Brendan Concannon

Bio: Brendan Concannon is an academic researcher from University of Alberta. The author has contributed to research in topics: Immersive technology & Psychology. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 2 publications receiving 22 citations.

Head-Mounted Display Virtual Reality in Post-secondary Education and Skill Training

Abstract: Background: This review focused on how immersive head-mounted display virtual reality (VR) was used in post-secondary level education and skill training, with the aim to better understand its state of the art as found from the literature. While numerous studies describe the use of immersive VR within a specific educational setting, they are often standalone events not fully detailed regarding their curricular integration. This review aims to analyse these events, with a focus on immersive VR’s incorporation into post-secondary education. Objectives: O1) Review the existing literature on the use of immersive VR in post-secondary settings, determining where and how it has been used within each educational discipline. This criterion focused on literature featuring the use of immersive VR, due to its influence on a user’s perceived levels of presence and imagination. O2) Identify favourable outcomes from the use of immersive VR when compared to other learning methods. O3) Determine the conceptual rationale (purpose) for each implementation of immersive VR as found throughout the literature. O4) Identify learning theories and recommendations for the utilization of immersive VR in post-secondary education. Methods: A literature review was undertaken with searches of Education Research Complete, ERIC, MEDLINE, EMBASE, IEEE Xplore, Scopus and Web of Science: Core Collection to locate reports on the use of immersive VR in post-secondary curricula. Results: 119 articles were identified, featuring disciplines across Arts and Humanities, Health Sciences, Military and Aerospace, Science and Technology. 35 out of 38 experiments reported to have found a positive outcome for immersive VR, after being compared with a non-immersive platform. Each simulation’s purpose included one or more of the following designations: skill training, convenience, engagement, safety, highlighting, interactivity, team building and suggestion. Recommendations for immersive VR in post-secondary education emphasize experiential learning and social constructivist approaches, including student-created virtual environments that are mainly led by the students themselves under team collaboration. Conclusion: Immersive VR brings convenient, engaging and interactive alternatives to traditional classroom settings as well as offers additional capability over traditional methods. There is a diverse assortment of educational disciplines that have each attempted to harness the power of this technological medium.

Immersive Virtual Reality for the Reduction of State Anxiety in Clinical Interview Exams: Prospective Cohort Study.

Abstract: Background: Immersive virtual reality (VR) with head-mounted display was used to determine if clinical interview simulation could reduce the anxiety levels of first-year occupational therapy (OT) students as they prepared for upcoming Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs). Anxiety among health science students is a potential problem that may diminish their performance during OSCEs. This investigation aimed to fill the gap in the literature regarding the effectiveness of VR to reduce anxiety in OT students. Objective: This investigation aimed to uncover the effectiveness of immersive VR in reducing state anxiety in OT students who were preparing for OSCEs. Methods: A prospective, experimental, nonrandomized controlled trial compared levels of state anxiety, test anxiety, and academic self-efficacy in two groups of first-year OT students; these levels were measured at four different time points by self-reported psychometric scales, analyzed with a mixed factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA). Members of Phase 1 (NoVR) were not exposed to the VR simulation and acted as a control group for members of Phase 2 (YesVR), who were exposed to the VR simulation. VR simulation featured a virtual clinic and a standardized patient who students could interview in natural language. Measures of student study strategies and previous experience with VR were also recorded. Results: A total of 49 participants—29 in the NoVR group and 20 in the YesVR group—showed that state anxiety had a rise-then-fall trend, peaking at the time point just before the OSCE. At that point, the YesVR students showed significantly less state anxiety than did the NoVR students (t46.19=2.34, P=.02, Cohen d=0.65, ηp2=0.105). The mean difference was 6.78 units (95% CI 0.96-12.61). In similar trends for both groups, student test anxiety remained relatively static across the time points, while academic self-efficacy continually increased. A moderate positive correlation was found for total time spent studying and peak state anxiety (NoVR r=.46, n=28, P=.01; YesVR r=.52, n=19, P=.02). Conclusions: This investigation shows evidence of immersive VR’s capability to reduce state anxiety in OT students preparing for clinical practical exams. Immersive VR simulation, used for the reduction of anxiety in health science students, can potentially lead to a future of positive mental health change from the virtual to the real world.

Pointing and calling the way to patient safety: An introduction and initial use case

Abstract: Background Using tools from outside healthcare can help improve patient safety. Pointing and Calling (Shisa Kanko) is an operational procedure developed for industry in Japan to prevent human error and has been used in healthcare in Asian countries to reduce errors during medication administration. Pointing and Calling affects cognitive task switching by pointing to a place or object and calling out the operation to be performed. Aim Conduct an initial use case to examine the willingness and ability of healthcare professionals in a Western country to use Pointing and Calling. Methods An observational initial use case was conducted with nineteen Advanced Care Paramedic students. Confidence, perceptions, and use of Pointing and Calling were measured during a simulated clinical scenario along with facilitator perceptions. Results After the simulation participants were confident in their ability to use Pointing and Calling, found the method to be beneficial, and indicated they would use Pointing and Calling in the future. Participants often used the method for tasks such as checking vitals. Aspects of the method requiring clarification and more training were identified. Facilitators indicated the method appeared beneficial during simulations and could be incorporated into existing curriculum. Conclusions The benefits of Pointing and Calling are readily apparent to students and facilitators and both groups are receptive to the method. Pointing and Calling is low risk with substantial potential benefits. With more education and training Pointing and Calling could be effectively implemented.

Virtual reality to reduce student test anxiety and enhance preparedness for clinical examinations

Abstract: Appears in: EDULEARN22 Proceedings Publication year: 2022Page: 1683 (abstract only)ISBN: 978-84-09-42484-9ISSN: 2340-1117doi: 10.21125/edulearn.2022.0444Conference name: 14th International Conference on Education and New Learning TechnologiesDates: 4-6 July, 2022Location: Palma, Spain

Immersive Virtual Reality in K-12 and Higher Education: A systematic review of the last decade scientific literature

Abstract: There has been an increasing interest in applying immersive virtual reality (VR) applications to support various instructional design methods and outcomes not only in K-12 (Primary and Secondary), but also in higher education (HE) settings. However, there is a scarcity of studies to provide the potentials and challenges of VR-supported instructional design strategies and/or techniques that can influence teaching and learning. This systematic review presents a variety of studies that provide qualitative and/or quantitative data to investigate the current practices with VR support focusing on students’ outcomes, performance, alongside with the benefits and challenges of this technology concerning the analysis of visual features and design elements with mobile and desktop computing devices in different learning subjects. During the selection and screening process, forty-six (n = 46) articles published from the middle of 2009 until the middle of 2020 were finally included for a detailed analysis and synthesis of which twenty-one and twenty-five in K-12 and HE, respectively. The majority of studies were focused on describing and evaluating the appropriateness or the effectiveness of the applied instructional design processes using various VR applications to disseminate their findings on user experience, usability issues, students’ outcomes, and/or learning performance. This study contributes by reviewing how instructional design strategies and techniques can potentially benefit students’ learning performance using a wide range of VR applications. It also proposes some recommendations to guide and lead effective instructional design settings in several teaching and learning contexts to outline a more accurate and up-to-date picture of the current state of literature.

Gamification as Online Teaching Strategy During COVID-19: A Mini-Review

Abstract: The ongoing pandemic caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has enforced a shutdown of educative institutions of all levels, including high school and university students, and has forced educators and institutions to adapt teaching strategies in a hasty way. This work reviews the use of gamification-based teaching during the pandemic lockdown through a search in Scopus, PsycINFO, ERIC, and Semantic Scholar databases. A total of 11 papers from Chemistry, Business, Computer Science, Biology, and Medical areas have been identified and included in the present work. All of them analyzed the use of gamification strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic and assessed student’s learning and motivation outcomes. In general, students reported that gamification was innovative, engaging, and an efficient strategy to deliver curricula material; moreover, it was perceived as a fun activity. Some students reported that gamified videoconferences aided to connect with their classmates during isolation time providing effective social support. However, some students reported a bad physical or psychological condition, as consequence of the confinement, and did not get involved in the activity. Some weaknesses of the reviewed studies are the small sample size and its homogeneity, which makes it difficult to generalize their results to other scenarios and academic areas. Furthermore, although there is a feeling of learning during the activity, this result is mainly based on subjective perceptions, and any of the studies demonstrated that superior learning was achieved in comparison with traditional teaching strategies. Nevertheless, gamification can be implemented together with traditional lectures and can be a valuable instrument during post-COVID times.

Investigating the effect of teaching as a generative learning strategy when learning through desktop and immersive VR: A media and methods experiment

Abstract: Immersive virtual reality (IVR) simulations for education have been found to increase affective outcomes compared to traditional media, but the effects on learning are mixed. As reflection has previously shown to enhance learning in traditional media, we investigated the efficacy of appropriate reflection exercises for IVR. In a 2 ? 2 mixed-methods experiment, 89 (61 female) undergraduate biochemistry students learned about the electron transport chain through desktop virtual reality (DVR) and IVR (media conditions). Approximately, half of each group engaged in a subsequent generative learning strategy (GLS) of teaching in pairs (method conditions). A significant interaction between media and methods illustrated that the GLS of teaching significantly improved transfer (d = 1.26), retention (d = 0.60) and self-efficacy (d = 0.82) when learning through IVR, but not DVR. In the second part of the study, students switched media conditions and the experiment was repeated. This time, significant main effects favoring the IVR group on the outcomes of intrinsic motivation (d = 0.16), perceived enjoyment (d = 0.94) and presence (d = 1.29) were observed, indicating that students preferred IVR after having experienced both media conditions. The results support the view that methods enable media that affect learning and that the GLS of teaching is specifically relevant for IVR.

Crisis and extended realities: remote presence in the time of COVID-19

Abstract: The transformative influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on remote forms of communication has been a frequent theme in popular discourse during 2020, but any lingering transformation of what we do at ...