Learning with desktop virtual reality: changes and interrelationship of self-efficacy, goal orientation, technology acceptance and learning behavior

With advantages such as ease of use and low cost, desktop virtual reality (VR) technologies are increasingly being used in practical learning. This study aims to clarify the relationship among students' self-efficacy, goal orientation, technology acceptance [e.g., perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU)] and learning behavior, and the changes of these variables as well as gender difference in the early and late stages of course study when desktop VR technology is applied to business simulation learning. A pretest–posttest group design with two repeated measures is employed for this study. During a 10-week period, students' self-efficacy, goal orientation, technology acceptance and learning behavior are measured among junior and senior students majoring in Business Administration from a four-year undergraduate university who used desktop VR technology for practical learning. Course scores for these students are also collected and used to measure whether desktop VR is helping to improve their learning outcomes. Findings indicate that there is a significant correlation between self-efficacy, PEOU, PU and goal orientation, which further affects learners' learning behavior and learning outcomes when desktop VR is used for practical learning. After learning with desktop VR, self-efficacy, perceived ease of use and usefulness, and surface learning behaviors increased, while mastery goal orientation decreased. Furthermore, self-efficacy, PEOU and PU are found to be significantly higher in males than in females.