Contact
Þóra Valsdóttir
Project Manager
thora.valsdottir@matis.is
Children are usually interested in new technology and open to new knowledge, as long as it is presented in an interesting way. An intervention study was carried out with the aim of evaluating whether virtual reality-based educational material has a greater effect on the learning and attitudes of children aged 12-13 than more traditional ways of presenting the material. The intervention included the introduction of new teaching materials in six primary schools, where emphasis was placed on healthy eating to promote one's own health as well as that of the earth. The teaching material included a slide deck, a virtual reality video and practical exercises. The intervention went under the working title "The Tomato Project” where the theme was tomatoes. Emphasis was placed on sustainability, the origin of food, food technology, food production, food waste, etc. in relation to tomatoes. A questionnaire was given to the children, both before and after the intervention, to measure the effect of the teaching material on learning, and interviews were conducted with teachers after the intervention to assess the usefulness of the teaching material in teaching.
The results of the intervention indicated that the use of virtual reality in teaching can increase interest in food and contribute to positive changes in children's attitudes towards healthier eating. Overall, there was satisfaction with the teaching material among the teachers, the teachers who had used the virtual reality glasses were the most enthusiastic. The intervention also demonstrated that the use of virtual reality can be integrated with teaching in other formats. A positive learning experience and increased interest in a healthy diet, including eating tomatoes, was observed in all cases, regardless of the type of teaching material. Teachers were also satisfied with teaching materials that contained such a wide range of concepts that could be combined in the theme and how theoretical and practical learning could be integrated. The teachers' experience was that a lot of material could be covered in a relatively short time.
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Children are generally excited about new technology and open to consume knowledge if it is made interesting to them. An intervention study was performed which goal was to assess whether virtual reality-based educational material has a greater impact on children’s learning and attitudes than more traditional ways of presenting the material. The intervention involved the introduction of new teaching materials in six primary schools where the emphasis was on healthy eating for one’s own well-being and as well as of the planet. The teaching material included a slide pack, a virtual reality video and practical exercises. The intervention went under the working title „The Tomato Project“ as the theme was tomatoes. Emphasis was placed on sustainability, food origin, food technology, food production, food waste, etc. in relation to tomatoes. The children filled in a questionnaire before and after the intervention to measure the effect of the teaching material on learning and interviews were conducted with teachers to evaluate the usefulness of the teaching material in teaching.
The results of the intervention indicated that the use of virtual reality in education can increase interest in food and contribute to changes in children's attitudes towards healthier and healthier diets. Overall, there was satisfaction with the teaching material among teachers, those teachers who had used the virtual reality glasses were the most interested. The intervention also demonstrated that the use of virtual reality can be integrated with teaching in other forms. Positive learning experiences and increased interest in healthy eating, including eating tomatoes, were observed in all cases, regardless of the type of teaching material. Teachers were also pleased with the teaching material that contained such a wide range of concepts that could be combined in the theme and how theoretical and practical learning could be integrated. The teachers' experience was that it was possible to cover a lot of material in a relatively short time.