Investigating the Impact of Virtual Reality Panoramas on Children's Water Safety Knowledge and Interest and Enjoyment.
Background: Unintentional drowning is a leading cause of injury and death among children worldwide, and inadequate water safety education is a significant contributing factor. Innovative technologies such as virtual reality [VR] have the potential to teach children about safety and reduce the risk o...
| Publicado en: | Journal of Computer Assisted Learning Vol. 42; no. 4; pp. 1 - 20 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , |
| Formato: | pictorial research tables/charts randomized controlled trial Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Wiley-Blackwell
Aug2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=195655196&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 195655196 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 02664909 6M1 jtl: Journal of Computer Assisted Learning issn: 02664909 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Aug2026 vid: 42 iid: 4 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell place: Malden, Massachusetts artinfo: ui: 195655196 195655196 195655196 10.1002/jcal.70268 195655196 ppf: 1 ppct: 19 formats: tig: atl: Investigating the Impact of Virtual Reality Panoramas on Children's Water Safety Knowledge and Interest and Enjoyment. aug: au: Santiago, Allana Matthews, Bernadette Chen, Won Sun Keane, Therese Araiza‐Alba, Paola Kaufman, Jordy affil: Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn Victoria,, Australia sug: subj: Drowning Education Drowning Prevention and Control Virtual Reality Utilization Child Safety Evaluation Knowledge In Infancy and Childhood Outcomes of Education Funding Source Human Male Female Child Descriptive Statistics Randomized Controlled Trials Random Assignment Quasi-Experimental Studies Questionnaires Quantitative Studies Chi Square Test T-Tests Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design Post Hoc Analysis Educational Technology Data Analysis Software Child: 6-12 years Male Female ab: Background: Unintentional drowning is a leading cause of injury and death among children worldwide, and inadequate water safety education is a significant contributing factor. Innovative technologies such as virtual reality [VR] have the potential to teach children about safety and reduce the risk of accidental injury. However, there are limited studies on VR's effectiveness to improve water safety knowledge among children, highlighting the need for research in this area. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of 360° VR panoramas plus traditional teaching materials compared to traditional teaching materials alone in increasing and retaining water safety knowledge, and also assessed which approach was more interesting and enjoyable for children. Methods: Participants (n = 156) in school year levels 3 to 6 were assigned to either an intervention group, trained using workbook and audio files (traditional materials) supplemented with 360° VR panoramas, or a control group, trained using only traditional materials. Knowledge and retention were measured at baseline, post‐test (4 weeks later), and at follow‐up (3 months later). Interest and enjoyment, and presence were assessed at post‐test. Results and Conclusions: Both groups demonstrated significant knowledge improvements over time; however, the difference between the groups at post‐test was not statistically significant. The intervention group had significantly higher knowledge retention and interest and enjoyment compared to the control group. These findings suggest that 360° VR panoramas are an effective teaching aid to increase and retain water safety knowledge and foster interest among children. Further research is required to examine whether improvements in knowledge translate to behaviour change. Highlights: Water safety knowledge and interest and enjoyment were compared between groups learning with and without VR.Both groups showed similar immediate improvements in knowledge.The VR group showed greater knowledge retention at follow‐up.The VR group reported higher interest and enjoyment.Interest and enjoyment did not predict knowledge outcomes in either group. Summary: What is already known about this topic ○Virtual reality (VR) can be an effective way to impart fire, road, and water safety knowledge to children.○Previous research on VR for water safety education found no difference in knowledge outcomes between children that learnt using VR alone versus those that learnt using traditional materials.○Existing literature reviews suggest that combining VR with traditional materials improves learning outcomes.What this paper adds ○This study evaluated whether combining VR with traditional materials can enhance knowledge gain and retention compared to traditional materials alone.○Both groups showed similar levels of knowledge gain immediately after the program.○The VR group had significantly higher knowledge retention than the non‐VR group.○The VR group had significantly higher interest and enjoyment than the non‐VR group, but this did not predict knowledge outcomes in either group.○Sense of presence predicted both knowledge gain and retention in the VR group.Implications for practice or policy ○While using VR as a self‐directed learning tool may be effective to improve learning, combining it with traditional methods further enhances knowledge retention.○This study demonstrates optimal methods of instruction delivery using VR to maximise learning outcomes that could be applied to other domains of safety education. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: pictorial research tables/charts randomized controlled trial Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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