Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Students’ Attitudes and Intentions of Using Technology such as Virtual Reality for Learning about Climate Change and Protecting Endangered Environments

Adanin, Kristina
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1604061222276647

Abstract Details

, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Instructional Technology (Education).
At a time when the world is facing a range of significant challenges, including a rise in air temperature, rapidly evolving droughts in some areas, and floods, new technology in education can help inform people of current issues that may not be close to them but, nevertheless, can have a significant impact in the future. Our planet has been warming steadily for over a century, and the preponderance of evidence has pointed at human action as the main contributor to the change (Hansen et al., 2010). The evolution of technology has brought tremendous change. Virtual Reality (VR), 360-degree video, has the potential to bring the environment to the students since it can provide a close to a real-life situation. The use of VR for educational purposes has been quite unknown to most school systems. There are many gaps that need to be investigated prior to the effective implementation of VR-learning, such as the factors that influence students’ intention to use it. This study fulfilled some of these gaps by focusing on the potential of using VR for future education and raising awareness of the climate change occurring in remote areas, specifically tropical regions. The findings of this study will hopefully encourage students to play a more responsible role in the development and implementation of VR education worldwide and help enhance the academic quality of courses for instructors and students. This study examined students’ behavioral intentions towards using VR in their learning about climate change utilizing the Technology Acceptance Model of Davis (1989), combined with the spatial presence experience scale (Hartmann et al., 2015). Phase 1 was created in order to understand students’ salient beliefs about the use of VR for educational purposes and learning about climate change. Furthermore, 65 students participated in this phase and reported that VR can be beneficial for educational purposes to learn about global climate change, and 95.2% of participants fully agreed. Phase 2 occurred among 227 students from around the globe. The Phase 2 study was manipulated because students chose their own technology devices to watch the VR content about the last tropical glaciers, thereby making it a pseudo-experimental study. Six variables were used to explain students’ intention of using VR: attitude toward use, perceived usefulness, self-location, perceived ease of use, possible action and behavioral intention. The best predictor of intention to use VR was perceived usefulness. On the other hand, after doing a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the spatial presence variables were modified, which improved the model. A path analysis was conducted in order to define the relationship between the variables. The path coefficient from perceived usefulness to behavioral intention had the strongest regression weight, while from perceived ease of use to attitude toward use had the lowest regression weight. The structural equation model (SEM) indicated that the best model excluded factors, such as attitude toward use, and combined possible action and self-location as one factor. This study only included students as participants. Future studies including instructors could bring a new perspective for using VR in education to learn about climate change.
Greg Kessler (Advisor)
Gordon Brooks (Advisor)
201 p.
Climate Change; Educational Technology; Environmental Education
virtual reality; VR; TAM; technology acceptance model; climate change; education; SEM; students; spatial presence; 360 video; tropical glaciers; path analysis;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Adanin, K. (2020). Students’ Attitudes and Intentions of Using Technology such as Virtual Reality for Learning about Climate Change and Protecting Endangered Environments [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1604061222276647

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Adanin, Kristina. Students’ Attitudes and Intentions of Using Technology such as Virtual Reality for Learning about Climate Change and Protecting Endangered Environments. 2020. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1604061222276647.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Adanin, Kristina. "Students’ Attitudes and Intentions of Using Technology such as Virtual Reality for Learning about Climate Change and Protecting Endangered Environments." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1604061222276647

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1604061222276647
1,006
© 2020, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.