of objects after spotting them in a maze. One group fulfilled the task in the Virtual Theatre, the other group on a laptop. Personal characteristics (gaming experience, locus of control) and perception measures for immersion (spatial presence, flow) were also assessed. Analyses show that the Virtual Theatre indeed leads to more spatial presence and flow, but has a negative effect on the task performance. This contradicts the common assumption that immersion leads to better learning.