Exploring the Outcomes of Learning Analytic Supported VR Content Creation in Cultural Heritage Education

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) is an important implementation and component of the metaverse. With the rise of the Maker Movement in education and the increased affordability of digital content creation tools, VR content creation has been democratized to learners from non-technical backgrounds. This also shows potential in allowing end-users in creating a metaverse of VR content. Applying designbased research, we have recently developed our own VR content creation platform, where studentcreators can 1) create VR tours using mobile-captured spherical panoramas, 2) add multimedia objects via a “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” user interface, and 3) view these products using a lowcost head-mounted display (e.g., Google Cardboard). Based on a qualitative needs analysis, we identified students’ needs for self-regulated learning and automated feedback in the process of VR creation. Therefore, we designed and implemented learning analytics (LA) features in this platform, including a checklist of tasks, progress reports and statistics, and text analytic feedback on students’ narratives. As an ongoing implementation, the platform has been deployed in an undergraduate general education course on digitizing cultural heritage, in which about 100 students are currently creating VR stories to showcase heritage sites from around the world. In the literature on VR content creation, there is a paucity of studies on how LA-supported VR content creation facilitates the achievement of learning outcomes, particularly in the cultural heritage domain. To address this gap, survey responses, performance scores, learning journal entries, and student-created VR artefacts are being collected for analysis. Results of statistical tests, text mining, and qualitative coding will reveal to what extent VR content creation and LA can help students achieve the outcomes of learning about and beyond knowledge of cultural heritage. Theoretical implications and pedagogical suggestions will be discussed based on the results.