Artículos

Teaching safety precautions in a laboratory DVE: the effects of information location and interactivity

Enseñando Precauciones de Seguridad en un AVE: el efecto de la ubicación de la Información e Interactividad

Benjamin Zayas Pérez¹ and Richard Cox²

¹ Instituto de Investigaciones Eléctricas, Gerencia de Supervisión de Procesos Reforma 113, Col. Palmira, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México, zayas@iie.org.mx.

² University of Sussex, School of Science and Technology Brighton, BN1 9QH, United Kingdom, richc@sussex.ac.uk.

Article received on July 08, 2008
Accepted on April 03, 2009

Abstract

Information location and interactivity are two attributes of desktop virtual environment (DVE) design that can be exploited to enhance the ability of learners to acquire information and skills that transfer to real world. The term "information location" refers to the spatial relationship between linguistic information (text and sound) and virtual reality scenes. "Interactivity" refers to the actions by the learner that are afforded by the DVE (i.e. object manipulation, navigation, and user–system interaction). The effects of these attributes were assessed via pre, post, and retention measures of knowledge of laboratory precautions. Although no statistically significant difference was found, results indicate that co–located information produces a positive effect upon the learning and retention of declarative knowledge. However, "interactivity" appears to cause a detrimental effect on learning that depends on user–system activities and performance issues. An interesting finding is that co–located information encourages more extensive exploration of the DVE which, in turn, facilitates retention of spatial knowledge.

Keywords: Desktop Virtual Environments; Spatial Contiguity of Information; Interactivity; Declarative Knowledge.

Resumen

La ubicación de la información y la interactividad son dos atributos del diseño de ambientes virtuales de escritorio (AVE) que pueden ser explotados para mejorar la capacidad del aprendiz para adquirir información y habilidades que se transfieren al mundo real. La "ubicación de la información" se refiere a la relación espacial entre información lingüística (texto y sonido) y escenas virtuales. "Interactividad" se refiere a las acciones del aprendiz que son proporcionadas por el AVE (i. e., manipulación de objetos, navegación e interacción usuario–sistema). Los efectos de estos atributos fueron evaluados midiendo el conocimiento de precauciones de laboratorio antes y después de la capacitación, así como retención del conocimiento. Aunque no se encontraron diferencias estadísticas significativas, los resultados indican que la ubicación de la información produce un efecto positivo en el aprendizaje y retención del conocimiento declarativo. Sin embargo, "interactividad" causa un efecto negativo en el aprendizaje atribuible a las actividades usuario–sistema y ejecución de tareas. Un interesante hallazgo es que la información colocada fomenta una exploración exhaustiva del AVE, lo cual facilitó retención del conocimiento espacial.

Palabras clave: Ambientes virtuales de escritorio; contigüidad espacial de información; interactividad; conocimiento declarativo.

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